For more than 150 years, Gay Head Light has stood high atop the cliffs of Martha’s Vineyard, its guiding light sweeping out to sea. But time has steadily chipped away the clay bluffs, threatening to send the iconic landmark to a watery demise.
Now, residents are racing against the clock to save the historic lighthouse, seeking to move the 400-ton structure to safer ground.
On Tuesday, selectmen in the town of Aquinnah approved a new location 150 feet away, a meadow that would allow the lighthouse to retain its current height. A group working to preserve the 1856 lighthouse has raised more than half of the $3 million needed, bolstered by contributions from the island’s six towns.
“It’s a shared heritage for all of us,” said Len Butler of the Save the Gay Head Lighthouse committee.
The money will also finance an extensive renovation of the lighthouse.
What could become an annual road race at the western tip of Martha’s Vineyard, the Gay Head 10K, will start at 10 am on Sunday, October 6 at the Aquinnah Circle. Organizers of the race, which will benefit the Save the Gay Head Lighthouse project, predict several hundred runners competing in several age categories.
Registration is limited to 500 runners for this first race, said race committee member Martha Vanderhoop. “It’s a real community event, but we hope people from all over the region will want to race this beautiful and challenging course,” she told the AGHCA. The course, which will start at the crosswalk near the shops at the Aquinnah Circle, will proceed down State Road, turn onto Moshup Trail, follow along the coastline, back around the Circle past the lighthouse, and end at the entrance to the town beach parking lot.
Organizers say they need volunteers to help before, during and after the race. Information about volunteering, the race itself, and registration can be found at the Save the Gay Head Lighthouse website, gayheadlight.org.
The iconic Gay Head Lighthouse is in danger of toppling over the famous cliffs into the sea, due to erosion. Members of the AGHCA have joined other Aquinnah groups to raise money to fund relocation of the lighthouse to a safe area. To read more, please click here to visit http://gayheadlight.org.
AQUINNAH/GAY HEAD COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION (AGHCA) will host a “wine and cheese” gathering at the Vanderhoop Homestead on Aquinnah Circle at the Gay Head Cliffs on Monday, August 15 (rain date August 16), starting at 5 p.m. The evening will feature a talk by Mark London, the Executive Director of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission” about the issue of wind power and how it will affect Aquinnah and the Vineyard generally. Advocates both pro and con will be invited and questions will be taken. The Reception is free but contributions to defray expenses will be cheerfully accepted. (If convenient, please bring some ‘finger food” too.) Ample free parking will be available at the adjacent Town parking lot. For planning purposes, a RSVP on 508-645-9630 would be helpful.
The MV Times incorrectly reported that the Town Special was Today @ 7:00 pm. It is not! Next Tuesday at the Old Town Hall. The meeting is to vote on 3 warrant articles, the most important of which is to fund the remaining 25K to Tri-Town ambulance for their 2011 – 12 budget.
Please come – the meeting should not take more than 20 minutes if we start on time with a quorum present.