Nantucket Official Guide | Page 27

©Courtesy of Nantucket Historical Association

a century and a half after its installation,
virulent erosion had decimated the
benevolent beacon’s non-threatening location
280 feet from bluff’s edge to an alarming
76 feet!
Clearly, steps needed to be taken to save
the familiar white colossus with its brilliant red
stripe from plummeting headlong into the
ocean. The ‘Sconset Trust, which had taken
ownership of the Lighthouse (listed on the
National Registry of Historic Places) from the
NHA, sprang to action. International
Chimney Corp., in tandem with Expert House
Movers of Maryland (the team had
successfully moved 5 other lighthouses) was
charged with the task.
First, the perimeter of the 500-ton structure
was excavated to expose its foundation walls.
A diamond-tipped hydraulic chainsaw cut
through nearly 4 feet of brick at its base to
prepare for insertion of steel-lifting beams to
form the support frame.
On September 18, 2007, Sankaty got its
initial “lift.” On September 26, the Lighthouse
was “unplugged” by National Grid for a total
of 1,420 hours and 27 minutes. The structure

was literally “pushed” to its new location by a
system of hydraulic pistons and lift jacks
connected to steel Hilman rollers, the skids of
which were assiduously greased with – of all
things – Ivory Soap to insure smooth running.
At 11:02 AM on Tuesday October 9, 2007,
Sankaty Head Lighthouse was safely
ensconced in its new location near the 5th
hole of the Sankaty Head Golf Course. In a
remarkable tour de force, it had been lifted
and moved 405 feet in a mere 11 days.
(“Keeping the Light” by Robert Felch and Rob
Benchley provides fascinating documentation
of this epic move, replete with photos both
current and historic.)
And so the story has a happy ending, for
now. Yet it is sobering to think that all of
Nantucket will continue to erode until it
disappears into the sea – a few hundred to
1,000 years hence – depending on the
prognosticator. The time-worn adage applies:
“You can’t fight Mother Nature.”

www.nantucketchamber.org • 25