Yes, you read that title correctly. West Virginia has a real working lighthouse. This lighthouse sits on Summersville lake in Nicholas County, but it is not a historical structure like so many others that line America’s shores. This one was erected in 2013.

If you have been to Summersville Lake recently, you no doubt saw the lighthouse nearby. This lighthouse began as a joke for Steve and Donna Keblish. But this particular joke turned into a dream, and the dream became reality.
YouTube/Mary Almond


It began in 2013, when the Keblishes, owners of Summersville Lake Retreat, a campground adjacent to the lake, heard from a technician repairing a nearby industrial windmill that there was a slightly damaged tower for sale. Without hesitation, they snatched it up, and the Summersville Lighthouse was erected.
YouTube/tim irr

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Of course, there was still a lot of work to do. Among other things, stairs and a light needed to be installed for it to actually be a lighthouse and not just a hollow tube. The Keblishes managed to recruit volunteers from the local schools to install the spiral staircase, and by sheer dumb luck, there just happened to be a beacon light stored in an airplane hangar on the opposite side of the lake.
YouTube/tim irr


After a personal cost of half a million dollars, the lighthouse was eventually complete and is now open to visitors. Located on the campground next to the lake, the lighthouse's peak offers a spectacular view of the lake and the hills of Nicholas County laid out beyond it.
YouTube/mrphotomanTIM


Summersville Lake Retreat is located at 200 Summersville Lake Road in Mt. Nebo. For more information about the lighthouse and retreat, such as RV and cabin rates, visit the their website here.

Have you ever been to Summersville Lighthouse? Feel free to leave a comment below and tell us about your visit there.

To learn more about West Virginia, check out this lovely lake tucked away in the mountains.

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