United States Life Saving Station

In 1885, the only United States Life Saving Station on the Florida East Coast was built at this site. Charles R. Carlin, a former British sailor and Assistant Keeper at the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse, oversaw construction and served as the Station’s Keeper. The two-story facility housed men and rescue equipment, including a 27-foot self-bailing surf boat, a Lyle Gun, and a Breeches Buoy apparatus used to transfer people and cargo from ships in distress. The Station, highly regarded for its efficiency in sea rescues, was manned September through April by six uniformed Surfmen, who were quartered on the second floor. During the summer only the Keeper was on duty. The Surfmen drilled, stood watch in the tower, patrolled the beach, maintained equipment, and trained as medics. The Keeper’s detailed logs recorded rescues, weather details, patrol duties, and daily activities at the Station. With the completion of Henry Flagler’s Florida East Coast Railroad and the decline in sailing ships, the paid crew was replaced with local volunteers. Carlin remained caretaker until his death in 1912. At the advent of World War I, the Life Saving Service merged with the Revenue Cutter Service to create the United States Coast Guard.