WOODS HOLE, Mass. — As summer on the Cape comes to an end, construction is set to begin at Nobska Light to take care of some long-needed repairs to the lightkeeper’s cottage.
“We’ll start inside work this coming week,” said Catherine Bumpus, executive director of the nonprofit Friends of Nobska Light on Friday, as she helped move the contents of the cottage into storage.
"People will begin to see work going on outside in about three weeks," Bumpus said. "When it is done, the house will look like it always has looked but in better condition, and it won't be leaking."
Getting the house weather tight before winter sets in is a top priority. This phase of work will include installing a new roof secured with hurricane clips, replacing the cedar shingle siding and changing out the windows and window trim.
"It's in dire need of repair," Kathleen Walrath, president of the Friends' Board of Directors, said of the cottage. "Each year, we lose shingles. Last year, we had some water damage inside."
All window openings will be maintained to preserve the current expansive views from inside the cottage, Walrath said.
Any interior work included in this phase, such as the replacement of support columns, will be focused on making the building structurally sound.
Ultimately, the cottage will house a maritime museum for the public to enjoy.
"It will focus on the maritime history of the community," Bumpus said. "We have a museum committee working on the stories we'll be telling."
The second phase of work on the keeper's cottage will start when the "Beacon of Light" fundraising campaign to restore the property reaches $2.5 million. Currently the group has raised a little over $1.5 million.
That later phase will include interior improvements and site work to allow public access.
"We have a beautiful walkway planned," Walrath said.
The Friends of Nobska Light were given stewardship of the lighthouse in 2016 after the Coast Guard, its former overseer, licensed it to the town. Restoration work began in the fall of 2017 with the refurbishment of the cast iron lighthouse.
The 40-foot-tall light tower, standing on a rocky promontory at the entrance to Woods Hole Harbor, was placed there in 1876. It replaced a light station built in 1828.
The tower was originally a dark red-brown, but after stripping away six previous layers of paint, it was repainted a sparkling white, the color it had been for the previous 100 years.
The 1 1/2 -story lightkeeper's house was built in 1876, and an assistant lightkeeper's house was added in 1900. The two structures were joined sometime before 1950.
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In a statement written for last week’s groundbreaking on restoration of the keeper’s cottage, Friends of Nobska Light called the property “a leading tourist attraction and a visible symbol of our community.”
"(The museum) will chronicle contributions of the U.S. Coast Guard to the community, educate the public, and bring the history to life through the eyes of the dedicated keepers and families that served Nobska so well," the statement read.
The museum will also celebrate Falmouth’s “significant role in regional maritime commerce, tourism, recreational sailing and boating.”
