Fairfield's Penfield Lighthouse Group Seeks Donors

FAIRFIELD, Conn. — The Penfield Reef Lighthouse Committee needs your help. The group of citizens tasked with reclaiming the landmark for the town of Fairfield announced Wednesday that it is seeking donations. The committee will use its pledged donations to bid for the Penfield Reef Lighthouse in an auction at the end of September.

The Penfield Reef Lighthouse sits about a mile off Fairfield’s shoreline, and has since 1874. It was decommissioned, and in 2007 the federal government decided to give it away to someone who would maintain. Beacon Preservation beat out the town in the application process.

However, Beacon has not been able to reach an agreement with the state to buy the land underneath the lighthouse, and has given up its claim. Earlier this month, the Board of Selectmen formed the 14-member Penfield Reef Lighthouse Committee to look into ways the town can take control of the landmark.

The federal government will auction off the lighthouse on Sept. 30 and sell it to the highest bidder. The committee is now looking for Fairfielders to contribute to the cause. Checks made out to “Penfield Reef Lighthouse Preservation” can be mailed or hand-delivered to the First Selectman’s Office, which is located in Sullivan Independence Hall, 725 Old Post Road, Fairfield, CT 06824.

 If anyone has questions or ideas or wishes to attend committee meetings, they are encouraged to contact Lighthouse Co-Chairs Sandye Mann at sandye.mann@sbcglobal.net or Bill Sapone at wjspatent@aol.com.

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