East Chop Light - Lighthouse License Transfer

Lighthouse License Transfer

In 1994, VERI transferred their three lighthouse licenses to the Martha's Vineyard Historical Society (MVHS), which is now known as the Martha's Vineyard Museum. At the time of the 1994 transfer, William Waterway Marks was also a member of MVHS's board, and was installed as the first Chairman of the newly formed MVHS Lighthouse Committee, where he served for four years from 1994 to 1997. MV Museum board member, Craig Dripps, followed Marks as the MV Museum's Lighthouse Committee Chair, with Marks remaining as a member of the committee for several years as an advisor. The Martha's Vineyard Museum has been caretaking the three lighthouse since 1994, although the United States Coast Guard continues to own the structures. In 2003, the MV Museum paid $25,000 for a professional assessment of all three lighthouses by Gary Gredell, who had previously worked on the restoration of forty-six lighthouses on the east coast. When funds from the Community Preservation Act were made available for lighthouse restoration, the MV Museum hired Campbell Construction Group of Beverly, MA., to overhaul the lights at East Chop and Edgartown. During the summer of 2007, the East Chop Lighthouse was refurbished inside and out, with new electrical wiring, new windows (except for the ground floor), and a refurbished exterior.