The Nobska Lighthouse Could Be Awarded To A Falmouth Nonprofit

FALMOUTH, MA — The Nobska Lighthouse is a symbol of Cape Cod, but ownership of the historic structure hasn't been local. That could soon be changing.

The U.S. General Services Administration has offered the N0bska Lighthouse in Falmouth to government entities and nonprofits, and it's becoming increasingly likely that the Friends of the Nobska Light may finally come to own the piece of Cape Cod history.

On Tuesday, Friends of the Nobska Light announced that they would apply for the lighthouse with the support of Falmouth officials and the Coast Guard.

Friends of the Nobska Light is an organization dedicated to the upkeep of the lighthouse and has organized fundraisers and capital campaigns to help keep the structure preserved.

According to the Cape Cod Times, the Town of Falmouth has also submitted a letter of interest.

The National Parks Service places the light on a rocky point overlooking the start of Woods Hole Harbor and the junction of Vineyard and Nantucket Sounds with Buzzards Bay.

The light station was built in 1928 as a "typical Cape Cod-style dwelling with an octagonal tower and lantern room rising from the roof."

It had civilian keepers at the light until November 1972, even though the U.S. Coast Guard took over duties of the Lighthouse Service in 1939. It was automated and unmanned by 1985, the NPS said.

Nobska is one of six lighthouses to be offered through a Notice of Availability in 2023, all of which are in New England.

They include:

• Lynde Point Lighthouse, Old Saybrook, Connecticut
• Nobska Lighthouse, Falmouth (Woods Hole), Massachusetts
• Plymouth/Gurnet Lighthouse, Plymouth, Massachusetts
• Warwick Neck Light, Warwick, Rhode Island
• Little Mark Island and Monument, Harpswell, Maine
• Erie Harbor North Pier Lighthouse, Erie, Pennsylvania