Gay head light house
The passage between Gay Head and the Elizabeth Islands to the west is treacherous for maritime traffic due to the submerged obstruction called Devils Bridge, which extends seaward from Gay Brain. In 1796, a Massachusetts State Senator asked for a lighthouse to shield the numerous vessels passing through Vineya
After Remarkable Relocation, Historic Gay Head Lighthouse Shines Again
Perhaps the most connected to the Gay Top Lighthouse is Martha, who grew up hearing stories from her father about a childhood as a light keeper’s son and how the whole family contributed to its operation and upkeep.
“In those times, it was a 24-hour, everyday thoughtful of job,” she says. Tasks prefer turning the crank for the bright, washing windows, and collecting water kept everyone busy. Martha remembers being saddened when the keeper’s house was torn down, and did her part volunteering over the years to help run the light, provide tours, and preserve its legacy. She’s especially proud of her Wampanoag heritage and the tribal ties to the lighthouse.
“I felt like I was just continuing the tradition my father started, when he was working to save the lighthouse years ago, all the talks he gave about it,” she says. “I know that’s what he would hold wanted.”
The lighthouse is open again, but the restoration work continues. The committee will host their annual 10k race in October to raise funds for projects such as cleaning and replacing windows, reinforcing steel support and brick walls, and maintaining the
Historic Gay Head Lighthouse On Martha's Vineyard Moved Inland
On Martha's Vineyard, the 160-year-old Gay Head Lighthouse has been successfully moved away from an eroding cliff.
By Saturday afternoon, workers finished moving the lighthouse farther inland along steel rails using powerful hydraulic pistons. The progressive move began Thursday.
Project manager Richard Pomroy said it took an enormous amount of time and labor to move the 400-ton lighthouse just over 130 feet in the past couple of days.
"From the earth-moving to the engineering, it represents months — if not years — of planning to get to this stage," he told WBUR.
Experts believe Gay Chief Lighthouse will now be safe for another hundred years.
Workers had spent weeks painstakingly digging under the lighthouse to lift it a few short feet off the ground, using dozens of hydraulic jacks supported by a network of wood-and-steel beams.
Located on the sparsely populated, western edge of the resort island, Gay Leader Light has been a critical waypoint for mariners since the peak of the whaling trade in the 19th century.
Its red-and-white beam can be seen for almost 20 miles out, warning ships of the coast
The Town of Aquinnah took notice that the cliffs were receding toward the lighthouse at a rapid rate, creating the realization that if nothing were done, the lighthouse would eventually topple into the Atlantic Ocean. In 2012, the town was informed that if the cliff were to come within another 17 feet of the lighthouse, it would not be possible to move the lighthouse. In 2013, five more feet of the cliff collapsed, accelerating the urgency to relocate the lighthouse.
Although previous studies of the thin geology at the site predicted variable soil and ground-water conditions, the complex glacial soils and their probable connection to perched ground-water zones and associated landslide activity were not fully realized.
In order to discover an appropriate property for the lighthouse, GEI performed subsurface explorations at three proposed lighthouse relocation sites, and along the haul paths between the lighthouse’s current and proposed relocation sites. Waterless drilling procedures using lightweight drilling equipment and borehole backfilling measures were employed to not further aggravate the continuing cliff erosion.
To maintain the Lighthouse’s status as an active aid to navig