An historical landmark in the waters off Mathews County is poised to get a facelift following its purchase earlier this year.

Richard Cucé of Quakertown, Pennsylvania, bought Wolf Trap Lighthouse and the five watery acres surrounding it in March for $125,000, and now he’s ready to start badly-needed restoration work on the multi-story structure.

As the owner for nearly 30 years of an industrial sand-blasting and painting company called Blastco, Cucé said his experience in sandblasting everything from trucks, trailers and machinery to industrial frames and large structures gives him the background and resources to take “this structure that’s just sitting there, rotting away” and turn it into something “that can do so much good.”

Wolf Trap is the second lighthouse Cucé has purchased. Last September, he bought Hooper Island Lighthouse near Dorchester County, Maryland. He established a nonprofit, The Lighthouse Center for Technology, History, and the Environment, and his restorat...