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Cape Cod's Highland Light slides to safety
Local officials said more people have shown up to view Massachusett's Highland Light in the past few weeks than in the past 20 years. The reason is simple. People want to see how a 450 ton lighthouse can be moved.
It is safe to presume that Highland Light can also be moved from the Doomsday List of endangered lighthouses.
When the lighthouse was first built here in 1797 it stood 510 feet from the edge of the cliff. However big chunks of the cliff dropped away during a blizzard in 1978 and again in a major storm in 1987. It was then that the Truro Historical Society started negotiations with the Coast Guard and the National Seashore to have the light moved. After years of hard work, fund raisers, the selling of souvenirs, their dream will come true.
International Chimney Co. of Buffalo New York and Expert House Movers of Maryland who had the experience of moving Block Island's Southeast Light also moved Highland Light.
The lighthouse is expected to open for public tours sometime next year. Look for more photos in next month's issue of Lighthouse Digest.
This story appeared in the August 1996 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
All contents copyright © 1995 - 2004 by Lighthouse Digest®, Inc. No story, photograph, or any other item on this website may be reprinted or reproduced without the express permission of Lighthouse Digest. For contact information, click here.
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