May/June 2008

Tripping the Light Fantastic

For a Williamsburg family, buying the Middle Ground Lighthouse was the easy part.

By Pam Majumdar

When youíve raised four children who are either working engineers or studying to become engineers, renovating a century-old lighthouse naturally becomes a family affair.

The long-term renovation has turned into more than a quick family fix-it project. As weather permits from March through September, Bob and Joan Gonsoulin of Williamsburg lead the effort to convert an 1891 lighthouse into the waterfront retreat of their dreams. Their children, extended family, and friends of the family have also provided countless hours throughout the last two years to a unique labor of love.

The Gonsoulins purchased Middle Ground Lighthouse at auction along with Joan's younger sister and brother-in-law, Jackie and Dan Billingsley, in 2005. At the time, a total of four lighthouses on the Chesapeake Bay were put up for public auction. After taking a U.S. Coast Guard-led tour of all the lighthouses, the Gonsoulins and Billingsleys decided to bid on the Middle Ground Lighthouse, because it was "close to home, the design was more like a traditional lighthouse, and it has a covered deck," says Bob. Their winning bid was $31,000.

Buying a lighthouse was about seizing an unexpected opportunity and not a purchase they would have planned for. "I grew up on the water," says Bob, a radiation safety officer for the Virginia Department of Health. "We saw [the lighthouse] come up and thought it would be fun."

"Dad is the one who looks on different websites and says 'Oh I wanna buy this, I wanna buy that!'" says daughter Carrie, 23, a marine engineering student at Virginia Tech who regularly comes home from Blacksburg to help out—with roommates and college friends in tow.

The Gonsoulins took the past winter off to relax, but were back out on the water this March, as soon as the weather started warming up. They hope to complete all renovations by July—right in time for Independence Day celebrations.

Co-owners Dan and Jackie Billingsley, who are also engineers, live in Annapolis, Md., and regularly make weekend trips to the lighthouse during the working months.

From the first 'floor' up, the exterior painting is complete. "It has to be painted red, since thats the color it's always been," says Bob, referring to a Coast Guard requirement. But the Gonsoulins pretty much have free reign over the rest of the lighthouse. "The only thing we have to do is give the Coast Guard clear and safe passage to the lights,"says son Brad, 28, a systems engineer for Lockheed Martin in Newport News.

The lighthouse has come a long way since its purchase two years ago. The inner rooms were brimming with seagull droppings, there was no side railing along the mid-level deck, and the ladder to climb from one's boat to the deck "just kind of hung there," says Joan, a dental hygienist.

The Gonsoulins have been stubborn in their resolve to renovate the lighthouse with minimal professional assistance. They self-installed all the plumbing and plan to figure out how to put in heating and air conditioning themselves. "The only thing we had people come out to do was the floors," says Joan.

For the rest of this article, see the May/June issue of Hampton Roads Magazine, currently available on newsstands.