The Tarpaulin Cove Lighthouse is up for transfer, and the U.S. Coast Guard hopes to permanently sign care of the lighthouse to a government agency or nonprofit that will preserve the Naushon island landmark for generations to come.
After nearly two centuries of government management, the U.S. Coast Guard announced last week that it will be letting go of the Nobska Lighthouse in Woods Hole.
We learn from Samuel Flanders, Esq., that a light house is to be erected at Gay Head the coming fall. It is to be located about five or six rods back of the present one. The light, at an altitude of 60 feet, will be seen by mariners over Noman’s Land, which will be of great service. A new dwelling house is also to be erected. An appropriation of $13,000 was made at the last session of Congress to cover the expense of constructing these buildings.
Keepers of the Light will premiere on WGBH 2 on Thursday, Nov. 15 at 9 p.m. and again on Nov. 17, 18 and 21. It will also appear on WGBX on Nov. 16, 17 and 18.
Lighthouses define the character of Martha’s Vineyard. They guide people from land and sea to the same shorelines, sheltering them under beacons of home.
Today, the Island’s lighthouses are deteriorating. Bricks are crumbling in the breeze, and iron is flaking away in the salt air. Before long, these landmarks could be reduced to brittle, rotting shells.
Almost a year to the day after the Gay Head Light resumed its watch over Vineyard Sound and the waters south of Aquinnah, memories of its historic move are still fresh on the Island.
Nobska Light in Falmouth, a familiar landmark on the ferry route between Woods Hole and the Vineyard, is being transferred to the town of Falmouth and the care of a new nonprofit group, Friends of Nobska Light.
