Beaming with delight: Falmouth, Friends of Nobska Light want to be beacon's final keeper

A nonprofit group wants to continue to keep watch over an iconic, centuries-old lighthouse in Woods Hole.

The federal government is making Nobska Point Light available − for free − to either local nonprofits or to government entities. The town and the Friends of Nobska Light, an organization dedicated to restoring the lighthouse, have each submitted a letter of interest.

Kathleen Walrath, president of the Friends of Nobska Light, called the move expected and welcomed.

"All the work we've been doing aligns with this next step in Nobska's history," said Walrath.

The lighthouse is on a rocky point jutting over the entrance to Woods Hole Harbor and the junction of Vineyard and Nantucket sounds with Buzzards Bay, according to the National Register of Historic Places website.

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For 111 years from 1828 to 1939, the U.S. Lighthouse Service operated the lighthouse. In 1939, the service merged with the U.S. Coast Guard, which then took over operations, according to the Coast Guard’s website.

In 2016, the Coast Guard awarded stewardship of the property to Falmouth. The Select Board then approved a license agreement and memorandum of understanding with the Friends of Nobska Light to pass responsibility for upkeep, programming and fundraising to the nonprofit.

Federal government offers lighthouses for free

Since Congress approved the 2000 National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act, 150 lighthouses have been given to new owners in a program run by the U.S. General Services Administration. That includes 81 lights to local governments and nonprofits through no-cost transfers and about 70 sold via public auction, raising over $10 million.

This year, the record number of lighthouses offered for nonprofits and government entities features the Nobska Point Light and at least five others, including Plymouth/Gurnet Lighthouse, Warwick Neck Light in Rhode Island, and Lynde Point Lighthouse in Old Saybrook, Connecticut.

The U.S. General Services Administration issued a notice of availability for Nobska Point Light on its website on May 15. Letters of interest must be submitted 60 days after the notice has been published.

The General Services Administration and National Park Service would schedule a site visit as the next step. At that point, Walrath said the Friends of Nobska Light and the town will get together and decide how to submit the strongest application.

The National Park Service will examine the applications, before making recommendations to the General Service Administration.

The entire process could take several years, she said.

Entities applying to own a lighthouse must be able to financially maintain the station and make it available for education, recreation, cultural, or historic preservation "for the public at reasonable times and under reasonable conditions," according to the news release.

If a nonprofit or government entity is not approved as the new owner, the lighthouse may be auctioned to the public. The Lighthouse Preservation Act ensures lighthouses stay "accessible to the public unless the National Park Service cannot find a nonprofit or municipality that will take it on," said Walrath.

"That's the only time it would go to auction," said Walrath.

Additionally, at least four will be sold to the public through auctions, including Penfield Reef Lighthouse in Fairfield, Connecticut. Auction sales have brought in between $10,000 and $933,888.

Friends group plans to restore Nobska Point Light

To make sure the lighthouse remains a beacon in Falmouth, the Friends of Nobska Light have been hard at work to restore property, said Walrath. Once restoration is complete, the lighthouse will operate as a maritime museum.

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In 2019, the group started to preserve the tower head, removing any rust and damage that had settled over the years. It's now received full rehabilitation and is well-preserved, requiring maintenance every five years.

"We'd lose parts of it if we didn't act," said Walrath.

Work to preserve the exterior of the house was completed in 2020, and the group is now "just finishing up the final pieces" of preserving the interior. Making the site complaint with the Americans with Disabilities Act has also been a priority, including an accessible pathway leading to the tower and keeper's house.

Once the occupancy permit is received, Walrath estimates that the tower and keeper's house will be open to the public sometime this summer.

History of the Nobska Point Light property

The original lighthouse was built in 1828, with Nobska Light established the following year. That lighthouse was later replaced with the current structure and lightkeeper’s house built in 1876, according to the Coast Guard’s website.

The 40-foot cast-iron tower was built in Chelsea and taken to Woods Hole in four sections. It consists of four "rings" of iron panels and is capped with a standard cast iron lantern, according to its property description.

The tower was originally fitted with a fifth order Fresnel lens, an invention that gathers light to concentrate and steer the beam in one direction. Later, in 1888, a larger fourth order Fresnel lens replaced it. That lens still tops the tower and the Coast Guard will retain it.

Joseph Hindley, the last civilian lightkeeper, retired in 1972. He was then replaced by active duty Coast Guard enlisted personnel.

The light later was fully automated in 1985. Two years later, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The four-acre property also includes the original keeper's quarters, the brick oil house, and paint lockers, which were all built in 1876. A second keeper's quarters, which connects to the original, was added in 1900. A garage was built in 1931 and the radio building beacon was built in 1937.

The keeper's quarters are Cape style wood frame buildings with gabled roofs.

Zane Razzaq writes about housing and real estate. Reach her at zrazzaq@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @zanerazz.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Falmouth, Friends group want Nobska Point Light to shine for them