During a sunny-day tour of two areas on the Vineyard that have been hit hard by coastal erosion in the past year, Cong. William Keating encouraged a small group of public officials Thursday to press for federal funds for repairs — although he had no sunny promises about the outcome.
More Coverage of Lighthouse Move
For almost 160 years, the Gay Head Light has stood at the westernmost part of Martha's Vineyard, a familiar and often beloved icon. But the clay cliffs underneath the lighthouse have proven less enduring, with erosion slowly bringing the lighthouse closer to the edge. This spring, after more than two years of planning and preparation, the 400-ton, 51-foot-tall lighthouse will be moved about 129 feet to a new location.
Members of a town committee charged with organizing the move of the Gay Head Light learned this week that they are not alone in their plight during a presentation about a project to move the Sankaty Head Light on Nantucket six years ago.
The Gay Head Light, the beacon at the farthest end of the Island, helping boats navigate Vineyard waters safely for more than 150 years, inched closer this week to becoming town-owned.
Voters unanimously backed the acquisition and move of the lighthouse at a special town meeting on Tuesday, paving the way for the town to move forward with planning to relocate the historic structure, due to heavy erosion.
Aquinnah voters will decide at a special town meeting on Tuesday whether the town should move forward with plans to take ownership of and relocate the historic Gay Head Light.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the Aquinnah town hall. Voters will take up two separate warrants, beginning with a seven-article warrant that failed to meet quorum in November, followed by a two-article warrant with questions about the lighthouse. Moderator Michael Hebert will preside over the special sessions.
How, when and where to move the Gay Head Light, along with the money to pay for it: these are all active topics for discussion by a newly-formed committee charged with developing a plan to relocate the historic brick tower.
The lighthouse now stands 50 feet from an eroding cliff at the westernmost edge of the Vineyard.
A 12-member committee appointed by the town selectmen last month held its first meeting Wednesday, which was mostly organizational.
Due to steady and increasing erosion at the Gay Head Cliffs, the Gay Head Light will need to be moved in the next one to three years and could cost as much as $3 million to relocate, the Aquinnah board of selectmen learned this week.
At the board’s weekly meeting on Tuesday, Martha’s Vineyard Museum director David Nathans said the move of the historic lighthouse is only a matter of time.
The Gay Head Light, the beacon of light at the furthest end of the Island overlooking the historic clay cliffs, is likely to be put up to bid by the federal government sometime in the next year, the Martha’s Vineyard Museum confirmed this week.
The disposition of the lighthouse follows the announcement by the GSA that it was looking to transfer ownership of 12 historic lighthouses.
As erosion inches the Gay Head Lighthouse closer to the edge, the Martha’s Vineyard Museum is moving ahead with a study to assess the urgency of relocating the 156-year-old structure.
The study will take place over the course of three years and provide a “more realistic” prediction of what the long-term needs are for the area, museum director David Nathans said yesterday.
