Indian River Life-Saving Station

The Indian River Life-Saving Station was established at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware in 1876 to rescue mariners shipwrecked along the Delaware coast by the United States Life-Saving Service. The facility was designed in 1874 as a 1-1/2-story board-and-batten frame structure with decorative brackets supporting overhanging eaves in a version of the Queen Anne style. The structure sheltered a surfboat which could be quickly rolled out through double doors facing the beach and down a ramp to the water's edge. The main station house remains of what was once a complex that included a barn, stable, meat house, feed house and a privy. An auxiliary boathouse stood about a mile to the south. The original plans for the station survive.[2]

Indian River Life Saving Service Station
Nearest cityRehoboth Beach, Delaware
Coordinates38°38′1″N 75°4′3″W
Arealess than one acre
Built1875
NRHP reference No.76000582[1]
Added to NRHPSeptember 29, 1976

The facility was moved back from the water's edge in 1877 due to coastal erosion. In 1915, the United States Life-Saving Service merged with the Revenue Cutter Service to form what is known today as the United States Coast Guard. The station was converted to a Coast Guard Station and occupied until the Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962, which left it partially buried in sand. A new Coast Guard station was built nearby in 1964. The original station was restored by the Delaware Seashore Preservation Foundation, and is now operated as the Indian River Life-Saving Station Museum by Delaware State Parks as part of Delaware Seashore State Park.[2][3]

The Indian River Life Saving Service Station was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 29, 1976.[1]

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. Heite, Edward F. (1976). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: Indian River Life Saving Service Station". National Park Service. Retrieved 25 October 2011. and Accompanying photos
  3. "Indian River Life-Saving Station". Delaware Seashore State Park. Delaware State Parks.



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