1898 Lighthouse – Reedville, VA
Details below are from April 2017, sold status has not been verified.
To verify, check the listing links below.
Added to OHD on 4/2/17 - Last OHD Update: 4/12/20 -
To verify, check the listing links below.
Added to OHD on 4/2/17 - Last OHD Update: 4/12/20 -
Off Market / Archived
989 Smith Point Rd, Reedville, VA 22539
$399,000- 4 Bed
- 1 Bath
- 1300 Sq Ft
- 5 Ac.
SERIOUS INQUIRES ONLY...One of a kind property! Renovated lighthouse for sale. Situated on the shoal making out from the southeast side of the Mouth of the Potomac River, west side of the Chesapeake Bay, Northumberland County, Virginia, site said to contain 5 acres of land within a circle whose center is a distant one a seven eighths nautical miles E by N from Smith Point and which has, according to the Coast Survey Chart of 1872, Latitude 37 degrees 53' 38' N. and Longitude 76 degrees 11' 24'
State: Virginia | Region: South (South Atlantic) | Associated Styles or Type: Lighthouse | Misc: Offbeat & Unique
61 Comments on 1898 Lighthouse – Reedville, VA
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OHD does not represent this home. Price, status and other details must be independently verified. Do not contact the agent unless you are interested in the property.
Commenting means you've read and will abide by the comment rules.
Click here to read the comment rules, updated 1/12/20.
OHD does not represent this home. Price, status and other details must be independently verified. Do not contact the agent unless you are interested in the property.
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Hey look………………………it comes wth a pool!
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LOL! Good one! 🙂
Hahahahahaha!!
Might be a bit tough to do any foundation repairs! I’m not even going to speculate about the sewer system or fresh water supplies. Might be more than a little scary when the occasional Hurricane goes by but no one is ever going to say your home looks just like theirs.
I always wondered what happened to these lighthouse keepers whenever there was a huge storm or hurricane. Did they just hunker down in fear the whole night? Did a storm ever end up sweeping away a lighthouse with people in it before? It’s scary enough when you’re in a beach house (like my family rents every summer) and a huge storm comes up. I can’t imagine being in a lighthouse surrounded by water!
My brother is an apache helicopter pilot for the army and is currently on his third tour in Afghanistan. He was in the merchant marines before joining the army. To be short, he’s seen some sh*t. He said out of everything he’s ever experienced, the most frightened he’s ever been was when he was on a ship when he was in the Merchant Marines and a hurricane came up. He said one minute the ship would be completely rocked on it’s right side and then within seconds, on its left side. And nobody could come and save them because it was just too dangerous. I can’t even imagine. We’re all very thankful he made it though that….now hopefully he’ll have a safe tour this third and final time..
Please tell your brother, “thank you for your service!” and let him know he and all the troops are in my daily prayers.
And yes, it would be scary, and just to get home from a long day at work, yikes. And you run out of milk, no close neighbors to ask for a little. But a unique place to say the least.
You guys with hilarious comments! Love it! I would give my eye teeth yo be able to afford this. But alas, not going to happen! Can anyone tell me how can the water stay out when there is high waves and it hits the doors and windows? Would it not leak?
Noblesville, IN
LOL. Right! I do not get people’s fascination with these lonely scary places. Shivers ——.
“There will not be another chance to own your own lighthouse.”
I dunno about that. Didn’t Kelly post another lighthouse that was kinda similar to this not too long ago? And is seems to me that one came with some land along the shore too!
Chestatee, GA
Yeah, I’ve posted lighthouses before but I think this is the first one completely in the water, yet already has furniture and livable.
Had to do a double take to confirm what I was seeing. A LIGHTHOUSE! IN THE WATER. FOR SALE. Needless to say, I had to pick my jaw off the floor. Crazy awesome.
I see a business, big bucks for the unusual. very cool.
Great place if you don’t like yard work.
Hahahahahaha!
Would love to live there, not only have to worry about hurricanes but what about when the bay freezes? The old lighthouse keepers were Edwards’ and part of my family. My mother graduated from Reedville high school!
My uncle’s family lives around Reedville. He was a fishing fleet captain before he retired. It’s nice down there.
I use to love it when it was a working lighthouse…. I think I’m right that it was every 12 seconds the horn would go off and on a clear calm night you could hear it laying in bed or on the front porch… it was awesome for sleeping.. almost like hearing the ocean at night… Miss it…
I wonder how they got the refrigerator up into it?
In one photo it looks like the derricks, or booms (not sure what they are called on a lighthouse) are still in place.
While that certainly may have worked, those are actually to lift the boat out of the water!
Please make this a bed and breakfast!!!! I would love to spend the night in a lighthouse. It is on my bucket list.
My first thought exactly!
If you’re ever way up north on the coast of Maine you can stay in the keeper’s house of the Little River Lighthouse. My husband and I spent a night there on our honeymoon and loved it. The foghorn sounds every 10 seconds so bring ear plugs if you’re a light sleeper! Here’s the link http://www.littleriverlight.org/overnight-stays/
One hing…no one could ever tell you ” Oh, we were just in the neighborhood and thought we’d drop by ! “….lolol
Yeah, I’d love to see someone try to sell “magazine subscriptions” to the resident of this place.
I’ve always loved to visit lighthouses,but I would prefer the tall colorful kind on land.
Lol, well my boss would never doubt me again when I used ” The road is flooded so I can’t make it in to work today.
A few years back there was an extensive article in the VA Pilot newspaper about a light house renovation in the James river near Norfolk Va. It can be seen from the Monitor Merrimack bridge tunnel that crosses the James River near by.
Chestatee, GA
Originally posted in 2011. Has a new agent and a better exterior pic, moving it to the front page.
Wow, what a unique property. I think this place is called the “Wolf Trap” lighthouse, I’m sure there’s a lot of interesting history here. These things were built like tanks, though, so I’m sure with regular upkeep you won’t find many structural issues. I wonder who’s gonna buy it, and what they’ll do with it!! I know of a Lighthouse by me that will become a boat-accessible B&B.
Chestatee, GA
No, that’s this one: https://www.oldhousedreams.com/2017/03/15/1894-lighthouse-mathews-va/
Harrisonburg, VA
This is Wolf Trap’s neighbor!
Is there a dock for boats, or is it accessible by land during low tide? This listing doesn’t give enough info for us seriously considering.
Chestatee, GA
Questions the agent can answer, info listed at the top.
Stop by any time. We’ll leave the light on for you.
The Wikipedia page for it (Smith Point Light) tells an interesting history. The exterior looked so much like the Wolf Trap Lighthouse which was posted here a few weeks ago. According to the history, the same plans were used to build this one.
It looks like a great deal of money and time has been spent to make the interior nice. They’ve done a good job of keeping the character of the old structure while adding modern convenience.
Although I would LOVE to spend a few days out there just to experience it, living there year round would be a challenge for me. No hopping in the car for a quick trip to the HyVee when you’re out of coffee or bread.
In the Wikipedia article it mentions that one of its predecessors was carried off in a storm when the base of the house broke. I fear that thought would always be in the back of my mind during a squall.
I love the neighborhood……or lack there of!
They should list it as a “fisherman’s paradise!”
My great grandfather was a light house keeper. Talk about a great place to get away
Where’s the 5 acres ?
Chestatee, GA
From the description sounds like it’s around the lighthouse, kind of in a circle.
That makes sense. High tide low tide. Maybe low tide shows the rock its on ( I’m guessing its a rocky 5 )
Its so cool. Imagine if the acres were high and green like some British pictures. I love the sound of the sea/ocean .
Bonus! No yard to mow…
Love the water, but captain of this “ship” would be going a little to far…It would be so thrilling to spend a night here, so maybe Air B&B will pick this one up?
Heat source? Anyone?
Location…Location…Location !!
“Site is said to contain five acres.” It would appear that those five acres have been consumed by the sea and can only be accessed if one dons air tanks, mask, and fins and swims down to them, hopefully evading sharks in the process. While I don’t consider myself to always be the sharpest knife in the drawer, I am at least a practical person who, when I am considering a purchase of this magnitude, want to know that my home has access to simple ingress/egress and that obtaining insurance will not cost me an arm and leg, if it is available to me at all. Looking at this thing, I am reminded of the movie, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, where a prehistoric beast emerged from the waters and ate the light-house. That being said, while there is a certain romance to living in a lighthouse, rising waters, as these photos attest, appear to be a serious concern. I think I’d be more comfortable living on a repurposed oil-rig as at least an oil rig floats.
What interesting people the owners must be..
I wonder what the insurance would be, maybe like for a boat? This would be a great place for using solar panels. I am also wondering what one would do when you take your little boat to shore…where’s your car going to be parked? Grocery shopping would take on a whole new idea. Think about it. Food from store to car, from car to boat (better use plastic not paper) then from boat to front door? I think I would use a backpack to carry the bags up the LADDER so I could use both hands to to climb with. Hmm note to self, invent a hoisting system.
This is a bachelor pad for younger agile people, and wealthy ones at that. That list price is just the start of all the expenses involved with this place. That’s why I think a bed and breakfast would be perfect for this place so it would help cover the cost of the upkeep and everything else.
I would think the liability and insurance for a B&b will be huge. All things considered, how many folks can say they live in a lighthouse. What a unique start for a casual conversation.
And on a clear night, heaven will be by your side.
Sweet dreams, indeed.
Middle Ground Lighthouse off the Monitor-Merrimac Bridge, VA., was written up in local newspapers when it was renovated. My brother and friends on a boat sailed by it awhile ago and lingered for a look. The owners came out and invited them in for a tour. Before they were allowed to step foot on the ladder the owners dropped down a clipboard tied to a rope. It had a liability disclaimer everyone had to sign. Taking no chances… I guess a B&B could do the same. Hate to lose someone overboard from one of those things. The currents out there in the shipping channel are dangerous…
Do I need Flood and Termite protection ?? It would be a Fantastic B&B !! I guess if you needed an emergency Vehicle you would go by helicopter ??
Here’s the first question to ask when considering life in (or near) a lighthouse. Does it also serve as a platform for a foghorn and/or bells? Those foghorns can really rock your world.
I get squeamish just looking at this since I’m 60 and can’t swim…
Maybe as a summer cottage but all year round … nooo I don’t think so. That being said this one is at least livable I do believe it’s the nicest one I’ve seen on here yet, but mind you this is only the second one I’ve seen, in fact I thought this was the first one till I opened the pictures. At least you could say you own something that very few people own.
What is the crime rate in this neighborhood?
Iowa County , WI
Great! Nice school district,but no bus service for my kids.
Hurricanes? The place has been standing since 1898,it ain’t going nowhere!
I can see this lighthouse from my home. I love it.
I’m guessing this comes furnished
I would live there. If I could/
Thar she blows!