Boston Light would be the oldest lighthouse in the country if it wasn’t for George Washington. Sure, it was the 70th lighthouse built in the entire world – the first in the colonial New World – but Boston Light was first constructed in 1716 and then rebuilt in 1783. Why? Because George Washington intentionally destroyed it.

Little Brewster Island, the small protuberance of rock and earth towards the edge of the harbor upon which Boston Light sits, was captured by the British during the outset of the American Revolution and as a measure of defense, destroyed during a stealth mission by Washington’s troops. When Washington subsequently liberated Boston Harbor from the yoke of Great Britain, the latter detonated a time charge that razed Boston Light to the ground out of spite while retreating.

These are just some of the tasty morsels an intrepid coalition of visitors to Boston Light enjoyed after embarking for the island aboard a U.S. Coast Guard cutter, along with a batch of lighthouse keeper Sally Snowman’s homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Snowman greeted the crew of Boston Harbor Island patrons, preservationists, National Park Service Rangers and USCG donning full 18th century-period attire as part of a tour of Boston Light, which is currently closed to the public due to extensive renovations.

In 2016, Boston Light will celebrate its 300th birthday along with the 100th anniversary of the NPS and the 20th of the Boston Harbor Islands national park area.

To that end the USCG, along with the bevy of organizations that all have a hand in the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area, are dedicating a handsome sum of money and time to make the lighthouse, and accompanying boathouse and keeper’s quarters, ready to party.

Much of the funding for the restoration of Boston Light comes from last year’s sale of Graves Light, which was purchased by Dave and Lynn Waller in an auction for just shy of $1 million.

As is usually the case when trying to rejuvenate a structure of yore, preliminary reconstruction efforts led to the discovery of deeper and even more invasive work needed to be done. And then, of course, there’s the difficulty of trying to recuperate a structure some 10 miles out to sea.

But despite any minor setbacks that construction crews and participatory organizations have encountered, the entire project is on schedule for completion prior to Boston Light’s tricentennial. Slate and cedar roof shingles have been repaired, crumbling masonry has been repointed, deteriorating windows and woodwork has been replaced and nearly everything will be receiving a fresh coat of paint.

“Congratulations to the Coast Guard, they’ve been tremendous stewards of this island,” remarked Giles Parker, superintendent of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. “I mean, they’ve been a tremendous partner of ours since 1996, really also going a little bit out of their wheelhouse in helping us to foster an understanding of this island and of the resources here as well.”

Parker went on to note that, naturally, the big focus of visitors to Little Brewster is the lighthouse itself. Just some 15 people are permitted up at a single time, leaving the lion’s share of a tourist expedition waiting on the ground.

With that fully in mind, the hope is to transform the rickety, old boathouse – the floor of which is so broken and battered that just ten people can walk upon it at once – into a museum-like display of antiquated, seafaring artifacts and photos that double as a portal into Boston Light’s longstanding history.

The NPS is charged with transforming the boathouse into an engaging and informative welcome center, which is poised to include interactive exhibits and showcases that’ll not only tell the story of the lighthouse, but to further educate those who make the trek about an aspect of Boston history not often recited in classrooms or lecture halls.

Parker posed further, “How do we take the boathouse experience for that 15 to 30 people and bolster that?… Exhibit panels on the walls to give you a broader story [for] not just even this lighthouse but how this lighthouse fits in with the story of the Coast Guard and aids to navigation; maybe a few museum objects as well. How do you spread a little of that story out and be able to see some of those things as well?”

For Sally Snowman, the 70th keeper of Boston Light, and the first woman to hold that title in a continuous line dating back to 1716, the massive improvement project is bittersweet. A self-proclaimed lone wolf, Snowman spends an estimated 50 percent of her life in the shadow of Boston Light and would prefer to do it alone when possible.

“I’m an introvert; I’m a hermit. So all the contractors here, sleeping overnight here, I’m like ‘get off the island,'” she told me humorously.

That’s not to say Snowman isn’t appreciative of what’s taking place within her isolated dominion. On the contrary, in fact. As much as she enjoys the solitude with nothing but the company of a few maritime birds and the soothing sounds of the ocean, she, perhaps more than anyone, understands and respects the island’s necessary enhancements.

But none of the potential appealing attractions of the boathouse, none of the expansive upgrades to the lighthouse and keeper’s quarters, and none of the mass marketing efforts mean anything without you, Boston.

As Boston Harbor Islands Alliance Vice President of Development & External Affairs, Mike Dyer made abundantly clear, “We need your help in a couple facets… Helping to make people aware that this resource is out here, that they can come out and learn about Boston Light, one of the, if not the most, iconic structures in the outer harbor and a key part of our Boston history.”

Those other facets being fundraising. Dyer continued on, saying that there’s a significant gap between garnering the necessary bankroll of the monumental renovations and that of the boathouse. So that’s where you come in.

The Boston Harbor Islands in general are one of the city’s most meaningful and untapped natural resources. An abundance of landmasses sitting readily in Boston’s front yard, the Islands and Boston Light are integral to our collective heritage and that of the entire country’s.

So if y0u haven’t already, take a short ferry ride out into the midst harbor and explore where George Washington laid siege upon early American infrastructure, where John Winthrop laid anchor and preached the sheer importance of the longevity of the City of Boston, and where people from across the world perpetually descend upon to immerse themselves in colonial American history.

See you out there, Boston.