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.

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.

The U.S. Coast Guard plans to eventually sell the scenic lighthouse in Woods Hole that dates to 1828 and is familiar to Islanders and sailors. Today the Coast Guard will take down a steel tower that sits nearby and is no longer in use.

For weeks the solemn sound of a foghorn has spread its message across the Vineyard. Day and night, under clear skies, in snowstorms and rain showers, the horn has been heard on the north shore in West Tisbury, across Vineyard Haven, in Oak Bluffs and in Edgartown.

The Nobska Light foghorn in Woods Hole has sounded four times every minute since before Christmas. It finally stopped yesterday, after being fixed.