At 68, Sheila Consaul owns one of America’s most unusual homes, a century-old lighthouse standing in Lake Erie. During a conversation with Tiny House Giant Journey, she opened up about how she went from building a career in Washington, DC, to buying the Fairport Harbor West Lighthouse in Ohio for $71,010 at auction in 2011 and spending more than $300,000 restoring it.What began as an unusual idea for a vacation home eventually became a 15-year restoration project, with Consaul investing more than $300,000 in the property and turning it into a largely off-grid residence while preserving its historic character.
Why Sheila Consaul decided to buy a lighthouse
Before taking on the lighthouse, Consaul had already restored a historic home, which helped fuel her fascination with old buildings and restoration. While working in Washington, DC, she began looking for a summer home that was historic, unusual and located on the water.The idea of buying a lighthouse sounded fascinating to her after she learned that the federal government was auctioning off historic lighthouses.In 2009, the Fairport Harbor West Lighthouse became available at auction, and Consaul began bidding. It took two years before she finally secured the property, officially taking ownership in 2011. The lighthouse had been built in 1925 and was nearly 3,000 square feet, larger than many of the other lighthouses she had considered.Consaul’s winning bid was $71,010. She later used a $200,000 home equity loan to cover the purchase and initial renovation costs, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.
An abandoned lighthouse in terrible condition
Once abandoned for decades, the Fairport Harbor West Lighthouse now serves as Sheila Consaul’s historic Lake Erie retreat.
When Consaul first took possession, the lighthouse had been unoccupied since the late 1940s and had fallen into serious disrepair.“There were no utilities, no furniture, no creature comforts of any kind,” she recalled.The windows were broken and boarded up, plaster was falling from the walls and the property was described by Consaul as dreary and sad. The building had also been vandalized during the decades it sat empty. Ohio History Connection notes that the restoration involved repairing original windows, replacing those beyond repair, preserving flooring and carrying out extensive interior and exterior work.Consaul’s first night at the lighthouse was far from luxurious.“My first night in the lighthouse was quite a challenge,” she said, recalling how she slept on a sleeping bag on the floor.
She spent more than $300,000 restoring the property
A $71,010 auction purchase became a more than $300,000 restoration project for Sheila Consaul.
Consaul estimates that she has spent more than $300,000 renovating the lighthouse, well beyond her initial $200,000 renovation budget.The work included rewiring the building, restoring windows, repairing original floors, painting the interior and exterior and installing systems that would allow her to live there without conventional utilities.The restoration eventually transformed the lighthouse into a roughly 3,000-square-foot property with three bedrooms, three full bathrooms, five levels and four staircases.The project was not completed overnight. Consaul has described the restoration as a years-long process, with work often limited to the warmer months because she only lives at the lighthouse seasonally. A 2026 profile by Fairfax County says she spent 15 years restoring the lighthouse.
She does not own the land
There is another unusual aspect to Consaul’s ownership: she owns the lighthouse structure, but not the land on which it stands.The land belongs to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Consaul paid $2,500 for a 25-year lease.She has said that as long as she owns the lighthouse, she intends to continue offering private tours. If she is still there when the lease expires, she plans to renew it.For Consaul, owning the building also means accepting responsibility for its place in the local community.“One thing that was very important to me when I bought this lighthouse was that I understood that this was part of this community of Fairport Harbor,” she said.
What it is like to live off-grid
The century-old lighthouse combines historic architecture with modern off-grid living, including solar power and rainwater collection.
Today, the lighthouse operates largely off-grid.Consaul collects rainwater from the roof and stores it in a cistern. The water then goes through pumping, treatment and chlorination systems before being used in the home.The property also has composting toilets.Electricity comes from sustainable sources including solar power, with a generator available when necessary. Ohio History Connection has also noted the installation of a solar/wind system as part of the property’s sustainable power setup.Getting basic supplies is another challenge.The lighthouse has no dock, so Consaul accesses it through Headlands Beach State Park, walking through the dunes and along the breakwater.“People ask me all the time, how do I get supplies here? How do I get groceries? My answer is a backpack,” she said.She explained that the beach is several inches thick and difficult to navigate with a cart, making a backpack easier for carrying supplies in and out.Over the years, friends and volunteers have also helped transport furniture, equipment and renovation materials to the lighthouse.
The lighthouse has a dangerous history
From original hardwood floors to its historic beacon, the restored Fairport Harbor West Lighthouse preserves a century of history.
The attraction of lighthouses, Consaul says, comes partly from their history.Lighthouse keepers were responsible for keeping the beacon burning, monitoring marine traffic and helping protect people navigating the waters. Lake Erie and the other Great Lakes can experience sudden and dangerous storms, making the work of lighthouse keepers particularly important.“The mystique comes from the dark of night. Comes from the fog and the wind and the weather,” Consaul said.The remote setting, harsh weather and isolation were all part of the lighthouse-keeper experience.
A lighthouse built to survive Lake Erie
The Fairport Harbor West Lighthouse was constructed in Buffalo, New York, and transported by ship down Lake Erie to northeast Ohio.The structure was built with thick walls, steel plating, steel girders, brick and cast iron. Its beacon was first lit on June 9, 1925, meaning the lighthouse celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2025.The lighthouse was designed to withstand the harsh weather conditions around Lake Erie and was built to last.Three lighthouse keepers lived at the property after it opened in 1925. They worked around the clock to maintain the beacon, initially using kerosene before the lighthouse was electrified in the late 1940s.Once electricity was brought in, the keepers no longer needed to live at the lighthouse and could return to the Coast Guard station on land.
What the lighthouse looked like when keepers lived there
The building’s current rooms have very different functions from those they had a century ago.The first floor, now a living room, kitchen and dining area, was essentially a working space when the keepers lived there. They used coal for heating and electricity, with coal brought by ship and lifted into the building through a chain winch.The second floor was where the keepers lived. Their families generally remained in Fairport Harbor rather than living at the lighthouse, and the keepers worked shifts before returning to shore.Consaul has also identified what she believes were the original kitchen and pantry areas. The former kitchen contains evidence of a stove and cast-iron sink, while horizontal marks on the walls indicate where pantry shelves once stood.
Historic treasures discovered inside
During the restoration, Consaul preserved many original features, including hardwood floors and hexagonal bathroom tiles.She also discovered artifacts connected to the lighthouse’s past.One was a crate panel dated May 27, 1943, marked as coming from Frigidaire in Dayton, Ohio. Consaul believes it was associated with a refrigerator shipped to the lighthouse that year.Another discovery was an old ladder marked “USLHS”, referring to the U.S. Lighthouse Service. The service merged with the Coast Guard in 1939, helping date the ladder to before that transition.The original fog horn is also preserved inside the lighthouse.
The lantern room and 100-year-old beacon
Higher up in the lighthouse is the lantern room, where keepers once serviced the original beacon.Consaul believes a large opening in the room was used to bring in the original Fresnel lens, the large glass-prism lens technology used in historic lighthouse beacons.Today, the lighthouse has a modern LED beacon that remains an active aid to navigation.The beacon is powered by solar energy and comes on every evening at dusk before switching off at dawn. It follows a set pattern of two seconds on and three seconds off.The U.S. Coast Guard continues to maintain the equipment.
A weather station and a 360-degree view
Standing on Lake Erie, the lighthouse offers Consaul a 360-degree view
The top of the lighthouse also houses a National Weather Service weather station, which records information including temperature, wind speed and wind direction.Above the lantern room is the widow’s walk, where visitors can walk around the structure and take in a 360-degree view of northeast Ohio.Because the lighthouse sits in the middle of Lake Erie, Consaul is also exploring wind power.“You get a lot of wind,” she said, explaining that she has been looking for equipment strong enough to withstand the area’s powerful winds while still generating useful electricity.
She lives there only during the warmer months
Despite turning the lighthouse into a comfortable home, Consaul does not live there year-round.Because the property has no conventional heating or air conditioning, she generally spends about four and a half months there.She opens the lighthouse around Memorial Day weekend and usually closes it around Columbus Day weekend.Before winter arrives, she shuts the property down and secures its exterior cast-iron shutters and interior storm windows.“Once October, November comes on, it gets cold and windy and pretty dangerous and icy and snowy and you don’t want to be here,” she said.
Why she wants to preserve the lighthouse
Consaul’s restoration has become about more than creating a unique summer home. She sees herself as a temporary steward of a historic landmark.“There are only so many lighthouses left. We are not building more lighthouses,” she said.The Fairport Harbor West Lighthouse remains part of the local community, and Consaul has opened it for annual open houses and private tours.She said one of the most rewarding parts of the project is watching people who have looked at the lighthouse from the shore for decades finally get the chance to see inside.“One of the things I love most about this house is the actual structure. I love living in that history,” she said.After years of restoration, Consaul says she can finally spend more time enjoying the property rather than constantly working on it.For her, the lighthouse is not simply something she bought at auction, it is a piece of history she hopes to pass on.“I’m just a steward of Fairport Harbor West. I hope it will be here another hundred years,” she said.
