AQUINNAH – After nearly three years of planning, meeting, testing and consulting, crews have broken ground and have started the process of moving the Gay Head Lighthouse from its location atop the scenic red clay cliffs of Aquinnah on Martha’s Vineyard.
Two weeks ago crew members removed site vegetation, stripped the top soil and excavated a trench 150 feet long to move the lighthouse from its location to the new site 135 feet away.
At the new site, concrete two feet thick has been poured and is waiting to be dried.
The 32-by-32-foot pad will be the new landing spot for the lighthouse.
Gay Head Lighthouse Relocation Committee Chairman Len Butler says he can’t wait to get started on moving the lighthouse.
“Finally everything is a go and this is actually becoming a reality. I almost have to pinch myself every day I’m up there. It’s very exciting times,” said Butler.
Crews will spend the next three weeks getting the framework in place for the move.
Once everything is ready, the lighthouse will be moved 25 to 30 feet per day, which is expected to take up to six days for the lighthouse to make it to its new location.
The current lighthouse was built in 1856. There has been a lighthouse on the cliffs since 1799.
Butler says he’s enjoying his time working on the lighthouse.
“We’re seeing things that we’ve never seen before, making discoveries everyday about how the lighthouse was built and just admiring the craftsmanship that was involved in the 1850s when this thing was originally constructed,” said Butler.
The overall cost of the move is over $3 million, which has come from private, public and community preservation fund donations, Butler said.
On Wednesday night, the town of Aquinnah appropriated $100,000 to go towards the costs of the move.
Butler says that once the lighthouse is moved to its new location, they plan on restoring it to its 1856 condition.
