| Indian River Life Saving Service Station | |
| Nearest City: | Rehoboth Beach, Delaware |
| Coordinates: | 38.6336°N -75.0675°W |
| Built: | 1875 |
| Added: | September 29, 1976 |
| Area: | less than one acre |
| Refnum: | 76000582 |
The Indian River Life-Saving Station was established at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware in 1876 to rescue mariners shipwrecked along the Delaware coast, as part of the United States Life-Saving Service. It was designed in 1874 as a -story board-and-batten frame structure with decorative brackets supporting overhanging eaves in a version of the Queen Anne style. It sheltered a surfboat which could be quickly rolled out through double doors facing the beach and down a ramp to the water. The main station house remains of what was once a complex that included a barn, stable, meat house, feed house and privy. An auxiliary boathouse stood about a mile to the south. The original plans for the station survive.[1]
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 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.[1] [2]
The Indian River Life Saving Service Station was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 29, 1976.