Built in 1828, the Edgartown Lighthouse has long guided mariners through the shoals and swift currents of the outer Edgartown harbor.

Today more than 1,000 cobblestones engraved with the names of children who have died surround the lighthouse floor. — Ray Ewing

But every September since 2001, the lighthouse has also been a beacon for grieving families who gather for the Edgartown Lighthouse Children’s Memorial, a ceremony of remembrance hosted by the Martha’s Vineyard Museum. More than 1,000 granite cobblestones engraved with the names of children who have died surround the lighthouse floor.

On Saturday afternoon, a sparkling summer-like day, children held the hands of their parents while gently placing seashells and feathers collected all summer around the names of their siblings. Parents brought flowers from home gardens, and some placed miniature pumpkins on the cobblestones with their children, small symbols of the upcoming autumn season.

The museum handed out paint brushes and sharpies to families who would brush the sand off their children’s names and trace the engraving with a black-ink marker.

Island keyboardist Jeremy Berlin played soft jazz renditions of songs such as Blackbird by the Beatles and Some Day My Prince Will Come from the children’s movie Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs.

Rick Harrington, who started the memorial a few years after his son died in an automobile accident, spoke at the event.

Rick Harrington, who founded the memorial in 2001, spoke to those gathered. — Ray Ewing

“I’d like to thank everyone for coming today,” he said. “I know this is difficult but we’re here celebrating our children’s lives.”

Today 1,090 names circle the lighthouse. Heather Seger, executive director of the museum, said the names of 26 children were added this year.

“I hope that all of you who are new are feeling the embrace of people who deeply know what you’re going through,” Ms. Seger said in remarks. “I want to thank all of you who come back year after year, for making this a part of your family’s traditions and wrapping your arms around people who never wanted to be part of this, but find themselves here today.”

Ms. Seger then read a poem written by Ingrid Goff-Maidoff, which she felt captured the spirit of the memorial:“The tide has gone out farther than the eye can see, pulling with it every ship, the sun and every single wave,” she read aloud. “Where light breaks on distant waves, gulls glide above the incoming sea and the soul of our loved ones whisper. Fear not, carry on. I am with you, I am grateful, I am loved and I am free.”

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