The campaign to save Lake Sunapee’s Lighthouses
Project Overview: New Support Structures for Lake Sunapee’s Lighthouses
Entering the summer of 2024, two of Lake Sunapee’s iconic lighthouses were standing on rotting and tilting wood and stone cribs. After consultation and design with experienced marine engineers, LSPA has chosen to replace the cribs at Herrick Cove and Burkehaven with steel supports driven into the bed of the lake. (Loon Island lighthouse stands on a rock island and is stable.) The new, robust approach is a cost-effective and long lasting (60+ years) answer to the perpetual cycle of expensive crib replacement every 15-20 years. This solution is also preferred by NH Department of Environmental Services, as the lake’s waters can move without obstruction on the lake bottom.
Hansen Marine, a division of Hansen Bridge LLC, is the contractor for the new steel support structures. Hansen started construction at Herrick Cove in fall 2024, and will move to Burkehaven in spring 2025. Read more about the initiation of construction here.
LSPA is financing the new foundations through a campaign reaching out to all who love the lighthouses. Please become a Lighthouse Keeper by contributing to the Lighthouse Fund.
Read more about this project in our brochure.
Construction Updates
August 2025
In perfect, calm conditions on the lake, the Herrick Cove Lighthouse was moved onto its brand-new platform on Thursday, August 7th.
Work on the new long-lasting, cost-effective steel-and-cement platform began last fall and resumed in mid-June. Hansen Marine served as the primary contractor, with Geddes Building Mover as the subcontractor for the actual move. Two skilled crew members from each firm worked together today to make it happen.
Thanks to Geddes’ precise preparation, the lighthouse was stabilized on steel rails and so perfectly balanced that two people were able to push it across to its new home. The most difficult work came earlier—jacking up the lighthouse, installing the rails, and carefully aligning every element.
Next, the lighthouse will be securely anchored to the new platform, and the old wooden and rock crib will be dismantled. Burkehaven Lighthouse is scheduled to receive its new support base later this summer or fall. (Loon Island Lighthouse, perched on a natural rock island, does not require a new base.)
As the only nonprofit organization entrusted with the right to maintain Lake Sunapee’s lighthouses, LSPA is proud of the work that has been done to ensure that these iconic structures will be cared for long into the future.
June 2025
Work has resumed on the Herrick Cove lighthouse!
The rotting cribs of the Herrick Cove and Burkehaven Lighthouses are being replaced this summer thanks to a generous outpouring of support that has raised over $1.5 million for the repair and long-term maintenance of these iconic structures.
The three lighthouses on Lake Sunapee are owned by the state but are maintained by LSPA. Thank you to all who have contributed to ensure that these historic structures will be maintained long into the future!
December 2024
With the arrival of winter, construction on Lake Sunapee’s Herrick Cove Lighthouse has been placed on a pause. The barges were removed in early December before ice began to form near the Georges Mills Boat Ramp. The contractor working on the project, Hansen Marine, a division of Hansen Bridge LLC, made great progress constructing a portion of the lighthouse’s new support structure this fall.
Construction will resume at the Herrick Cove Lighthouse in the spring and then the crew will begin work at Burkehaven Lighthouse.
Thank you to our generous donors who have already contributed to the campaign to help save Lake Sunapee’s Lighthouses. Sufficient funds have been raised to complete the building of the new support structures for both Herrick Cove and Burkehaven lighthouses. Additional donations made to the Lighthouse Fund will support the long-term maintenance of all three of the lighthouses on Lake Sunapee, ensuring that these Lake Sunapee icons are cared for now and into the future.