THE PRESERVATION OF PRE-WORLD WAR TWO COAST GUARD ARCHITECTURE IN OREGON by DAY ID A. PINYERD A THESIS Presented to the Interdisciplinary Studies Program: Historic Preservation and the Graduate School of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science June 2000 11 "The Preservation of Pre-World War Two Coast Guard Architecture in Oregon," a thesis prepared by David A. Pinyerd in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in the Interdisciplinary Studies Program: Historic Preservation . This thesis has been approved and accepted by: Donald Peting, Chair of the Exam ning Committee Committee in charge: Donald Peting, Chair Henry Kunowski Ralph Shanks Accepted by: lll An Abstract of the Thesis of David A. Pinyerd for the degree of Master of Science in the Interdisciplinary Studies Program: Historic Preservation to be taken June 2000 Title: THE PRESERVATIO OF PRE-WORLD WAR TWO COAST GUARD ARCHITECTURE IN OREGON Approve _ _ _ ~hair The core mission of the United States Life-Saving Service, later to become the United States Coast Guard, has always been to rescue the victims of shipwreck. To serve this mission, coastal rescue stations were built by the government to house men and equipment engaged in rescue operations. The first station in Oregon was built at Cape Arago in 1878. By the beginning of World War II, the government had built fifteen distinct stations at eight different ports along the Oregon Coast. The evaluation and preservation of these stations along the Oregon Coast has been negligible. This thesis explores the development of each individual station in Oregon. The preservation of each station is then examined by discussing restoration, maintenance, adaptive reuse, and interpretative possibilities for each one. lV CURRICULUM VITA NAME OF AUTHOR: David A. Pinyerd GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED: University of Oregon Oregon State University DEGREES AWA RD ED: Master of Science in Historic Preservation, 2000, University of Oregon Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, 1985, Oregon State University AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST: Historic Preservation Education Historic Building Condition Assessment PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Historic Preservation Consultant, Eugene, Oregon, 1994-2000 Preservation Service Project Leader, Midway Atoll, 1998-99 Coordinator, Your Town Conference, Silver Falls State Park, Oregon, 1997 Preservation Field School Coordinator, Port Orford, Oregon, 1995-96 Graduate Teaching Fellow, Historic Preservation Program, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, 1995-96 Assistant Coordinator, Your Town Conference, Charleston, Oregon, 1995 Preservation Field School Coordinator, Princeton, Oregon, 1994-95 V Graduate Teaching Fellow, Historic Preservation Program, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, 1994-95 Intern, National Park Service, Anchorage, Alaska, 1994 A WARDS AND HONORS: Walton Award, 2000 PUBLICATIONS: Pinyerd, David. "Education at the Pete French Round Barn." CRM 19, no. 4 (1996): 35-37. Pinyerd, David. "Preservation Education at the Cape Blanco Lighthouse." CRM 20, no. 8 (1997): 26-28 . Pinyerd, David. "Preservation Education on Midway Atoll." CRM 22, no. 9 (1999): 9-11. Pinyerd, David. "Preservation of the Pete French Round Barn." CRM 18, no. 5 ( 1995): 30-32. VI ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express sincere gratitude to my committee chair, Donald Peting, for his continued guidance and dedication throughout this project. I would also like to thank committee members Ralph Shanks and Henry Kunowski for their valuable suggestions, encouragement, and support. Many people proved essential in gathering information concerning the stations. I am particularly grateful to Wick York, Kimberly Mann, Robert Browning, Scott Price, Colin MacKenzie, Steve Wyatt, Gene Davis, David Pearson, Ray McAlester, Judy Knox, David Miller, John Ferrell, Gary Newkirk, and Lynda Shapiro. A collective thank you goes to all of the Coast Guard personnel whose patience with my multitude of questions was immense. Special thanks goes to Leslie Heald, Bernadette Niederer, Sally Wright, and Marianne Hurley for their indispensable research assistance and editing during the creation of this thesis. Vll DEDICATION To my Mom and Dad for their ever present love and support. Vlll TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION . . . ... ............................. ............ 1 II. HISTORY ... ...... ... .... . . .... . ... ........................... 10 United States Revenue Cutter Service .......................... . . 10 United States Life-Saving Service ..... ... . .. . .... .. ... .... .... . . 12 United States Coast Guard ........................ ........... .. 48 III. ARCHITECTURE .............................................. 57 IV. COOS BAY STATIONS .. ...... . ........ .... .. .. .. .............. 80 Cape Arago Life-Saving Station ....... . .............. .... . . . .... 82 Cape Arago Life-Saving Station at North Spit ............. .. ....... 91 Coos Bay Lifeboat Station ... ... . ...... .. ... . . .............. ... 99 Preservation ... ........ .............. . .. .. ................. 114 V. POINT ADAMS STATIONS . . . ....... ... .. . ... .. ................ 119 Point Adams Life-Saving Station .... ... .. . ..................... 124 Point Adams Lifeboat Station .......... .. ...................... 133 Preservation . .............. ......... ............. .......... 139 VI. COQUILLE RIVER STATIONS ...... ............ . ............... 145 Coquille River Life-Saving Station .. . .. ......... ............... 147 Coquille River Lifeboat Station . . ......... .. ........ .. ......... 154 Preservation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 VII. UMPQUA RIVER STATIONS .... ... ... ... ............ .. ........ 167 Umpqua River Life-Saving Station ...... . .... . ................. 170 Umpqua River Lifeboat Station .... .............. . ............. 176 Preservation .... . .. ... ................... .. .............. . . 185 lX Page VIII. YAQUINABAY STATIONS ... . ................. . . . ..... . ...... 190 Y aquina Bay Life-Saving Station at South Beach .................. 190 Yaquina Bay Life-Saving Station at Yaquina Bay Lighthouse . ....... 198 Y aquina Bay Lifeboat Station . ............. . .. . .. . ............ . 206 Preservation ........... . . ... ... .. .. . . . .............. .. . . . . . 217 IX. TILLAMOOK BAY STATIONS .. . ........ .. ............ . ........ 221 Tillamook Life-Saving Station . . ..... . ...... .. . . . . .. .. ..... . .. . 223 Tillamook Lifeboat Station ... . ... ... . ..... .. .......... . ... . ... 237 Preservation ..... . ... .. . ..... . .. .. ..... .. . .. .. ... .. . ....... 245 X. SIUSLAW RIVER ST A TION ..... .............. . . . . . . .... . . .. ... 249 Siuslaw River Lifeboat Station . . ............. . .. .. ... . ......... 253 Preservation .. ... ............. .... . .. . . . .. . .. .... . ......... 268 XI. PORT ORFORD STATION ..... .. . ... . .. . .. . .. ..... ... .. . ....... 269 Port Orford Lifeboat Station ... . . . .. .................. . .... . ... 273 Preservation ... .. . .... . . ......... ... ... . .. .. . . . . . .. . ... . .. . 283 XII. CONCLUSION .. . ... .......... . .... ...... . .. .. . .... . ..... . .... 285 Maintenance ..... . . . .. . . ...... .. . .. . .......... . . . ........ . . 289 Restoration . . .. ......... . . . .. .. . .. . .. .. . ...... . .... . ....... 292 Rehabilitation ..... . . .. ....... . .......... ......... . .. . . . .... 295 Reconstruction . . . ....... .. ... . . .. ... ... . . ..... ... ...... . . .. 299 Moving .. . . ....... .......... . .. .................. . ........ 301 Recycling ..... . . ...... ... . ......... . ... .. .... . ............ 305 Interpretation .... ... .. . . ... . .... ...... . ... .. ..... . .... . ..... 307 Summary . ...... ..... .. .. .. .... . .. . .. . ........ . ............ 312 APPENDIX A. WRECK OF THE CZARINA, 12 JANUARY 1910 . . . ...... .. . ....... 315 B. WRECK OF THE ROSECRANS, 7 JANUARY 1913 ................. 322 • C. THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR'S STANDARDS FOR REHABILITATION .. .................... . .. . . . .. . . . .. . 330 X Page D. INSTRUCTIONS FOR COAST GUARD STATIONS 1916 .. ...... . ... 336 BIBLIOGRAPHY .. .. .... .. .. .. . . .. . . .. .......... .. ... ..... . . . ........ 341 XI LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Each Oregon Station by Date Activated with Year Constructed and Architectural Style. . .......... . ..................... . . . .. . 79 2. Treatment Strategy for the Historic Structures at Each Oregon Station ........ . ......... . .. . . ...... .............. . . 288 Xll LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Current Coast Guard Lifeboat Stations on the Oregon Coast with Location .... . ............... ..... ....................... 2 2. Pre-1950 Life-Saving Service and Coast Guard Stations on the Oregon Coast with Station Type and Year Construction Started ......... 4 3. Principal Buildings Still Standing at the Pre-1950 Life-Saving Service and Coast Guard Stations on the Oregon Coast ...... . ......... 5 4. Early Photograph of a Volunteer Crew of the Massachusetts Humane Society ..... ... ..... .. . .......... .... ... ... . ........ 13 5. Clarence W. Boice at Coquille River Life-Saving Station Eventually Rose to Keeper at Coos Bay Life-Saving Station ......... .. . ... ..... 19 6. Dobbins Lifeboat During Training at Coquille River Bar ..... ...... . . ... 21 7. Umpqua River Lifeboat Station with Station Buildings at the Bottom and "Little America" at the Top, 1945 ...... ..... .... .. . ... 26 8. Three Life-Savers Died in a Training Accident on the Coquille River Bar, 1892 ............. .... ...... . ... . ........ . . 26 9. Crewmen Hitched to the Beach Apparatus Cart, Circa 1905 ..... . .. . ..... 28 l 0. Crewmen Drilling with the Beach Apparatus, Yaquina Bay Life-Saving Station, Circa 1910 .. ....... ....... ............ .. . .. 28 11. Crewmen Drilling with the Beach Apparatus, Yaquina Bay Life-Saving Station, Circa 1910 ... ... .. ... ...................... 30 12. Lifecar Rigged from Ship to Shore .......................... ... ..... 30 13 . Tillamook Bay Life-Saving Station Crew with Surfboat, Circa 1910 ....... 32 14. Tillamook Bay Life-Saving Station Crew in Surfboat, Circa 1910 ...... ... 32 Xlll Page 15. Point Adams Life-Saving Station Crew During Capsize Drill, Circa 1910 .. . ................... . ............ . . . .. . . .. . ... . . 34 16. Keeper Walking Around Stem During Capsize Drill at Lewis and Clark Exposition, 1905 .... .... ....... . . . .... .... .... . .. .. . 34 17. Laboring with Dobbins Lifeboat at Klipsan Beach, Washington ... . ... .. . . 35 18. Dobbins Lifeboat Hurtling Down Launchway at Coquille River Life-Saving Station .............. . ....... . .................... 35 19. Dobbins Lifeboat at the Coos Bay Bar, 1910 ......... . ................ 36 20. New 36' Motor Lifeboat at Coquille River Lifeboat Station, Circa 1915 .... 38 21 . Motor Lifeboat Display at the Yaquina Bay Lifeboat Station, 1999 ........ 3 8 22 . Patrol Clock, Point Allerton, Massachusetts .......... . .......... ..... 40 23. Tug Assisting Schooner over Coquille River Bar, Circa 1910 ...... . ...... 41 24. The Marconi on 23 March 1909 .. . ..... ... . ...... .. . .... . ...... . ... 41 25. Life-Saving Station at the Lewis and Clark Exposition, 1905 .... ........ . 43 26. Capsize Drill in Front of Life-Saving Station at the Lewis and Clark Exposition, 1905 . . ...... . ... . ..... . . ... . . ............... 43 27. Yaquina Bay Life-Saving Station Crew with Lifeboat .... . . .. . .......... 46 28. Aboard Yaquina Bay's Motor Lifeboat Undaunted, Circa 1914 ... . . . ... . . 46 29. Amphibian at the Port Angeles Air Station . .. ... . ... .... . ....... .. ... 52 30. Beach Patrol, Lake Tachkenitch Near Reedsport, 1942-43 ... ..... .. ... . . 54 31. Major General Jackson Transferring from Helicopter to Ship in 1963 . ..... 56 32. Spermaceti Cove, New Jersey, Boathouse (1848) in 1926 .. . ....... . ... . . 59 XlV Page 33. Plum Island Life-Saving Station (Chandler, 1873-74), Massachusetts, an 187 4-Type Station .... ...... . ....... ...... .. .. . 60 34. Cape Arago Life-Saving Station (Chandler, 1878), a Modified 1875-Type Station .................................... 61 35. Deal Life-Saving Station (Pelz, 1882-83) in New Jersey ..... .. ....... .. . 64 36. Marquette-Type Dwelling and Fort Point-Type Boathouse at Umpqua River Life-Saving Station (Bibb, 1890) in 1923 . ............ 67 3 7. Marquette-Type Dwelling Plans .. . ................................. 68 38. Fort Point-Type Boathouse Plans ..... . ....... .. ................. . .. 70 39. Boathouse Interior, Umpqua River Life-Saving Station, Circa 1900 ........ 71 40. Avalon Life-Saving Station (Tolman, 1894) in New Jersey . .. .. ......... 72 41 . Tillamook Bay Life-Saving Station (Mendleheff, 1908) at Barview, Oregon, Circa 1913 . .... . ....... ............. .. ....... 73 42. Siuslaw River Lifeboat Station (Mendleheff, 1917) at Florence, Oregon .... 75 43. Port Orford Lifeboat Station (1934), Station House, in 1996 . .. .. . ... ..... 75 44. Point Adams Lifeboat Station (1939), Station House, in 1997 ... ....... .. 78 45. Location of Gregory Point, Oregon .. ...... . .... ....... . . ..... . ..... 81 46. Aerial Photo of the Cape Arago Station Area in 1939 .......... . ........ 83 47. Cape Arago Station, 1885 .. ....... . . ........... . . .... ..... ...... .. 84 48. Detail of Cape Arago Station, 1885 ................................. 86 49. Bridge to Lighthouse Island, 1999 ........ . .... .. ...... .. . ...... . ... 90 50. Bridge to Lighthouse Island, Circa 1910 . .. ........ . .. ..... .... .... .. 90 51. Location of Former Cape Arago Station, 1999 .. ..... . . .. . ... .. ... . .... 91 xv Page 52. Location of North Spit on Coos Bay, Oregon ................ ......... 93 53. Aerial Photo of the Cape Arago Station Area on North Spit in 1939 . . ...... 94 54. Coos Bay Life-Saving Station at North Spit, Circa 1910 ....... ... .. . .... 95 55. Cape Arago Life-Saving Station at North Spit, 1898 ...... .. .......... . . 97 56. Location of Charleston on Coos Bay, Oregon .. ..... .. . . .. ........... 101 57. Aerial Photo of the Coos Bay Station Area at Charleston in 1939 ......... 102 58. Coos Bay Lifeboat Station, Site Plan, 1915 .. . ...... .... .... ... . ..... 104 59. Coos Bay Lifeboat Station, Circa 1916 . ..... .. .... . ....... ... .. .. .. 105 60. Coos Bay Lifeboat Station, 1923 ... . .. . . .. .... .. ... ...... .. . . .. .. . 105 61. Coos Bay Lifeboat Station, Keeper's Dwelling, 1915 ...... ... .. ... . . .. 107 62. Coos Bay Lifeboat Station, Crew's Dwelling, 1915 .. ........ . ... .... . 108 63. Coos Bay Lifeboat Station, 1954 .... ... .. . . .. . .... ...... .. .... . ... 109 64. Coos Bay Lifeboat Station, Boathouse, 1923 .. ........... .. . .. ..... .. 110 65. Coos Bay Lifeboat Station, Boathouse Ramp, 1923 . ... ..... . .. ... . . .. 110 66. Coos Bay Lifeboat Station, Boathouse Plan, 1915 .... .. . ..... . .. . ..... 112 67. Coos Bay Lifeboat Station, Launchway Plan, 1915 ..... .. .. ... . ..... .. 113 68. Former Boathouse (1915), Coos Bay Lifeboat Station, 1999 . ... .. .. . . ... 116 69. Former Boathouse and Launchway (1915), Coos Bay Lifeboat Station, 1999 .. ....... . .. ..... . . ..... . . .... .......... 116 70. Former Crew's Dwelling (1915), Coos Bay Lifeboat Station, 1999 . . ..... 118 71. Former Keeper's Dwelling (1915), Coos Bay Lifeboat Station, 1999 ...... 118 XVI Page 72. Location of Hammond, Oregon .................................. . 120 73. Aerial Photo of the Point Adams Station Area in 1945 ... . ..... . ... . ... 126 74. Point Adams Life-Saving Station, Circa 1900 ............ . ... . .. . ... . 128 75. Point Adams Life-Saving Station, Circa 1910 . . .. .. .. . ............... 128 76. Fort Point-Type Station Plan .. .. .. .. . . ......................... . . 129 77. Point Adams Coast Guard Station, 1938 .. .......... .. .. .. . ... .... .. 131 78 . New Point Adams Coast Guard Station, 1939 ... .. ......... ... .. .. ... 134 79. First Floor Plan, Umpqua River Lifeboat Station, Drawn October 1938 . . .. 135 80. Second Floor Plan, Tillamook Bay Lifeboat Station, Revised Drawing May 1940 ........... . .... . .. ... . .. . .. . . ......... ... 136 81. Equipment Building (1939) at Point Adams Lifeboat Station, 1997 ....... 138 82. Decommissioned Point Adams Lifeboat Station Complex, 1997 ...... . . . 140 83. Station House (1939) at Point Adams Lifeboat Station, 1997 .. ... .. ..... 140 84. Boathouse (1889) from Point Adams Life-Saving Station, 1997 . .. . .. .... 142 85. Tug Towing in a Schooner Over the Coquille River Bar, Circa 1910 . .... . 145 86. Location of Bandon, Oregon ........ .. .. ...... ...... ...... ... .... 146 87. Aerial Photo of the Coquille River Station Area in 1939 ................ 149 88 . Coquille River Life-Saving Station Crew with Lifeboat, Circa 1912 ... .. . 150 89. Coquille River Life-Saving Station Staircase to Station House, Circa 1910 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 90. Coquille River Life-Saving Station, Circa 1900 ... . ..... ....... .. . . .. . 152 XVll Page 91. Coquille River Life-Saving Station Boathouse with Station House Directly Behind on Hill, 1916 . . .. . . ... ........ .. . ... . .. .. 152 92. Lookout at Coquille Point, Circa 1900 .... . ............ . .. . .... ... .. 153 93. Lookout and Abandoned Boathouse at Coquille Point, Circa 1910 . .. .. . . . 153 94. Coquille River Life-Saving Station Remodel Plan, 1933 . . . ..... . . . . . . . . 155 95. Remains of the Coquille River Life-Saving Station Boathouse After Bandon Fire, 1938 . .. .. . . . ..... . ..... .. ... . . . . . .. .. . ... . 156 96. Coquille River Lifeboat Station Under Construction, 1939 .. . .. . .. .. .... 158 97 . Coquille River Lifeboat Station, 1939 . . . . ...... ... . ... . ... . ..... . .. 158 98. Coquille River Lifeboat Station, First Floor Plan, 1938 .. . .. . .. . . .... . . . 159 99 . Coquille River Lifeboat Station, Second Floor Plan, 1938 . . ... ..... ... . 160 100. Coquille River Lifeboat Station, Attic Plan, 1938 .. . ..... .. ........ . .. 162 101. Aerial of Station with Current Coast Guard Lookout at Upper Right and "Little America" to Left, 1966 . . .. .. . . ... . . . ... . . .... .. 164 102. Former Coquille Lifeboat Station, 1999 . ...... . .. ... . . ....... . .. . ... 164 103. Location of Winchester Bay, Oregon ..... . ... . ......... . . .... ... . . . 169 104. Aerial Photo of the Umpqua River Life-Saving Station Area in 1939 . ..... 171 105 . Umpqua River Life-Saving Station, 1923 .. .. . .. ..... . . .. ........ .. . 172 106. Behind Umpqua River Life-Saving Station, 1923 .. .. . . ....... . ... . ... 173 107. Shop Building Behind Umpqua River Life-Saving Station, 1923 ..... .. .. 174 108. Lookout at Umpqua River Life-Saving Station, 1923 . ... . .... . . . ...... 175 109. Aerial Photo of the Umpqua River Lifeboat Station Area in 1945 .. . .. . . . 177 XVlll Page 110. UmpquaRiverLifeboatStation, 1939 . ................ .. .. . ........ 178 111 . First Floor Plan, Umpqua River Lifeboat Station, Drawn October 1938 .... .... ... ...... .. ....... . ......... ..... . .. . .. 179 112. Second Floor Plan, Tillamook Bay Lifeboat Station, Revised Drawing May 1940 .............. .... ... . ..... . .. .... . . .. . . . . 180 113 . Equipment Building at Umpqua River Lifeboat Station, 1991 ......... . . 181 114. Boathouse at Umpqua River Lifeboat Station, 1962 .... . ........ .. .... 182 115 . Umpqua River Lifeboat Station with Station Buildings at the Bottom and "Little America" at the Top, 1945 ...... . ......... .. .. 184 116. Station House at Umpqua River Lifeboat Station, 1991 . .. .. . . ... . ..... 186 117. Rear Elevation of the Station House at Umpqua River, 1991 . . ........ .. 186 118. Location ofNewport, Oregon ........... . .... ............. . ... ... . 191 119. Aerial Photo of the South Beach Station in 1939 ..... . ......... ....... 193 120. South Beach Station, 1906 ..... . .. . ....... ...... .. . . . .. . . ..... ... 194 121. South Beach Beach-Apparatus Drill, Circa 1905 . . . .... ...... ........ . 194 122. South Beach Station, 1904 .................. ..... .......... .... .. 196 123. South Beach Station, Circa 1905 .... .. .. .... ..... . ..... . . ... . . . ... 196 124. Yaquina Bay Station Boathouse After Move, 1923 .. ........ ....... ... 197 125 . Yaquina Bay Lighthouse ( 1871) Prior to Life-Saving Service Occupation ... ... ..... . . ....... ........... .. . .. ......... ... 199 126. Aerial Photo of the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse Station in 1939 .... ...... .. 201 127. Yaquina Bay Life-Saving Station, 1917 ....... ..... .. .. . .. .. .. . .. . . . 202 128. Williamson 's 1871 Plans for the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse ..... . .. .. .... 204 XIX Page 129. Aerial Photo of the Yaquina Bay Station in 1939 ........ .. ...... .... . 207 130. Yaquina Bay Boathouse, 1931 . ..... . ........ . ............ ........ 208 131. Governor Oswald West (in Derby) with Life-Saving Crew at New Boathouse Location, Circa 1912 ........................ . 208 132. Yaquina Bay Station, Circa 1932 . .............. ......... ... ...... . 209 133. YaquinaBayStation,RearElevation ........................... . ... 211 134. Yaquina Bay Station, East Elevation ......................... . ..... 212 135. Yaquina Bay Station, Circa 1935 .. . .... ......... ..... .. ........... 213 136. Yaquina Bay Station, 2 January 1944 ........... . ........ . .. .... .... 215 137. Yaquina Bay Station Under Construction, 1949 ......... . .... . ....... 216 138. YaquinaBayStationHouse, 1983 . ........... ........ . ...... . .. . .. 217 139. Yaquina Bay Station, 1983 ................. . .. . .... .. .. . ... . ... . . 220 140. Yaquina Bay Station, Street Side, 1999 ......... .. .................. 220 141. Location of Barview, Oregon .............. .......... . ...... . .... . 222 142. Aerial Photo of the Tillamook Bay Life-Saving Station Area in 1939 .... . 225 143. Tillamook Bay Life-Saving Station, Circa 1910 . .............. ... .... 226 144. First Floor Plan, Tillamook Bay Life-Saving Station ........ . . . . ... .... 227 145. Second Floor Plan, Tillamook Bay Life-Saving Station ........... . . . .. 229 146. Floor Plan and Elevation, Shop Building, Tillamook Bay Life-Saving Station ... .. . .. ..... .................... . ... ..... 230 147. Plan and Section, Boathouse, Tillamook Bay Life-Saving Station ........ 231 148. Boathouse Details, Tillamook Bay Life-Saving Station ................. 232 xx Page 149. Auxiliary Structures, Tillamook Bay Life-Saving Station .... . ..... . .... 233 150. Tillamook Bay Life-Saving Station After 1915 Storm ....... .. .. ..... . . 235 151. Tillamook Bay Life-Saving Station, Circa 1920 .. ... . ... . ... . ..... .. . 235 152. Location of Garibaldi, Oregon . ... . . ... .... .. .. .... ... .. . . . . ... . .. 238 153. Aerial Photo of the Tillamook Bay Lifeboat Station Area in 1939 ...... . . 239 154. Tillamook Bay Lifeboat Station at Garibaldi, 1945 .................... 240 155. Rear Elevation, Tillamook Bay Lifeboat Station, 1997 .. .. .. . .......... 242 156. Officer-in-Charge's House (1942), Tillamook Bay Lifeboat Station, 1997 .... .. ... . .. . ..... . ....... . ... . ... . . . .. .. . .... . 243 157. Station House (1907), Tillamook Bay Life-Saving Station, 1997 . . . . . . . . . 246 158. Boathouse (1907), Tillamook Bay Life-Saving Station, 1997 ........... . 246 159. Tillamook Bay Life-Saving Station (1907) in 1997 .. . .... .. ... ... . .. . . 24 7 160. Location of Florence, Oregon ..... . .... . ...... . .... ... .. ...... . ... 251 161. Aerial Photo of the Siuslaw River Station Area in 1945 ....... .. .. ..... 254 162. Siuslaw River Lifeboat Station, 1917 . . . ..... . .... . . . .. .. ... . . . ..... 255 163. Siuslaw River Lifeboat Station, Side and Rear Elevation Drawings, October 1916 ........ . .. . . . ... ... . .... . . . . ... .. ... . 257 164. Siuslaw River Lifeboat Station, Monitor and Wall Section, October 1916 . ... ....... . . . ...... ......... .. ... . ............ 258 165. Siuslaw River Lifeboat Station, First Floor Plan, October 1916 ..... . .... 260 166. Siuslaw River Lifeboat Station, Second Floor Plan, October 1916 . .... ... 262 167. Siuslaw River Lifeboat Station From North, 1923 ... . .... ... .. .. ... ... 263 XXl Page 168. Siuslaw River Lifeboat Station, Boathouse Plan, October 1916 .......... 265 169. Siuslaw River Lifeboat Station, Second Boathouse Plan, October 1924 .... 266 170. Lookout at Cannery Hill, Siuslaw River Lifeboat Station, 1923 .. ... . .. .. 267 171. Location of Port Orford, Oregon ................................ .. 270 172. Aerial Photo of the Port Orford Station Area in 1939 .... . ............. 274 173. Port Orford Lifeboat Station, 1954 ....... .. ............ . ........... 275 174. Station House, Port Orford Lifeboat Station, Circa 1940 .. ..... .... ..... 275 175. First Floor Plan, Port Orford Lifeboat Station .. .. .... .... . ........... 277 176. Second Floor Plan, Port Orford Lifeboat Station ................ .. .. .. 279 177. Keeper's Cottage, Port Orford Lifeboat Station . ........... . .......... 280 178. Boathouse in Nellies Cove, Port Orford Lifeboat Station, 1959 .......... 281 179. Boathouse Launchway and Breakwater Under Construction, 1939 ........ 282 180. Removing Screens and Washing Windows, 1923 .. .. .. ... .... ....... . 290 181. Surfmen Painting the Boathouse Roof, Coquille River Life-Saving Station, Circa 1900 ..................... .. .. ........ .. 290 182. Splicing Floor Joists at Block Island Life-Saving Station, Rhode Island, 1970 .......... .. ..... . ......... . .............. 293 183. Marking New Material, Block Island Life-Saving Station, Rhode Island, 1970 .... ................ .. .......... .......... 294 184. Pamet River Lifeboat Station Adaptively Reused as a Youth Hostel, 1997 .. .. ............. .... . ....... ......... . . ... . ... 296 185. Nantucket Life Saving Museum, Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, 1997 ............. .... .. ......... . ............ 300 XXII Page 186. Marine Helicopter Moving Halfway House at Mystic Seaport in 1968 . . ... 302 187. Pointe Aux Barques Life-Saving Station (1875-76) in New Context at Huron City Museum, Huron City, Michigan, 1997 .. . ..... 303 188. Old Harbor Life-Saving Station (1898) in New Context at Race Point, Massachusetts, 1997 .................................... 303 189. Cahoons Hollow Life-Saving Station ( 1894) Rehabilitation, Cahoons Hollow, Massachusetts, 1997 ....... . ..... . ............ 306 190. Keeper's Dwelling (1915) Enveloped, Coos Bay Lifeboat Station, 1999 ............................................... 306 191. Faking Shot Line at Yaquina Bay, Circa 1910 ........................ 308 192. Sleeping Bear Point Life-Saving Station ( 1901 ), 1997 ................. 309 193. Keeper's Office Interpretation, Sleeping Bear Point Life-Saving Station, 1997 ........ . ..................... . ..... . 310 194. Kitchen Cabinet Interpretation, Sleeping Bear Point Life-Saving Station, 1997 ..................... . ............... 311 195. Crew's Quarters Interpretation, Sleeping Bear Point Life-Saving Station, 1997 ................................. ... . 311 196. Boathouse (1901), Sleeping Bear Point Life-Saving Station, 1997 ....... . 312 197. Boatroom Interpretation, Sleeping Bear Point Life-Saving Station, 1997 ... 313 • 1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION This thesis explores the history of the U.S. Coast Guard in Oregon and examines the structures they designed prior to World War II. Their mission to protect the lives and property of seafarers was integral in the development of the communities along the Oregon Coast. The identification, evaluation, protection, and interpretation of these structures is vital to our understanding of the impact the Coast Guard has had on the maritime development of Oregon. Starting out as the U.S. Life-Saving Service in 1871, the forerunner to the Coast Guard arrived in Oregon in 1878. From the humble beginnings of a one-man station near Coos Bay, the Life-Saving Service expanded to protect six of the major waterways along Oregon's Coast. In 1915, the Life-Saving Service joined the Revenue Cutter Service to become the U.S. Coast Guard and added two more stations prior to WWII. Today, the Coast Guard operates seven lifeboat stations on the Oregon Coast (Figure 1) . The scope of this project is to investigate the issues and options for the preservation of the remaining elements of pre-World War II Coast Guard (including the Life-Saving Service) architecture in Oregon. Starting with a review of the history of the Coast Guard in general, a historical overview is given for each station built prior to World War II. Finally, each existing structure is examined for possible strategies in preservation and interpretation. 2 Station Tillamook Bay Garibaldi OREGON Station Depoe Bay Depoe Bay Siletz River Station Yaquina Bay Yaquina River Newport A/sea River Station Siuslaw River Siuslaw River Station Umpqua River Reedsport Smith River Umpqua River Station Coos Bay Charleston Station Chetco _River Chetco River Brookings ---~.,..., 2.15'!!!!'!!!!'1iiiiiiiiii0i!!!!'!~~25siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii50 miles Figure 1. Current Coast Guard Lifeboat Stations on the Oregon Coast with Location. 3 The Life-Saving Service and Coast Guard built 13 stations along the Oregon Coast prior to 7 December 1941 (Figure 2). Two more stations were built after WWII began using pre-WWII plans. These stations were placed at the following major waterways to protect shipping: Columbia River, Tillamook Bay, Yaquina Bay, Siuslaw River, Umpqua River, Coos Bay, Coquille River, and Port Orford. All but two of the pre-World War II buildings at the thirteen stations have been deactivated by the Coast Guard. Fortunately, other parties are using the deactivated buildings at these locations: Point Adams, Tillamook Bay, Yaquina Bay, Umpqua River, Coos Bay, Coquille River, and Port Orford. Unfortunately, only three locations have any structures left from the Life-Saving Service era: Point Adams, Tillamook Bay, and Yaquina Bay. About half (i.e., 24 out of 50) of the primary buildings built before WWII have survived to the year 2000 (Figure 3). These "primary" buildings are defined as station houses, keeper's dwellings, boathouses, equipment buildings, and lookouts. Very few ancillary structures, such as antennas, fencing, water towers, and boardwalks, survive at any of the stations. Selected buildings at five of the thirteen stations have been placed on the National Register of Historic Places: Tillamook Bay, Yaquina Bay, Umpqua River, Coquille River, and Port Orford. The Oregon stations were built using standard Life-Saving Service and Coast Guard plans. However, local contractors built the buildings, and there are variations from the standard found at each station. The following is an introduction to each of the station locations in chronological order. 4 Point Adams LSS, Hammond (Fort Point , 1889) Point Adams LBS, Hammond (Roosevelt, 1 938) Tillamook Bay LSS, Barview (Petersons Point, 1907) Tillamook LBS, Garibaldi (Roosevelt, 1942) OREGON Yaquina Bay LSS, Newport (Lighthouse, 1871) Yaquina Bay LBS, Newport (One-of-a-Kind, 1931) Siletz River Yaquina Bay LSS, South Beach Yaquina River (Marquette , 1895) A/sea River Siuslaw River LBS, Florence (Chatham, 1917) Siuslaw River Umpqua River LSS, North Spit (Marquette , 1890) Umpqua River LBS, Winchester Bay (Roosevelt, 1939) Smith River Coos Bay LSS, North Spit Umpqua River (Marquette, 1890) Coos Bay LBS, Charleston (One-of-a-Kind , 1915) Cape Arago LBS, Gregory Point (Modified 1875-Type, 1878) Coquille River LSS, Bandon (Marquette, 1890) Coquille River LBS, Bandon (One-of-a-Kind, 1939) Port Orford LBS, Port Orford (Chatham, 1934) Chetco River 25 0 25 50 miles Figure 2. Pre-1950 Life-Saving Service and Coast Guard Stations on the Oregon Coast with Station Type and Year Construction Started. 5 Point Adams LSS, Hammond (1889 boathouse) Point Adams LBS, Hammond (c .1925 workshop; 1938 station house, equipment building) Tillamook LSS, Barview ( 1907 station house, workshop, boathouse) Tillamook LBS, Garibaldi 11935 boathouse; 1942 station house, keeper 's house, equipment building) Yaquina Bay LSS, Newport ( 1871 lighthouse I Yaquina Bay LBS, Newport (1935 keeper's house; Siletz River 1936 lookout tower ; Ysquina River 1949 station house) A/sea River Siuslaw River LBS, Florence (c .1940 equipment building) Siuslaw River Umpqua River LBS, Winchester Bay ( 1939 station house, equipment building, lookout tower) Smith River Umpqua River Coos Bay LBS, Charleston (1915 keeper's dwelling, crew 's dwelling, boathouse; c.1940 equipment buildingl----,,if\J......._ Coquille River LBS, Bandon ( 1939 station I Port Orford LBS, Port Orford (1934 crew's dwelling, keeper's dwelling, equipment building, storage building) Rogue River Chetco River 25 0 25 50 miles Figure 3. Principal Buildings Still Standing at the Pre-1950 Life-Saving Service and Coast Guard Stations on the Oregon Coast. 6 Coos Bay - Coos Bay was an early, active shipping port, thus it received the first life-saving station on the Oregon Coast at Cape Arago in 1878. The station had only a keeper, and when a life-saving crew was finally assigned in 1890, a new station was built at North Spit. In 1915, a replacement station was built at Charleston on the south side of the mouth of Coos Bay. Neither the Cape Arago station nor the North Spit station survive; however, the keeper's dwelling, crew's dwelling, and boathouse at Charleston today make up the campus of the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology. Point Adams - Located in the small community of Hammond, all that remains of the Point Adams Life-Saving Station (1889) is its Fort Point-type boathouse. In 1939, the original life-saving station was replaced with a Roosevelt-type Coast Guard station. All of the Coast Guard elements other than the boathouse still stand. The National Marine Fisheries Service now owns and uses the station complex. Coquille River - The extremely hazardous bar at the mouth of the Coquille River necessitated the construction of the Coquille River Life-Saving Station in 1890. Nearly the entire town burned in 1936, including the life-saving station. The Coast Guard built a large, one-of-a-kind facility in 1939. The station still stands today retaining its original integrity. The building is owned by the Port of Bandon. Umpqua River - The Umpqua River entrance received a station during a build-up along the Oregon Coast in 1890. The station was built in the standard Marquette-style used at four of Oregon's six life-saving stations. A new station was built in 1939 next to the Umpqua River Lighthouse. Three principal buildings still stand with 7 the station house operated as a local history museum by Douglas County. The boathouse no longer survives; however, a 36' motor lifeboat is on display at the station. Yaquina Bay - The Yaquina Bay Life-Saving Station was built just south of the entrance to Newport's Yaquina Bay. It was abandoned in 1906 for the vacant Yaquina Bay Lighthouse (1871). In 1931, a waterfront station was built in Newport; however, it burned in a spectacular fire in 1944. A new station was not built until 1949; it still stands today and is used by the Coast Guard. The Yaquina Bay Lighthouse is a State Park property and is operated as a museum. Tillamook Bay - It was not until 1908 that Tillamook Bay received a life-saving station. The station at Barview was superceded by a new station further inside the bay at Garibaldi in 1942. While in a deteriorated state, all of the elements of the original life- saving station (i.e., station house, boathouse, and workshop) still stand. The buildings at the Coast Guard station at Garibaldi also survive and still serve the active station. Siuslaw River - The Coast Guard built one of its first Coast Guard stations in Oregon on the Siuslaw River in 1917. The station was in the Chatham style, a forerunner to the standard Roosevelt-type station of the 1930s and 1940s. None of the buildings from the 1917 station have survived. Port Orford-Port Orford, Oregon's southernmost station, was the last pre- World War II station built. It was constructed high on a rocky headland in 1934. Its crew's dwelling, keeper's dwelling, equipment building, and storage building all survive as a State Park; however, its boathouse was burned down by an arsonist in the 1970s. 8 Certain terms are integral to the understanding of the research within this thesis as well as to the preservation profession in general. These terms include preservation, restoration, rehabilitation, and reconstruction. Collectively, these terms are known as "treatments" for historic buildings. They are defined by the Department of the Interior and published as the Secretary oft he Interior's Standards for the Treatment ofH istoric Properties: Preservation is defined as the act or process of applying measures to sustain the existing form, integrity, and material of a building or structure, and the existing form and vegetative cover of a site. It may include initial stabilization work, where necessary, as well as ongoing maintenance of the historic building materials. Restoration is defined as the act or process of accurately recovering the form and details of a property and its setting as it appeared at a particular period of time by means of the removal of later work or by the replacement of missing earlier work. Rehabilitation is defined as the act or process of returning a property to a state of utility through repair or alteration which makes possible an efficient contemporary use while preserving those portions or features of the property which are significant to its historical, architectural, and cultural values. Reconstruction is defined as the act or process of depicting, by means of new construction, the form, features, and detailing of a non-surviving site, landscape, building, structure, or object for the purpose of replicating its appearance at a specific period of time and in its historic location. 1 All four of these preservation techniques can be applied to the Oregon Coast stations. All of the structures need preservation if they are to survive. Fortunately, the Coast Guard has always maintained the structures through a strict maintenance policy. It is up to today's stewards to continue that tradition. For those stations deemed to be vital 1W. Brown Morton III, et al, The Secretary oft he Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation and Illustrated Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings (Washington, DC: GPO, 1992). 9 in telling the story of the Coast Guard, all are in need of restoration. Of the stations decommissioned by the Coast Guard, rehabilitation is appropriate as long as the buildings retain their significant historical features. Where money and desire are sufficient, non- speculative reconstructions of station structures can take place to help interpret the history of the Coast Guard. Preservation treatments for each station are proposed in the concluding chapter. It is the attempt of this thesis to provide the reader with an understanding of the Oregon Coast stations and to encourage the sensitive treatment of the historic structures. The goal of this thesis is not to create a preservation plan or National Register Nomination for each station, but rather to examine the evolution of each station, discuss their present condition, and formulate suggestions for their future. Preservation concepts are given at the end of their respective chapters with an overall conclusion in the final chapter. It is the hope of this author that this document can facilitate activity toward the preservation of these valuable structures. 10 CHAPTER II HISTORY The United States Coast Guard was formed in 1915 by merging two government maritime agencies: the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service and the U.S. Life-Saving Service. The Revenue Cutter Service was formed in 1790 as an oceangoing police to enforce America' s tariff laws. The Life-Saving Service was organized in 1871 to protect the lives and property of citizens along the nation's coastline. In 1939, the U.S. Lighthouse Service was blended into the U.S. Coast Guard. With the merger of these three government services, the Coast Guard' s role as protector of the mariner was complete, a tradition that continues today. United States Revenue Cutter Service The origins of the U.S. Coast Guard can be traced back to 22 April 1790 when Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, requested ten boats to enforce the Tariff Act of 1789. The Act's intent was to protect American goods and to raise money for the new, cash-strapped country. The boats were needed to stop the smuggling of merchandise into the United States. The Continental Navy had been dissolved in 1785 so an entirely new group was created within the U.S. Treasury: the United States Revenue Marine. 11 On 16 December 1831, Secretary of the Treasury John McLane ordered the Revenue Marine's cutters to" .. . render assistance to vessels in distress and to save life and property at sea by patrolling areas near their stations during the winter."2 In 1837, Congress authorized the use of government ships to cruise the East Coast in severe weather and give aid to distressed vessels. This was augmented six years later when the Revenue Marines were instructed to assist in the preservation of property found onboard wrecked ships and to save cargoes for their owners. Thus, the primary function of maritime law enforcement was supplemented by that of providing maritime safety. In the Act of 2 March 1798, Congress ordered the Revenue Marine to cooperate with the newly formed U.S. Navy" ... whenever the President shall so direct."3 This was done to augment the Navy with the Revenue Marine's cutters against French privateers. Since then, the Revenue Marine, and later the Coast Guard, has fought alongside the U.S. Navy in every one of America's wars at sea. By 1894, the Revenue Marine had taken on a new moniker: the Revenue Cutter Service.4 In 1912, following the sinking of the Titanic, an International Ice Patrol in the North Atlantic was established to help prevent further disaster. This was yet another responsibility for the Revenue Cutter Service. Simultaneously, a government reform movement was at work behind the scenes. The Revenue Cutter Service was viewed as 2Malcolm F. Willoughby, The U.S. Coast Guard in World War II (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1957), 4. 3Ibid., 3. 4T. Michael O'Brien, Guardians of the Eighth Sea: A History of the U.S. Coast Guard on the Great Lakes (Washington, DC: GPO, 1979), 3. 12 archaic and in need of an overhaul. It was felt that its mission was becoming redundant and its bureaucracy too large. To pacify all political groups, the Revenue Cutter Service was merged with the Life-Saving Service in 1915, ending its 125 years of independence. United States Life-Saving Service The United States Life-Saving Service was born out of public sentiment rather than law enforcement. Like fire departments, the Life-Saving Service was spawned out of the national need for public safety. The roots of the U.S. Life-Saving Service can be traced back to 1785 and the founding of the Massachusetts Humane Society (Figure 4). It was found that many shipwreck victims died of exposure after reaching shore, so the Massachusetts Humane Society built small "houses of refuge" to provide shelter. Lifeboats started to be added to the houses in 1807 to allow volunteers to aid in offshore rescue attempts. The Massachusetts Humane Society was modeled on Britain's Royal Humane Society, a volunteer group whose main objective was to aid shipwreck survivors. The Royal Humane Society in tum found its model in China's Chinkiang Association for the Saving of Life ( 1708), the first life-saving institution in the world. The Chinese developed both privately funded rescue services and government-funded services prior to any other nation. Both America and Britain relied on the volunteer method, but in the late 1840s, America began to tum toward governmental funding. 5 5Ralph Shanks, Wick York, and Lisa Woo Shanks, ed., The US. Life-Saving Service: Heroes, Rescues and Architecture of the Early Coast Guard (Petaluma, CA: Costafio Books, 1996), 1. 13 Figure 4. Early Photograph of a Volunteer Crew of the Massachusetts Humane Society. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters (Life- Saving Service Photography: Surfboats File). In 1848, Congress bowed to public pressure for the federal government to assist in the life-saving business. Through Representative William Newell of New Jersey, Congress appropriated $10,000 for the construction of eight boathouses along the New Jersey shore. These unmanned and unkept stations were run by volunteers and are considered the first life-saving stations. In 1849, 22 more stations were built along the coasts of New Jersey and Long Island. They quickly proved their value in saved lives and property. During the 1849-50 season, 354 persons were rescued by the equipment at these stations. 6 6Frederick Stonehouse, Wreck Ashore: The United States Life-Saving Service on the Great Lakes (Duluth, MI: Lake Superior Port Cities, 1994), 9. 14 On 16 April 1854, the emigrant ship Powhatten wrecked only five miles from a life-saving station at Beach Haven, New Jersey, yet more than 200 perished.7 Congress again responded with more money, designating a superintendent for the Long Island and New Jersey coasts, and a man at each station. Stations up until that time had been "unkept," and equipment and boats frequently disappeared. Once the federal government had built the buildings and equipped them, they passed into the ownership of the local community. The government provided no funds for maintenance. With the appointment of paid "keepers" for each station after the passage of the Act of 14 December 1854, theft was stemmed. Unfortunately, the positions of superintendent and keeper often became political appointments. The infant system languished during the Civil War. In 1869, paid crews were finally added to the system, but only during winter months and only at alternate stations. However, this small improvement was not enough. During the winter of 1870-71, a series of wrecks on the Great Lakes and East Coast illustrated the system's shortage of adequate personnel and equipment. The 1876 Annual Reports of the Operations of the Life-Saving Service (hereafter cited as Annual Reports) admitted that, "The loss oflife [in 1870-71] was largely due to the lack of proper attention to duty on the part of the employees of the Service and the inefficient conditions of the boats and apparatus."8 The public and press called for reform, and Congress again responded and appropriated a 7Dennis L. Noble, That Others Might Live: The U.S. Life-Saving Service, 1878- 1915 (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1994), 22. 8U.S. Life-Saving Service, Annual Reports of the Operations oft he Life-Saving Service 1876 (Washington: GPO, 1876-1914), 48. 15 generous $200,000 to provide proper equipment and experienced, paid surfmen to live at the stations. At the same time, the Secretary of the Treasury, George Boutwell began cleaning house. It seems the Revenue Marine was also rife with political appointees. He brought in a ten-year veteran of the Treasury Department, Sumner Increase Kimball, to head the Revenue Marine Bureau, which also oversaw the federal life-saving stations. His selection in February 1871 marked the end of the volunteer era oflife-saving. What Kimball did was take a disorganized volunteer system, infuse it with men and money, and organize it into an internationally-acclaimed, federal organization that guarded all of America's coastlines. This did not happen overnight, however. Kimball's first order of business was to take a current inventory and assessment of the stations. He sent Revenue Marine Captain John Faunce to examine all of the stations and compile a report. Faunce found keepers, crews, stations, and equipment all to be in poor condition. He uncovered the fact that the politics of keepers and surfmen often had more to do with their position than life-saving ability. Faunce revealed that" ... every portable article had been stolen from many stations and the money Congress had appropriated had been practically wasted. "9 Even with such a system, Kimball stated that the volunteer service had rescued 4,163 lives and saved $716,000 worth ofproperty. 10 Kimball started building new stations and extended protection to Cape Cod and Rhode Island. He sought to site stations no more than five miles apart so that patrols would more likely detect wrecks. New keepers were hired, and new rules were made for 9J.W. Dalton, The Life Savers of Cape Cod (Privately printed, 1902; Chatham, MA: Chatham Press, 1967; Orleans, MA: Parnassus Imprints, 1991), 28. 1°Noble, That Others Might Live, 30. 16 the selection of crewmen. Instructions were provided for the proper use and care of the station and its equipment. Regular inspections were started to make sure crews and stations were in good condition. Beach patrols by surfmen were instituted. Structuring the Life-Saving Service was a major priority of Kimball's. The Service operated within the Treasury Department since its duty was closely related to commerce. The head of the Service was the General Superintendent, whose appointment was made by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The General Superintendent was Sumner Kimball, who retained the post for the entire span of the organized Life- Saving Service, from 1871 until 1915. Serving him was the Assistant General Superintendent, in addition to a "corps of clerks," a civil engineer, a topographer and hydrographer, and a draftsman. They were all based in Washington, D.C. There was also a Board of Life-Saving Appliances, composed of experts within the Life-Saving Service, to help investigate life-saving improvements and inventions. 11 Directly below the General Superintendent was the Inspector. He was headquartered in New York City because much of the life-saving apparatus was made there. He was in charge of inspecting the stations and had an Assistant Inspector. There was also an Assistant Inspector in each district. They were in charge of auditing each station in their district every month and investigating shipwrecks where there was loss of life. All of the inspectors were detailed from the Revenue Marine Service, demonstrating the close ties between the Life-Saving and Revenue Marine Services. 11 Sumner I. Kimball, Organization and Methods oft he United States Life-Saving Service (Washington, DC: GPO, 1912), 11. 17 Kimball divvied up the nation into districts, growing eventually to fourteen districts, and then consolidating to today's nine districts. The entire Pacific Coast was the 12th District, renumbered the 13th District on 6 June 1900, and then trimmed during the Coast Guard era so that Oregon and Washington alone became the 13th District. Each district typically had a Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent. They were in charge of disbursing pay and ordering supplies. The District Superintendents also acted as inspectors of customs when ships wrecked within their districts. Kimball promulgated instructions down to the keepers for the running of the life- saving stations. The instructions described what was expected of keeper and crew. The keeper was in charge and had the final say at "his" station. Kimball held the keepers in the highest regard. "The position held by this officer will be recognized at once as one of the most important in the Service," wrote Kimball. 12 The keepers were usually nominated by the District Superintendent. "The indispensable qualifications for appointment are that he shall be of good character and habits, not less than 21 nor more than 45 years of age; have sufficient education to be able to transact the station business; be able-bodied, physically sound, and a master of boat craft and surfing." 13 However, once in the position, age was not a determinant and only physical condition was considered. Keeper Joshua James "fell dead at his post" after stepping from a surfboat at the age of 74. 14 12Kimball, 13. 13Ibid. 14U.S. Life-Saving Service, 1902 Annual Reports, 14. 18 The keepers were nominated by the District Superintendent since the District Superintendent was intimately familiar with and personally responsible for his district. Every effort was made to select a local keeper, as it was felt that, "In the vicinity of nearly all the stations there are numbers of fishermen and wreckers who have followed their callings from boyhood and become expert in the handling of boats in broken water." 15 Typically, a keeper was chosen from the ranks of the surfmen (Figure 5). The keepers ran their stations like a ship. They exercised absolute control over their crew as their "captain." In fact, the title "keeper" was rarely used by the crew or local citizens, who preferred to use the title "captain."16 The keepers were entrusted with the "care and custody" of the station property and were required to reside at the station. They were charged with leading the crew and to " ... share their perils on all occasions of rescue, taking always the steering oar when the boats are used, and directing all operations with the apparatus." 17 Keepers were required to keep daily logs, with weekly transcripts sent to the District Superintendent. Wreck reports were required as soon as possible after a shipwreck. "Any false statement made in the books or reports subjects him to instant dismissal." 18 The daily log books for the Oregon stations are today stored at the National 15Kimball, 13. 16Noble, That Others Might Live, 60. 17Kimball, 14. 18lbid. 19 Figure 5. Clarence W. Boice at Coquille River Life-Saving Station Eventually Rose to Keeper at Coos Bay Life-Saving Station. Source: Bandon Historical Society. 20 Archives Regional Center in Seattle and provide a wealth of information about the routine life at the stations. Stations on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts were manned from September through April. Stations on the Great Lakes were open during the shipping season, usually from 15 April through 15 December. Only on the Pacific Coast were stations manned year- round.19 It was found that shipwrecks on the West Coat occurred" ... more frequently from local causes than from stress of weather, and are about as liable to happen at one season as to another. "20 The size of the crew was determined by the number of oars required to pull the largest boat at the station. Since lifeboats with eight oars were typical in Oregon, stations had a crew of eight (Figure 6). On the Atlantic, crews as small as six were needed to row the surfboats. The crew was chosen personally by the keeper from local members of the populace. This demonstrates the autonomy and responsibility given to the keepers by Kimball. Kimball wrote of the" ... necessity for mutual confidence between a leader and his followers in hazardous enterprises involving their own lives and the lives of others."21 Early in the history of the Life-Saving Service, it was found that this policy created a situation where crew members were often selected based on political, social, and family lines. However, in 1882, Congress straightened out this situation and made "fitness" the sole requirement and extended the selection process to include a review by 19The one exception was the floating station on the Ohio River at Louisville, Kentucky. It was also staffed year-round. 20Kimball, 15. 21lbid. 21 Figure 6. Dobbins Lifeboat During Training at Coquille River Bar. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters (Life- saving Service: Surtboats File). the District Superintendents and Inspectors. There was still a loophole for family members to serve together, in that it was written that they could not serve together, "except where adherence to the rule would be detrimental to the Service."22 Family served together more frequently on the Atlantic Coast. The extreme example was the Midgett family, who at Gull Shoal Life-Saving Station, North Carolina, had five family members serving together.23 Influenced by statistics and Kimball's advocacy, Congress gave Kimball another $100,000 in 1873. In the same year, the U.S. Army Storm Signal Service began running 22lbid. 23Noble, That Others Might Live, 61-62. 22 telegraph lines between the New Jersey stations. Kimball got Congress to pass the Act of 20 June 1874 to require owners of all ships to report wrecks. This statistical and locational data helped to justify and site new stations.24 From 1871 to 1878, Kimball developed the Service and laid a foundation that lasted well into the Coast Guard era. The Act of 18 June 1878 established the U.S. Life- Saving Service as a separate entity from the Revenue Marine and made the Life-Saving Service its own agency within the Treasury Department. President Hayes appointed Kimball to the head position as General Superintendent of the new agency. There were three types of stations being built by the Life-Saving Service: houses of refuge, life-saving stations, and lifeboat stations. The houses of refuge were built only along Florida's east coast by the Service. The houses of refuge were outmoded elsewhere but still functional in the warmer south. They were manned by a keeper and his family. Life-saving stations were the standard of the Life-Saving Service. They were manned by a crew and led by a keeper. Here the keeper, his family, and the crew would live, during the storm season on the East Coast and year-round on the West Coast. When a shipwreck occurred, survivors would often be sheltered at the station and given succor (i.e., aid, food, and shelter) until they well enough to leave. The stations were fully equipped with rescue devices and two surfboats. On the West Coast, stations were equipped with a surfboat and a lifeboat. 24Ibid., 28-31. 23 Lifeboat stations had a less distinct definition. In the early days of the Life- Saving Service, the term lifeboat station was used for stations manned by a keeper only and relying on volunteers for crew. The Cape Arago Life-Saving Station at Coos Bay, Oregon, was referred to as a lifeboat station in its early years.25 However, the term quickly fell out of use as all stations became manned with paid crews by 1890. If it was left at that, the term would be fairly clear; however, the term was revived by the Coast Guard in 1915 when they began designating the old life-saving stations and new stations, "motor lifeboat stations" or simply, "lifeboat stations." Therefore, after 1915, there is a universal resurgence of the term "lifeboat station" which is still used today. Stations were" ... located at selected points of danger to shipping, and vary somewhat in character, according to their environment and the nature of the service demanded of them. On some portions of the coast they are placed only at long intervals, while upon others they form chains of contiguous posts within communicating distance of each other."26 Obviously, due to the disproportionate number of stations on each coast line, the East Coast adopted the method of a contiguous chain and the West Coast stations were placed far apart at "points of danger." This was not necessarily a circumstance of politics. The East Coast was dotted with harbors and ships tended to hug the shoreline. On the West Coast, harbors were few and far between and ships tended to stay further away from shore and then tum toward shore when a harbor was reached. 25U.S. Life-Saving Service, 1879 Annual Reports, 12. 26Kimball, 5. 24 In 1889, Kimball was of the opinion that, "The Pacific coast is not a dangerous one."27 He did allow that, "There are, however, a few extremely dangerous points, mostly situated at the entrances to the important ports ."28 These were the locations at which life-saving stations were erected in Oregon. Later on, after several tragic wrecks on the Oregon and California Coasts, Kimball reformed his opinion and lobbied hard to get stations erected on the Pacific Coast. 29 The first station to be built in Oregon was the Cape Arago Life-Saving Station in late 1878, situated to protect the entrance to Coos Bay. It was actually a lifeboat station, in the early use of the term, in that it had a keeper only and no crew. During the late 1880s, Oregon Senator John Mitchell and Oregon Representative Binger Hermann fought in Congress to have life-saving stations built in Oregon. In 1889, a station was added at Point Adams to help guard the Columbia River with its sister station at Cape Disappointment on the Washington side. The big year for life-saving in Oregon was 1891: the Cape Arago Station was abandoned, a new station was erected on the north side of the Coos Bay, receiving a permanent crew in the process, and stations were erected at Coquille River and Umpqua River. Gradually the Life-Saving Service added a station at Yaquina Bay (1895) and then at Tillamook Bay (1907) before the formation of the Coast Guard in 1915. 27Kimball, 7. 28Ibid. 29Ralph Shanks, phone interview by author, transcript, Eugene, OR, 26 May 2000. 25 Each station was home for keeper and crew, though more so for the keeper. The keeper's family was accommodated within the station. There was, however, no provision for the families of the crew. When the station was located near a town, the surfman could visit his family on his one day off a week, "from sunrise to sunset." In more isolated locations, such as the Y aquina Bay Life-Saving Station at South Beach, the crew members erected small dwellings for their family near the station. In Oregon, most stations had a small group of dwellings nearby (Figure 7) . Often the small community was dubbed, "Little America." The station complex itself is fully described in later chapters. Suffice it to say, there were quarters provided for the surfman where he was housed and fed, at least until it was his tum to cook. Some stations pooled their money and hired a cook. A bed and locker was provided for each crewman. Pay was considered fairly low for the era, though a pension was enacted in 1882, albeit a meager one. When uniforms were first required in 1889, the surfmen had to buy their own.30 It is surprising that anyone would want to be a life-saver considering the high risk of death and disease associated with the profession (Figure 8). The desire to be altruistic was strong in the surfmen. When wrecks were not being attended to, there was a weekly routine to keep the surfmen fit and well-practiced. Mondays were reserved for drill and practice with the beach apparatus, along with the overhauling of the boats and the rescue equipment. Tuesdays were designated for practice with the boats which involved launching, rowing, and landing either a surfboat or lifeboat. Capsize drill was sometimes included at the 30U.S. Life-Saving Service, 1889 Annual Reports, 66. 26 Figure 7. Umpqua River Lifeboat Station with Station Buildings at the Bottom and "Little America" at the Top, 1945. Source: University of Oregon Map Library (53VV16PI-M516-PS 26 Sept 45 5M-167). Figure 8. Three Life-Savers Died in a Training Accident on the Coquille River Bar, 1892. Source: Bandon Historical Society (BHS #1476). 27 discretion of the keeper since it was so hard on the equipment and crew. Wednesdays were signal practice with flags. On Thursdays, there was more drilling with the beach apparatus. Friday was reserved for practice of "restoring the apparently drowned" and training with the medical kit. Saturday was house cleaning day. 31 By repeating the drills endlessly, the use of the equipment became automatic for the surfmen, allowing them to react mechanically in times of actual rescue. The beach apparatus drill, performed on Mondays and Thursdays, was meant to get the crew so used to erecting a breeches buoy that they could do it in the dark. The breeches buoy was a device by which a person could be moved from ship to shore on an aerial line. All the equipment for the breeches buoy was stored on a beach apparatus cart. This cart would be "hitched" to the crewmen and dragged to the drill field (Figure 9). At the end of the drill field 75 yards away would be a wreck pole, representing a mast on a stranded vessel. The keeper would fire a small cannon called a "Lyle gun" which would send a 17-pound projectile trailing a shot line over the wreck pole (Figure 10). Various mortars, cannons, and rockets had been experimented with over the years, and the Lyle gun was the final solution. It could fire the projectile over a distressed ship with accuracy up to an extreme range of 695 yards. 32 The life-savers "on shore" would tie a block to the shot line and run a whip line through the block, holding on to both ends of the whip line. The crew on the ship would then pull the shot line with the attached block onto the ship. A tally board would be 31 Kimball, 18. 32Ibid. , 25. 28 Figure 9. Crewmen Hitched to the Beach Apparatus Cart, Circa 1905. Source: Lincoln County Historical Society (LCHS #1099). Figure 10. Crewmen Drilling with the Beach Apparatus, Yaquina Bay Life-Saving Station, Circa 1910. Source: Author's Collection. 29 dangling from the block instructing the stranded crew what to do next. Following the instructions, the stranded crewmen would tie the block high on a mast. The life-savers would then attach a large line, or hawser, to the shot line, and the shipwrecked mariners would haul the hawser out to the ship. The wreck survivors would then tie the hawser to the mast above the block. The life-savers would tighten the hawser via a series of pulleys tied to a sand anchor and an X-shaped fulcrum. Once taut, the life-savers would pull a breeches buoy out to the wreck using the whip line. The breeches buoy was basically a life-ring with an attached pair of pants suspended from a pulley. A survivor would get into the breeches buoy and be pulled to "shore" (Figure 11 ). The crew was required to set up the breeches buoy in less than five minutes, and if they could not, it was assumed that " ... they have been remiss in drilling or that there are some stupid men among them." 33 Some crews became so proficient at the drill that they were able to perform the procedure in two minutes and thirty seconds. On occasion, a lifecar would be substituted for a breeches buoy. A lifecar was basically a metal torpedo with a hatch (Figure 12). When the hawser could not be raised high enough above the water or if a shipwreck victim was injured, a lifecar could be pulled out to the wreck on the same rigging as the breeches buoy. Several people could squeeze into a lifecar, seal the hatch, and then get dragged through the surf to shore. Only a few rescues were performed each year using the lifecar, though it was a piece of equipment issued to every station. 33Ibid., 19. 30 Figure 11. Crewmen Drilling with the Beach Apparatus, Y aquina Bay Life-Saving Station, Circa 1910. Source: Oregon Historical Society (OrHi #654-A 98317). Figure 12. Lifecar Rigged from Ship to Shore. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters (Life-Saving Service: Surtboats File). 31 The most common pre-1915 method ofrescue was the pulling boat. The oar- powered pulling boats came in two varieties: the light-weight surfboat or the heavy- weight lifeboat. On Tuesdays, the life-savers would participate in boat drills to perfect their handling of the pulling boats. There were three principal types of surfboats used in Oregon: the Beebe, the Beebe-McLellan, and the Monomoy. They measured 25' to 27' long and weighed 700 to 1,100 pounds. Surfboats were relatively light-weight so that they could be pulled along the beach on a carriage (Figure 13) and then launched directly into the surf (Figure 14). Six crewmen were needed to row the surfboats with the keeper manning a long steering oar at the stern. They were highly maneuverable and excellent for short distances when only a few people were imperiled. Surfboats were ideal for work on the Eastern Seaboard. None of the surfboats were self-righting, but the Beebe-McLellan was self- bailing. To give some understanding of how often surfboats were used, from 1871 until 1889, the Life-Saving Service launched them 6,730 times to assist people and landed 6,735 persons from shipwrecks. In all those trips, the surfboats only capsized 14 times. However, on six of those capsizings, 41 people died, 27 of whom were life-savers.34 In other words, capsizing was serious and that is why the surfmen trained for it. A capsize drill would start with the men seated, they would then grab lines, pull to one side of the boat, and flip the boat upside down (Figure 15). The crew would then lift one side of the boat in unison while still in the water, flip the boat right side up, pull themselves in, and 34lbid., 21. 32 Figure 13. Tillamook Bay Life-Saving Station Crew with Surfboat, Circa 1910. Source: Author's Collection. Figure 14. Tillamook Bay Life-Saving Station Crew in Surfboat, Circa 1910. Source: Oregon Historical Society (OrHi #654-A 98318). 33 return to their seats on the thwarts. The fastest time ever recorded to capsize a surfboat and returned to the seated position was 13 seconds.35 The righting procedure was so quick that a keeper could actually step over the stem and not get wet (Figure 16). On the West Coast, the heavier lifeboat was often used. There were two principal types: the heavy English lifeboat and the lighter Dobbins lifeboat. The English lifeboat averaged around 30' long, roughly equivalent to a surfboat but weighed four times as much. This heavier weight was due to its iron keel which gave it self-righting capabilities. It was powered by eight crewmen and steered by the keeper with a tiller. The lifeboat also had self-bailing capabilities and could be outfitted with sails. Because of its weight, the English lifeboat could only be launched directly into the water. Only 3 7 of the English lifeboats were put into service, all on the Great Lakes.3 6 The Dobbins lifeboat, on the other hand, was a compromise between the surfboat and lifeboat. It was developed by David P. Dobbins, Superintendent of the Ninth District, in 1881. The Dobbins lifeboat was roughly the same length as the English lifeboat at 24', but more than half as light, weighing from 1,600 to 2,000 pounds. It was cheaper to build, was self-righting and self-bailing, and could still carry 33 people safely.37 Because of its light weight, the lifeboat could be launched like a surfboat directly from the beach (Figure 17) or from a marine railway (Figure 18). It was rowed by eight and steered by the keeper with a tiller (Figure 19). A Dobbins lifeboat appears 35U.S. Life-Saving Service, 1907 Annual Reports, 21. 36Stonehouse, 97. 37Ibid., 98-100. 34 Figure 15. Point Adams Life-Saving Station Crew During Capsize Drill, Circa 1910. Source: Author's Collection. Figure 16. Keeper Walking Around Stem During Capsize Drill at Lewis and Clark Exposition, 1905. Source: Oregon Historical Society (OrHi #9999Y387-79857). 35 Figure 17. Laboring with Dobbins Lifeboat at Klipsan Beach, Washington. Source: Oregon Historical Society (OrHi #654-A 45281). Figure 18. Dobbins Lifeboat Hurtling Down Launchway at Coquille River Life-Saving Station. Source: Bandon Historical Society (BHS #1104). 36 Figure 19. Dobbins Lifeboat at the Coos Bay Bar, 1910. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters (Life-Saving Service: Surfboats File). in many of the photos on the Oregon Coast, and it is believed that every Oregon station by 1900 had one in addition to their surfboat. As early as 1899, the Life-Saving Service began to experiment with putting a gasoline motor in a 34' lifeboat. The weight of the motor proved unsatisfactory in a pulling boat, so an entirely new 36' lifeboat was designed around the engine. The first 36' motor lifeboat in the country went to Waaddah Island Life-Saving Station at Neah Bay, Washington, in 1908. The Pacific surf and vast area that the Waaddah Island station covered precipitated the need. The motor lifeboats were accepted as a godsend. They more than doubled the range of the life-savers and allowed them to arrive fresh at the 37 scene.38 Soon, the 13th district had a higher percentage of motor lifeboats in use than any other district in the country (Figure 20). By 1914, there were 147 motor lifeboats and surfboats in service.39 The 36' motor lifeboats went through many incarnations throughout their long history. The boat was an extremely successful design that continued to be produced as late as 1956. The last active 36-footer in America was retired from Depoe Bay, Oregon, in 1987. The boat is now on display in Newport News, Virginia, at the Mariner's Museum.40 Tillamook Bay, Yaquina Bay, Umpqua River, and Port Orford all have their 36' motor lifeboats on display near their respective Coast Guard stations (Figure 21 ). Beyond the weekly schedule of drills as set forth by the Life-Saving Service, the crew was also responsible for patrolling the beaches. A lookout was mounted from sunrise to sunset, each crewman taking a watch. On the Oregon Coast, most watches were stood in a lookout tower away from the station which provided a wide view of the surf and beach. Even on Sundays, when there were no drills, the beaches would have to be patrolled. From sunset to sunrise, the surfmen would walk the beach. Two crewmen would operate a four-hour shift no matter what the weather. Each one would walk away from the station in opposite directions to scan the shore watching for signs of distress. On the East Coast, patrolmen would meet up with surfmen from other stations also on 38U.S. Life-Saving Service, 1908 Annual Reports, 23-24. 39Shanks, The U.S. Life-Saving Service, 111. 40Ibid., 113. 38 Figure 20. New 36' Motor Lifeboat at Coquille River Lifeboat Station, Circa 1915. Source: Bandon Historical Society. Figure 21. Motor Lifeboat Display at the Y aquina Bay Lifeboat Station, 1999. Source: Author. 39 patrol and exchange tokens to show that they had completed their assigned "beat."41 On the Oregon Coast, since the stations were so isolated, a life-saver would walk until he reached the end of his beat where there would be a post with a key attached. He would insert the key into a patrol clock that he carried (Figure 22), marking the time in which he reached the end of his patrol. If a crewman spotted a ship either too close to shore or aground, he would bum a red Coston flare to either ward off the ship or to signal the ship that help was on the way. Besides saving lives, the other component of the Life-Saving Service's mission was to save the property of the shipwrecked mariner. The surfmen did this by warning off ships too close to shore, extricating ships from dangerous situations, and refloating vessels once stranded. A major partner on the West Coast in this work were the tug boats (Figure 23). Tugs rescued survivors, towed disabled ships, pulled vessels off of shoals, and often towed life-savers to the scene of wrecks before the advent of power lifeboats. Frequently, the tugs were the first ones on the wreck scene. Nearly all wreck reports on the Oregon Coast mention the assistance of tugs, as part of the mariner's duty to render assistance at sea. Once a wreck did occur, the keeper of the station was entrusted with the protection of the cargo. Sometimes the shipload was a total loss; however, often the cargo washed or was brought to shore practically unscathed (Figure 24). There are many reports on the Oregon Coast of crewman standing watch over goods waiting for the ship's owner or representatives to arrive at the scene. During the history of the Life- 41 The stations on the south shore of Lake Superior and at San Francisco Bay also met up with crewmen from adjacent stations and exchanged tokens. 40 Figure 22. Patrol Clock, Point Allerton, Massachusetts. Source: Author. 41 /.j,:,,,.. t ,t.• , .'-c.,. . ►f ... ,-- Tug brtflginw in Schooner, Mouth of Coquil! River1 Oregon • J ,.. llf-r,'. 11, I J Figure 23. Tug Assisting Schooner over Coquille River Bar, Circa 1910. Source: Author's Collection. Figure 24. The Marconi on 23 March 1909. The Crew was Rescued by Breeches Buoy. Source: Author's Collection. 42 Saving Service, the agency saved " ... many more times in cost in property ..." than what it cost the Service to operate.42 Public perception was high on Sumner Kimball's list, and he did many things to promote the Service. Since all progress in life-saving had been brought about through public pressure, Kimball needed to keep the service in the public eye. Starting with the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition of 1876, Kimball had the Life-Saving Service represented at each of the large expositions. Kimball was not satisfied with a mere display. He had an entire life-saving station, fully operational with crew, built on each of the exposition grounds. The crew performed breeches buoy and capsizing demonstrations daily" . .. to afford the general public a fairly accurate idea of the serious work of the Service . . . ." 43 At Oregon's Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition held in Portland in 1905, there was a life-saving station (Figure 25). A keeper and a crew of eight manned the station from May through October and mounted daily exhibitions (Figure 26). Located on an island in the middle of Guild Lake, sharing space with the U.S. Government Building, the Life-Saving Station continued the Spanish Colonial architectural theme of the island. During its 4-1/2 month run, more than 2.5 million people attended the 42Kimball, 36. 43U.S. Life-Saving Service, 1907 Annual Reports, 20-21. 43 ~ Figure 25. Life-Saving Station at the Lewis and Clark Exposition, 1905. Source: Oregon Historical Society (OrHi #9999Y397-79867). Figure 26. Capsize Drill in Front of Life-Saving Station at the Lewis and Clark Exposition, 1905. Source: Oregon Historical Society (OrHi #9999Y349-79819). 44 exposition and many local, national, and international visitors were exposed to the Life- Saving Service.44 The station, unfortunately, no longer stands. Kimball made sure the story of the Life-Saving Service reached the public in other ways. The Annual Reports put out by the Life-Saving Service starting in 1876 are considered some of the most exciting writing ever produced by the federal government; it helped that the raw material was equal to the task. Kimball had brought in William D. O'Connor as his assistant in 1878. It seems as to be coincidence that O'Connor was an experienced writer who wrote previously for the Philadelphia Saturday Evening Post. O'Connor's writing brought the exploits of the Life-Saving Service to life for people across the country. Magazines and newspapers of the day carried the message even further and christened the surfmen "storm warriors" and "heroes of the surf." When rescues did occur, the image of the heroic keeper did not always go unsullied. On 29 January 1883, the Tacoma went ashore four miles north of the Umpqua River. A volunteer crew of eight arrived from Empire, but Keeper Desmond of the Cape Arago Life-Saving Station was unwilling to "aid the unfortunates on the wreck" and was roundly censured by the Coos Bay World. The newspaper and apparently the community felt" ... there is no excuse, and it is only a pity that our laws cannot reach him and hang him for the lives of the men who were sacrificed through his pusillanimity and cowardice. "45 This was, of course, an exceptional incident rather than the norm. 44Carl Abbott, The Great Extravaganza (Portland, OR: Oregon Historical Society, 1981), 54. 45"Wreck of The Tacoma in 1883, North of the Umpqua," Coos Bay News, 2 February 1916. 45 Promotion of the Life-Saving Service went all the way down to the local level. Life-saving stations became social centers to their coastal communities. The keeper and crew usually came from the locality and were held in great esteem by the citizenry. In many surfmen training photos, there are locals looking on (Figure 27). On Yaquina Bay, non-surfmen got a ride in the new, 36' power boat Undaunted when it arrived at Newport in 1914 (Figure 28). Events were often held at the stations. For example, a May Day dance was announced in Newport in 1901: A good time will be had at the Life Saving Station on May Day. Everyone is invited to go down, and bring their lunch baskets. Captain Clark and his gentlemanly crew will entertain you royally. All those who wish to remain for the evening dance, will find abundance of the delicacies of the land, at the station, to satisfy their appetites. The old and young, the bachelor, the old maid, and the fellows with their sweethearts - All are welcome.46 The surfmen of the Life-Saving Service were often looked upon as selfless Samaritans in the locality. Many of these small coastal communities had limited police and fire response. It seems that each Annual Report mentions at least one fire that Oregon surfmen assisted in putting out. This may have taxed the crew, but they were deeply embedded in the local community. The Point Adams Life-Saving Station crew was constantly recovering gillnets from the Columbia River and returning them to owners. On 20 April 1894, the Coquille River crew discovered a cow wedged between some logs, so they freed it and returned it to the owner.47 Kimball pointed out that the life-savers provided" . .. many other services inuring to the public benefit which it has 46"May Day," Yaquina Bay News, 25 April 1901. 47Emest L. Osborne and Victor West, Men ofA ction: A History of the U.S. Life- Saving Service on the Pacific Coast (Bandon, OR: Bandon Historical Society, 1981), 72. 46 Figure 27. Yaquina Bay Life-Saving Station Crew with Lifeboat. Source: Oregon Historical Society (OrHi #654-A 52372). ,. ', , Figure 28. Aboard Yaquina Bay's Motor Lifeboat Undaunted, Circa 1914. Source: Lincoln County Historical Society (LCHS #2265). 47 incidentally rendered," from the collection of rare marine specimens for science to the prevention of robberies.48 By 1915, the Life-Saving Service was a well-oiled machine. Kimball had been at the helm of the Life-Saving Service for 44 years. There were 279 active life-saving stations along the nation's coastlines. The Service was responding with its own motorized craft, following the maritime industry's evolution from sail to engine. The Service had 80 motor lifeboats and nearly 150 motorized surfboats by 1915.49 All of Oregon's stations had one powerboat, though it was a mixed fleet of 34-footers, 36- footers, and motorized surfboats.50 Almost all stations were connected via telephone. The first radio distress call by an American vessel was sent on 10 December 1905, marking the dawn of ship-to-shore radio communication. By an Act of Congress of 4 May 1910, every ship carrying more than 50 people was required to have a radio.5' However, with the life-saving system functioning better than ever, there was a political machine working behind the scenes in an attempt to dismantle the Service. The Progressive Movement was afoot in the 1910s seeking to curb the excesses of government growth. All agencies came under scrutiny starting around 1910, including the Life-Saving Service, but the Revenue Cutter Service was soon to be seen as the most 48Kimball, 36. 49Stephen H. Evans, The United States Coast Guard: 1790-1915; A Definitive History (Annapolis, MD: U.S. Naval Institute, 1949), 187-88. 50U.S. Coast Guard, Annual Reports oft he Operations oft he United States Coast Guard 1915 (Washington: GPO, 1915), 67. 51 Willoughby, The U.S. Coast Guard in World War II, 141. 48 wasteful. Various mergers and consolidations were proposed, including a merger with the Lighthouse Service, but finally an agreement was hammered out to merge the Revenue Cutter Service with the Life-Saving Service.52 United States Coast Guard On 20 January 1915, Congress passed the Act to Create the Coast Guard which merged the Life-Saving Service with the Revenue Cutter Service. The new military organization was called the United States Coast Guard. Maritime safety, law enforcement, and military readiness were instantly rolled into one group and remain the three principles of the Coast Guard today. The major'impact of the merger was that the old Life-Saving Service converted from a military-like group within the Treasury Department to an independent military organization. Life-saving station keepers became warrant officers, surfmen became enlisted men.53 A long-sought retirement system was finally implemented. A whole new bureaucracy was instituted that made the stations less autonomous. However, the stations did retain their traditional routine, especially on the Pacific Coast, and little changed in the day-to-day lives of the surfmen. During World War I, Coast Guardsmen were attached to the Navy. However, the war was in Europe and on the Atlantic Ocean, and had virtually no impact on operations on the Pacific Coast other than to make funding even scarcer. The 1921 Annual Report 52Noble, That Others Might Live, 149-52. 53Ibid., 152-53. 49 states, "The state of dilapidation into which some of them [stations] have fallen, through age and usage, should not be permitted to continue longer. The establishment of a number of stations has been specifically authorized by law, but their construction can not be proceeded with in the absence of the necessary funds."54 The passage of Prohibition in 1920 gave the Coast Guard a new law to enforce and funding with which to do it. The Volstead Act of 1920 was an unpopular law, dangerous and unpleasant to enforce. However, funds for its enforcement allowed the Coast Guard to grow at an unprecedented rate to halt "rum running." The "Rum War" began in 1920 with four years of incidental activities, then heated up for the next ten years, until operations were curtailed in 1933, and the 18th Amendment repealed in 1934.55 Liquor smuggling along the Oregon Coast was never as big as along the Atlantic Seaboard. Most of the West Coast rum runners came out of Vancouver, British Columbia, and headed for the big ports of Seattle and San Francisco. However, some rum runners did use the relatively small Oregon ports, the very ports where the Coast Guard was stationed. To counter the smugglers, the Coast Guard stations were augmented with additional patrol craft and personnel. Like the beach patrols, the offshore patrols watched for signs of activity; however, in this case, they were watching for small, fast boats darting into harbors at night to unload their illegal cargo.56 54U.S. Coast Guard, 1921 Annual Report, 30. 55Malcolm F. Willoughby, Rum War at Sea (Washington, DC: GPO, 1964), 157. 56Ibid. , 75-76. 50 The Coast Guard found itself with a new role, intelligence gatherer. Intelligence data played an important role in intercepting liquor shipments. The Coast Guard was fairly successful in stemming rum running along the Oregon Coast, and much of that was due to information gathering. Toward the end of Prohibition, most of the alcohol in Oregon was coming overland. 57 Near the end of the Depression, Public Works Administration (PWA) funds came into Oregon to build Coast Guard stations. Created in 1933 by Franklin Roosevelt as one of his New Deal programs, the PWA was developed to reduce unemployment and to restore people's purchasing power through construction projects. At least one station, the Point Adams Lifeboat Station (1938), and the Yaquina Bay Lifeboat Station lookout tower ( 1936) were built with PWA funds. The PWA ' s sister program, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) begun in 1935, may also have had some role in Oregon station construction. Three additional stations were built in Oregon in 1939, and it is likely that they received PWA or WP A funds also. Motorized lifeboats were not the only shakeup in the rescue equipment of the life- saver. As early as 1915, Coast Guard officers on the East Coast began experimenting with air patrols to search for ships in need of assistance. On 29 August 1916, the Coast Guard was authorized to build ten air stations; however, they were not funded until 1924. The funding finally arrived in the generous form of $13,000,000 to enforce the Volstead Act. By 1936, there were 45 planes in the Coast Guard. An air station was built at Port 57lbid. , 76, 83 . 51 Angeles, Washington, in 1935 (Figure 29), but no air stations were commissioned in Oregon until after WWII. 58 The rescue range of the surfmen continued to increase with new and more powerful boats. As a result, fewer stations were needed, so the Coast Guard closed and consolidated stations, mainly on the East Coast. No stations were closed in Oregon and in fact, two new stations were added, one at Siuslaw River ( 1917) and one at Port Orford ( 1934) . This demonstrates just how far behind Oregon was in station construction. Just as commercial shipping started to become safer with the advent of radio communications and direction finding, there was a new group for the Coast Guard to deal with, recreational boaters. The recreational boater hovered close to shore and was often relatively inexperienced in coastal waters. Starting with the arrival of small gasoline powered boats, the numbers of incidents involving small craft began to increase. On 1 July 1939, the U.S. Lighthouse Service was folded into the Coast Guard, allowing it to take over the maintenance and operation of aids to navigation. Originally, lighthouses were built and operated locally, but in 1789, the U.S. Treasury took over the role and established the U.S. Lighthouse Service. The merger in 1939 completed the Coast Guard's full-service role of protecting life and property along the nation's coastlines. Statistics show that the Coast Guard saved 203 ,609 lives during the 70 years from 1871 to 1941, including the work of the Revenue Cutter Service. Property valued at $1 ,784,738,124 was saved from the sea. In addition, succor was afforded to 48,023 58Willoughby, The US. Coast Guard in World War II, 37-38. 52 U. ST -- Figure 29. Amphibian at the Port Angeles Air Station. Source: Author's Collection. persons. The annual averages for these 70 years were 2,868 lives rescued, $25,137,157 worth of property saved, and 67 6 persons afforded succor. 59 A National Emergency was declared by Franklin Roosevelt on 8 September 1939 in response to Germany's invasion of Poland. During the two years before the U.S. entered WWII, the Coast Guard became very active with the neutral convoys in the Atlantic. The Coast Guard was given the duty of supervising the loading of dangerous cargoes, which included explosives and fuel headed to Europe. In Oregon, replacement stations were being constructed at an unprecedented rate. Point Adams, Umpqua River, and Coquille River all received brand-new stations in 1939. 59Ibid. , 6. 53 The Coast Guard Reserve and Auxiliary Act was passed on 23 June 1939, laying the groundwork for organizing civilian motorboats and yachts into the Coast Guard Auxiliary. The Coast Guard Auxiliary was quite active along the Oregon Coast. In February 1941, they were organized into the Temporary Reserve, which worked to patrol the coasts of the nation during the emergency years. Several "TR" groups were organized at Oregon's major harbors. By the start of the war, the Temporary Reserve had 5,205 members and 4,524 boats. On 1 November 1941 , President Roosevelt signed the Executive Order 8929 that put the Coast Guard under the jurisdiction of the Navy "for the duration of the emergency."60 Throughout WWII, Coast Guard personnel retained their identity as "coasties" by a shield worn on their sleeve to distinguish them from Navy personnel. They served in combat roles in all of the amphibious operations in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. They hunted for enemy submarines, piloted landing craft, and rescued many from the sea. The Coast Guard also monitored and protected all of America's ports and coastlines from attack, sabotage, and accident. In Oregon, this last role of monitoring the ports and coastline was the most evident. Beach patrols were augmented soon after Roosevelt declared a state of emergency in September 1939. Blackouts were enforced up and down the coast. Mounted patrols, jeeps, and war dogs were brought in to bolster the beach patrols (Figure 30). All of the Oregon stations packed additional patrolmen into the existing barracks. Many temporary buildings, such as barracks, barns, and kennels, were erected just before and during the war to support the beach patrol. In the Summer of 60Ibid. , 7-8, 22. 54 Figure 30. Beach Patrol, Lake Tachkenitch Near Reedsport, 1942-43. Source: Lincoln County Historical Society (LCHS #317). 1943, as the war waned, patrols were cut back. At the close of WWII, the beach patrols were deactivated entirely.61 Starting with 12,000 in September 1939, the ranks of the Coast Guard rose to 25 ,000 in December 1941, and finished out with 176,000 at the end of the war.62 Another 50,000 temporary reservists had served in non-combat situations, releasing Coast Guardsmen for duty at sea. The Women's Coast Guard Reserve, whose members were known as SPARS, provided an additional 10,000 for the home front. 63 After August 61Willoughby, The US. Coast Guard in World War II, 45, 53. 62Walter C. Capron, The U.S. Coast Guard, (New York: Franklin Watts, 1965), 169. 63Willoughby, The US. Coast Guard in World War II, 8-10. 55 1945, the Coast Guard began working quickly to demobilize personnel to pre-war levels. On 1 January 1946, the Coast Guard reverted back to the Treasury Department.64 After WWII, the Coast Guard saw the advent of new navigational techniques that made ships less susceptible to running aground. Radio direction finding had been perfected during the war making it easier for ships to plot their positions and stay further from danger. Radar and sonar were refined. Since a demonstration of the Sikorsky XR-4 helicopter in 1942, the Coast Guard had become interested in the capabilities of the helicopter. The first helicopter humanitarian mission occurred in January 1944, with the first hoist rescue taking place in November 1945.65 The helicopter was soon perfected and quickly made its way into the Coast Guard's rescue arsenal (Figure 31 ). The National Air-Sea Rescue Agency was established in 15 February 1944. This agency was placed under the Coast Guard and started the development of Coast Guard air stations where planes and helicopters were integrated for search and rescue. In Oregon, an air station was built at Astoria and one at North Bend. The Coast Guard' s current role may involve more duties, but their principal task is still to protect people along the nation's coastlines. From wooden boats to steel, from breeches buoy to helicopter, the techniques may have changed over the years, but the mission remains the same: To protect the lives and property of "those that go down to sea." 64Capron, 169-70. 65Barrett Thomas Beard, Wonderful Fly ing Machines: A History of U.S. Coast Guard Helicopters (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1996), 48-49, 104. 56 Figure 31. Major General Jackson Transferring from Helicopter to Ship in 1963. Source: Oregon Historical Society (OrHi #0091P340-011163). 57 CHAPTER III ARCHITECTURE The architecture of the Coast Guard has come full circle. The first federally- funded structures from 1848 were simply gabled storage buildings for a boat and rescue equipment. When the Life-Saving Service solidified in the mid-1870s and began to gain more political clout, Sumner Kimball saw to it that the stations were more pleasing architecturally. Stations took on the architectural style of the day and became highly ornate. When the Life-Saving Service merged with the Revenue Cutter Service to become the Coast Guard in 1915, stations started to become more standard and less decorative. This was due to a shift toward a less detailed architecture in America and also as a cost-saving measure. The Coast Guard has continued to simplify the detailing over the years, and since WWII, has come full circle to the point of creating a purely functional architecture once again. The first life-saving shelters built were those of the Massachusetts Humane Society. Their first unmanned hut was erected in 1789 on Lovell's Island in Boston Harbor. It was a simple structure, 8' square and 7' tall, outfitted with a wood stove and supplies of food and clothing. A nearby resident was appointed to look after it.66 66Eugene V. York, "The Architecture of the United States Life-Saving Stations" (Master's thesis, Boston University, 1983), 3. 58 The first lifeboat station was built by the Massachusetts Humane Society in 1807 at Cohasset, Massachusetts. The unkept station housed a surfboat and rescue equipment and was probably just big enough to house the 30' surfboat. By 1872, the Society had built seventy-six lifeboat stations and eight huts along the Massachusetts coast. 67 The first federally-funded stations were constructed in 1848 when Congress appropriated $10,000 for eight boathouses along the New Jersey shore. These unmanned and unkept stations were simple, one-story, gabled boathouses, 16' wide by 28' deep (Figure 32). They were surfaced in shingles and were probably very similar to the lifeboat stations built by the Massachusetts Humane Society. Through the 1850s, the Revenue Marine continued to oversee the building of stations and extended their coverage to include North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Texas. In 1854, the Great Lakes began to see coverage with 4 7 lifeboat stations. After this building campaign, new station construction ceased and was not reactivated again until Kimball's arrival in 1871.68 With Faunce's inspection report on the condition of the life-saving station network in 1871, new stations were quickly planned to replace old, outmoded, or dilapidated stations, and to fill in the gaps between stations sited too far apart. These new stations were the first to provide for a live-in keeper and crew of six. They were 1-1/2 stories tall, 18' wide by 42' deep, and surfaced entirely with shingles. They were referred to as "red houses" because they were painted entirely red. Instead of a single 67Ibid., 4. 68Ibid., 7, 12-13. 59 Figure 32. Spermaceti Cove, New Jersey, Boathouse (1848) in 1926. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters (Life-Saving Service: Stations and Architecture File). boatroom, the lower story was divided into a large room for the boat and heavy equipment, and a smaller living room in back for the crew. Upstairs was a room for lighter life-saving apparatus and a bunk room for the crew. With the completion of these Red House stations in 1873, the total number of stations was brought to 82.69 With the Congressional appropriation of $100,000 in 1873, a new design was developed for the stations. Twenty-three of what have become known as 1874-type stations were built. These were the first stations to employ a recognizable architectural style (Figure 33). The stations were designed in the mode of the Carpenter Gothic and 69Ibid. , 13-14. 60 Figure 33. Plum Island Life-Saving Station (Chandler, 1873- 74), Massachusetts, an 1874-Type Station. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters (Life-Saving Service: Stations and Architecture File). the Stick Style. Influences from the outdated Carpenter Gothic can be seen in the beaded vertical siding and intricate scroll work in the gable. From the Stick Style came the station's gable stick work, brackets and half-timbering to represent the structural elements of the building. Disregarding the detailing, the station design was much the same as the Red House stations from 1871 in size and layout. A lookout platform was added to the roof with an internal ladder to reach it. A year later, a slightly different plan came out which has become known as the 1875-type station. Again, the main difference between the station plans was in the detailing. The 1875-type station was essentially the same size as the 1874-type stations, 19' wide and 43' deep. It was still 1-1/2 stories tall but it had a steeper roof to provide more useable space on the second floor. The first floor had the same divisions, but the 61 Figure 34. Cape Arago Life-Saving Station (Chandler, 1878), a Modified 1875- Type Station. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters (Life-Saving Service Photos: Personnel File). second floor was divided into a large room at the front, a store room at the middle, and two bedrooms in the back. At least 16 of the 1875-type stations were built on the Atlantic and Great Lake coasts. For Oregon, Washington, and California, a modified version was drawn which altered some of the detailing, eliminated the lookout tower, and added dormers. This is the version that was built at Coos Bay, Oregon, for the Cape Arago Life-Saving Station (Figure 34).70 The Life-Saving Service built from a standard set of plans, but it was not unusual for builders to make alterations to suit the local materials and conditions. The Cape 70Shanks, The U.S. Life-Saving Service, 214-18. 62 Arago station did not have a lookout tower or platform on its roof but instead substituted a balcony above the boatroom doors. This balcony can be found on the 1875-type clipped gable stations, but the Cape Arago Station did not have a clipped gable. The Cape Arago Life-Saving Station is discussed in detail in Chapter IV. The 1874-type design has been attributed to Francis Ward Chandler, the first station type connected to a known designer. Chandler was working in the office of Alfred Mullett, Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department, when Kimball requested plans from Mullet's office in 1874. It is not known unequivocally that Chandler was the designer of the 1874-type station, but has been attributed to Chandler since his name appears on a bill for the plans of 1875-type station and the designs are nearly identical. Chandler had previously worked in the office of Ware and Van Brunt, a firm practicing in the High Victorian Gothic style. He left Washington in 1875 to form the firm of Cabot and Chandler in Boston.71 In July 1875, J. Lake Parkinson was appointed to the new position of Assistant Superintendent for Construction within the Life-Saving Service. This allowed for Kimball to directly supervise the designs for his stations. The first design from Parkinson was the 1876-type station. Basically, the station is the same as the 1875-type; however, it has some subtle early Queen Anne influences, such as fish scale shingles and scalloped board ends. Parkinson was also responsible for the Philadelphia Exposition life-saving station, the first exposition station used to promote the Life-Saving Service.72 71 York, 18-20. 72Shanks, The US. Life-Saving Service, 219-22. 63 The Superintendent of Construction was responsible for the construction of the stations and for additions and major repairs. Minor repairs were handled by the crewmen themselves. The construction of the stations was performed by contractors in the locality. Advertisements seeking bids were placed in the local newspaper, specifications and plans were sent to interested contractors, proposals were received, and contracts were awarded. The Superintendent of Construction then periodically inspected the station as building progressed. 73 Parkinson designed five stations of which multiple copies were built and several one-of-a-kind stations before his final design, the 1882-type station. His designs did not vary much from the 1876-type station, though his Lake Superior-type station offered a cross plan, the first station to break from the rectangular mold. 74 All were done in a mix of Gothic and Stick styles. The 1882-type station featured large dormers on each side and the first use of an enclosed watch tower. Several high-style stations were designed on commission after the 1882-type station by prominent, independent architects. Paul J. Pelz designed what in 1885 can be only described as passe High Victorian Gothic meets Queen Anne at Deal, New Jersey (Figure 35). This design can be considered the pinnacle of ornateness in Life-Saving Service architecture. Its sister station at Bay Head was featured in the 15 September 1885 issue of American Architecture and Building News. 75 73Ibid., 222-24. 74York, 32. 75Shanks, The US. Life-Saving Service, 224-25. 64 Figure 35. Deal Life-Saving Station (Pelz, 1882-83) in New Jersey. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters (Life-Saving Service: Stations and Architecture File). John G. Pelton of San Francisco designed a Queen Anne residence for the Golden Gate Park station in 1884 that was repeated at Willapa Bay Station in Washington. These two residences can be considered the only true Queen Anne structures built by the Life- Saving Service. Even the New York firm of McKim, Mead and White participated and designed a masonry station for Narragansett Pier, Rhode Island, in 1888. It is unknown why firms of such stature designed one-of-a-kind stations in the period between Parkinson's departure and the arrival of the next Superintendent of Construction. However, the locations of the stations in wealthy resort areas might have been the reason for the higher profile designs. Kimball himself wrote, "Those [stations] built later are more comely in appearance, while a few, located conspicuously at popular seaside 65 resorts, make some pretensions to architectural taste."76 The desire to break away from the tired Gothic and Stick styles might have played a role, too. In 1885, Albert Burnley Bibb was working in the Office of Construction. He was given the task of expanding 29 of the old Red House stations. Using the current Shingle style as his mode of choice, he added a lean-to to either side of the rectangular station and extended the roof down over the additions in one unbroken pitch. He then covered all of the work in shingles. The new building now hunkered down in the dunes essentially converting a tall, vertical building into a visually shorter, horizontal structure. Bibb successfully moved the Life-Saving Service away from the Gothic verticality of the past. Bibb's first new station design is referred to as a Bibb #2. At least 22 were built between 1887 and 1892 for the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. The design departed dramatically from the previous designs of Parkinson, creating what is essentially a 1-1 /2 story bungalow with a boatroom attached like a garage. This was the first station to emphasize the living quarters over the boatroom. The gables were clad in shingles while the first floor had horizontal siding. Capping the boatroom was an enclosed lookout. The style represents an early, strong disassociation from the Gothic style. Bibb went on to design a total of four station plans and two one-of-a-kind stations. On the West Coast, he is best remembered for designing the Fort Point-type and Marquette-type stations. The design names come from the first location at which the station was built. Only three Fort Point-type stations were built, but all were constructed 76Kimball, 8. 66 on the Pacific Coast, one of which was at Point Adams (1889) at Hammond, Oregon. The Fort Point-type was the first station to have a detached boathouse. The evolution allowed the boathouse to be placed in a location convenient to launching a boat while the living quarters or station house could be placed in a more protected location. Having the rescue apparatus in its own building also allowed for increased ventilation to dry out the equipment. The Fort Point-type station house was a symmetrically-planned, gambrel-roofed structure with three prominent dormers. This station type is described thoroughly in Chapter V. The Fort Point-type marked a return to the symmetrical building seen exclusively before Bibb' s arrival. In its symmetry, gambrel roof and front door detailing, the style is nodding to the Colonial Revival. Bibb's last design was the Marquette-type station of which 13 were known to be built. Four of these were built in Oregon, making it the most common Life-Saving Service station type on the Oregon Coast (Figure 36). The Marquette-type was also the first foray into a standard, nationwide architecture, as it was used on the Pacific, Atlantic, and the Great Lakes. Like the Fort Point-type station, the Marquette-type station plan separated the rescue equipment from the living quarters. This type was particularly well- suited for the Oregon Coast where lifeboats were launched directly into the water. The dwelling or station house was symmetrical and rectangular in plan, 50' wide by 30' deep. It was 1-1/2 stories tall and built on wooden piles. The dwelling was clad in horizontal drop siding with wood shingles in the gables. Two large, gabled dormers marked the 67 Figure 36. Marquette-Type Dwelling and Fort Point-Type Boathouse at Umpqua River Life-Saving Station (Bibb, 1890) in 1923. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters (Umpqua River File). front and rear porches. The roof was surfaced with wood shingles. A simple king post in the gable ends was the only elaboration. The Marquette-type station house was divided by a central hallway and stair with the right halfreserved for the keeper and the left half for the crew (Figure 37). On the main floor, the keeper's living room, office, kitchen and pantry were to the right. On the left were the crew's quarters and mess room. Upstairs, the right half contained the bedrooms for the keeper and his family. On the left was the crew's locker room. There was no bathroom within the station house, though there was a bath house included on the grounds. At the Yaquina Bay Life-Saving Station, the crew's quarters became the crew's kitchen, and the crew's locker room became their quarters. It must be kept in mind that DWE:LLING 3101. [LCVATION. --------'" ------, I --· ==.::--=-----=::-,~-= ==1 TRAH3V-UUC SECTION. ~ ... ......... Figure 37. Marquette-Type Dwelling Plans. Source: Wick York. 0\ 00 69 the stations were often altered to suit the keeper's needs and that no two stations were identical, only similar. The Marquette-type station continued the new concept of separating the boathouse from the living quarters. All but two of the Marquette stations were built on the Great Lakes and Pacific Coast, suggesting that an integrated boathouse was preferred only on the East Coast. The standard Fort Point-type boathouse plan was recycled and used at all of the Marquette-type stations in Oregon. The boathouse was one story and rectangular in plan, 24' wide by 40' deep (Figure 38). The structure was built on piles and capped by a hip roof. The distinctive feature of a Fort Point boathouse was its "witch's hat" ventilator named for its trademark shape. Allowing in light and increasing the ventilation of the area were two sets of paired, double-hung windows on either side of the boathouse. Paired double doors on the front each led to a bay on the inside, one bay containing a surfboat and the other a lifeboat. The rafters were used to hang equipment such as the lifecar and breeches buoy. A small workbench was situated at the back next to the rear doors. With the beach apparatus cart parked in the bay with the surfboat, the space was fairly cramped (Figure 39). Bibb left the Service and was succeeded by George Russell Tolman in 1891. Tolman continued with Bibb's Shingle style and produced what has become known as the Quonochontaug-type station in 1892. This plan returned to the concept of combining the boathouse and dwelling into one unit. Twenty-one of these stations were built, though only on the East Coast, lending credence to the idea that the East Coast preferred BOAT HOUSE I ·---! ...... s • ·.'! '' ~,,,,..~._,~ .......,.J,e tj,I lj I tj t t1 ) -- ., ..:, C . ..:~: r-C ... ::t 'su~ .... t~ . .-t , ...:--&-,,.,, .. .~ ---·~-1--,--. ' , l ' ! ' ! I ! ' .! I J I! , L' ! ' ! I ! 'L I L' ! I !. '.! , l '..!-Y.L-i.. .... ·== • 1, S£cT,oN e e. Figure 38. Fort Point-Type Boathouse Plans. Source: Nautical Research Centre (#3-451). -.J 0 71 Figure 39. Boathouse Interior, Umpqua River Life-Saving Station, Circa 1900. Source: Lincoln County Historical Society (LCHS #355). combined buildings and the Great Lakes and Pacific Coast liked their dwellings separate from the rescue boats. Tolman continued to design in the Shingle style, producing two more designs, the Niagara-type and the Duluth-type, and a sole one-of-a-kind station. The Niagara was similar to the Quonochontaug, but the Duluth departed from the norm and provided a large lookout tower (Figure 40). At least 54 of Tolman's station designs were built, plus a modified version of his Quonochontaug plan was constructed for the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893. Victor Mendleheffwas Tolman's successor in 1898. Mendleheff was the most prolific of the Life-Saving Service architects, producing 13 known designs and working 72 Figure 40. Avalon Life-Saving Station (Tolman, 1894) in New Jersey. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters (Life- saving Service: Stations and Architecture File). for the Service the longest.77 Mendleheff started out by designing the Petersons Point- type station, one of which was built on Tillamook Bay, Oregon, at Barview. The station was a gambrel-roof structure, like the Fort Point-type station, but it was much squatter and less symmetrical with an integral porch (Figure 41 ). It had three dormers, again like the Fort Point-type, but the center one was three-sided to form a diminutive lookout tower. The 1-1/2 story station was sheathed in shingles. Detailing was Colonial Revival with Tuscan columns and lunette windows in the gables. The boathouse was detached. Chapter IX describes the Tillamook Bay Life-Saving Station in detail. 77Shanks, The US. Life-Saving Service, 237. 73 Figure 41. Tillamook Bay Life-Saving Station (Mendleheff, 1908) at Barview, Oregon, Circa 1913. Source: Author's Collection. Mendleheff continued the Colonial Revival detailing and shingle surfaces through the rest of his 13 designs. He switched to a gable roof but continued with the dormers. The miniature tower of the Petersons Point-type station ballooned to a full-scale tower similar to the Duluth-type stations of Tolman. His stations over the next 17 years varied in form somewhat but retained the same 1-1/2 story massing with tower. Mendleheff s last design for the Life-Saving Service was the Chatham-type station in 1914. The station marked a sudden departure from the one-and-one-half story stations that had been the hallmark of the Life-Saving Service and brought the station to a full two stories in height. This departure aligns with the decade by decade trend of giving the crew more livable space. The Chatham-type was used on both East and West Coasts marking the first time since the Marquette-type stations of a standard, nationwide 74 architecture. The two-story Chatham design cast a new mold that was to dominate Coast Guard architecture through the 1940s. At least 30 of the Chatham-type stations were built, one of which was the Siuslaw River Lifeboat Station (1917) at Florence, Oregon. The station house was symmetrical, 44' wide and 24' deep, clad in shingles, with a hipped gable roof (Figure 42). The roof was frequently surmounted by an integrated lookout tower harkening back to the designs of Chandler in the mid-1870s. The boathouse was detached and enlarged to accommodate the evolution to the larger motor lifeboats and their associated equipment. The Siuslaw River Lifeboat Station is described thoroughly in Chapter X. On 28 January 1915, the Life-Saving Service merged with the Revenue Cutter Service to form the Coast Guard. An all-time high of 279 stations were active at the changeover. It is believed that Mendleheff continued on as architect through the transition period to the Coast Guard.78 Variations on the Chatham-type station continued to be built through the 1930s.79 In 1936, the Port Orford Lifeboat Station was built on a variant of the Chatham plans (Figure 43). The station featured a simpler hipped roof, no cupola, and a dormer on the front and back of the building. It also featured a wider front porch. The Port Orford Lifeboat Station is described in detail in Chapter XI. The Siuslaw River Lifeboat Station (1917) and the Port Orford Lifeboat Station (1936) represent the two ends of the evolution of the Chatham-type station. From the mid-1930s through World War II, a station type known as the Roosevelt-type station, 78lbid., 241. 79Wick York, phone interview by author, transcript, Eugene, OR, 8 April 2000. 75 Figure 42. Siuslaw River Lifeboat Station (Mendleheff, 1917) at Florence, Oregon. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters (Siuslaw River File) . Figure 43. Port Orford Lifeboat Station (1934), Station House, in 1996. Source: Author. 76 dubbed for Franklin D. Roosevelt's tenure as President, was developed by the Coast Guard. Some of these stations were built with funds from Roosevelt's New Deal programs, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Public Works Administration (PW A).80 The Roosevelt-type station is a direct descendent of the Chatham-type. Under a skin of Colonial Revival detailing, the Roosevelt-type station is very similar to the Chatham-type. Unlike the balanced facade of the Chatham-type, the front elevation of the Roosevelt-type station was completely symmetrical, right down to the two, one-story wings added to both sides of the building. Colonial Revival detailing was represented by multi-pane windows flanked by operable shutters, large comer boards with capitals, Tuscan columns, eave returns, a water table with cap, and metal railings in Classical motifs. Even the restricted roof of the entry porch was rimmed with a balustrade. It was always painted white with green shutters and a red roof. The hipped roof of the Chatham was replaced with a gable roof, and like the Chatham, the Roosevelt-type station was frequently topped with a lookout tower. Six small dormers, with arched windows, pierced the attic providing even more livable space. Under the building was a full basement used for mechanical systems and storage. The Roosevelt-type station completed the evolutionary trend of increasing livable space for the crew. The building was a commodious 80' wide and 32' deep, designed to sleep 17 80Dorothy S. Wilkinson, "Facts Available for Preservation and Study of U.S. Coast Guard mid-1930's era Roosevelt-type Lifeboat Stations," Wreck & Rescue 12 (Fall 1999): 24. 77 but able to accommodate more. The station was the apex of square footage with the most livable space of any of the pre-WWII standard station designs. A total of four Roosevelt-type stations were built in Oregon, making it as prolific in Oregon as the Marquette-type of the Life-Saving Service era. At Point Adams, Oregon, there is an early Roosevelt-type station from 1938 (Figure 44). Generally, the construction dates for the Roosevelt-type stations fall within the Franklin Roosevelt's presidency (1933-45). However, at Yaquina Bay, Oregon, the station was built in 1949. The Yaquina Bay Lifeboat Station is considered one of the last Roosevelt-type stations in the nation.81 World War II expanded the number of Coast Guard structures exponentially and hurriedly. This provides a convenient cutoff date for this thesis, as properties underwent expansion in a functional, wartime state, contrasting with the much more thoughtful and detailed designs prior to WWII. Table 1 gives an overview of the stations in Oregon designed before this period of expansion. After WWII, station development continued with the purely functional designs not seen since the Red Houses of 1871-72. Cost of construction and the wave of International Modernism held the elaboration and ornamentation of the designs in check. There has been a modest resurgence of the Roosevelt-type stations with the construction of several simplified versions in the South in an attempt to replicate the Colonial Revival style not seen since WWII.82 However, there is and never will be a substitute for the original stations . • 81Ralph Shanks, phone interview by author, transcript, Eugene, OR, 8 May 2000. 82Ibid. 78 Figure 44. Point Adams Lifeboat Station ( 1939), Station House, in 1997. Source: Author . • 79 Table 1. Each Oregon Station by Date Activated with Year Constructed and Architectural Style. When Year Station Station Construction Architectural Style Activated Began Cape Arago LBS January 1879 1878 Modified 1875-Type Point Adams LSS December 1889 1889 Fort Point Coquille River LSS Early 1891 1890 Marquette Coos Bay LSS August 1891 1890 Marquette Umpqua River LSS September 1891 1890 Marquette Y aquina Bay LSS April 1896 1895 Marquette Y aquina Bay LSS August 1906 1871 Lighthouse Tillamook Bay LSS May 1908 1907 Petersons Point Coos Bay LBS September 1916 1915 One-of-a-Kind Siuslaw River LBS March 1918 1917 Chatham Y aquina Bay LBS April 1932 1931 One-of-a-Kind Port Orford LBS July 1934 1933 Chatham Point Adams LBS April 1939 1938 Roosevelt Umpqua River LBS Late 1939 1939 Roosevelt Coquille River LBS January 1940 1939 One-of-a-Kind Tillamook Bay LBS January 1943 1942 Roosevelt Yaquina Bay LBS December 1949 1949 Roosevelt 80 CHAPTERIV COOS BAY STATIONS Mariners consider Coos Bay the best natural harbor between San Francisco and Puget Sound, and today, it is the world's largest forest-products shipping port.83 The bay has forged the history of the region and was the most important factor in the development of the area. Coos Bay is located two-thirds of the way down the Oregon Coast and is the economic focus for the towns of Coos Bay (formerly Marshfield), North Bend, and Empire (Figure 45). There have been three station locations throughout the history of water rescue on Coos Bay. The first station was situated at Gregory Point two miles southwest of the entrance to Coos Bay. The station was activated in 1879 and was the first life-saving station on the Oregon Coast. In 1891, the station was abandoned for a far more hospitable location just inside the entrance to Coos Bay at North Spit. In 1916, the station was moved for the third and final time to the south side of the Coos Bay and the harbor town of Charleston. The station buildings at Charleston still stand and are being used today by the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, a program of the University of Oregon. • 83State of Oregon, 1991-92 Oregon Blue Book (Salem, OR: Oregon State Printing, 1991 ), 340. 81 0 2 miles PACIFIC 0 CEAN U5NA C~pe Al)80 Light r: Siletz River GREGORY POIN Yaquina River A/sea River Siuslaw River a Smith River Umpqua River Coos River Coquille River Rogue River Chetco River 25 50 miles I Figure 45 . Location of Gregory Point, Oregon, as Shown on a 1996 DeLorme Topographic Map. 82 Cape Arago Life-Saving Station The first life-saving station built on the Oregon Coast was the erroneously named Cape Arago Life-Saving Station, as Cape Arago itself was actually another two miles southwest of the station location (Figure 46). However, it was built next door to the Cape Arago Lighthouse (1866) so it took on the misnomer. The Cape Arago Station was one of the most impractically sited life-saving stations erected on the Oregon Coast. It was built in late-1878 on pilings in a small cove on Lighthouse Island (Figure 47). At this point in time, there were no permanent life-saving crews, just a full-time keeper. If there was a need to perform some kind of water rescue activity, the keeper would first have to be informed of the wreck, as the station was not in a location from which to watch for trouble. The keeper would then have to travel to the nearby town of Empire to find volunteers. He would round up volunteers and then bring them back to the life-saving station to launch the boat with the volunteer crew. The Coos Bay News chided the situation sarcastically on 22 January 1879, "No fear of the loss of life on our bar now ... Mr. Lobree needn't put on that life preserver nor say those prayers. Hereafter he can just quietly throw himself into the arms of the man on shore." Fortunately, it was a rare day when rescue operations were mounted from the Cape Arago Station. Entire years went by without any rescues. The logbooks are generally filled day after day with nothing more than solitary notes such as, "Had the • 83 G Balt imore ]h Roell .5 .25 0 .5 miles ~iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!5iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiil 21 t,8 G regory Poi t COAST GUARD ;,; I' I 4f P AI RK • Figure 46. Aerial Photo of the Cape Arago Station Area in 1939 Superimposed Over the Cape Arago, Oregon, USGS Map (1973 Revision). 84 Figure 47. Cape Arago Station, 1885. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters (Life-Saving Service Photos: Personnel File). boathouse open for ventilation" and "Cleaned House."84 Later keepers made all-day trips on an average of once a week for "mail and supplies." An occasional steamer or schooner would pass by and the keeper would make note of it. On average, two or three ships would pass by the station on any given day during the history of the Cape Arago Station. A busy day would see ten schooners, two steamers and a bark sailing into and out of Coos Bay.85 This lack of excitement was not the luxury many keepers sought. In fact, the Cape Arago Life-Saving Station, later to become the Coos Bay Life-Saving Station, had 84U.S. Life-Saving Service, "Logbooks of the Life-Saving Service," Cape Arago Life-Saving Station, National Archives, Pacific Alaska Region, Seattle, 1884-1902. 85Ibid., 31 January 1884. 85 14 keepers in 3 7 years, the highest turnover rate on the West Coast. Of those fourteen, four transferred to other stations and ten simply resigned. Isolation probably played the biggest factor at Cape Arago, but other common reasons would be low pay, no retirement plan, and health reasons.86 The design for the Cape Arago Life-Saving Station came from Francis Ward Chandler and is known as a Modified 1875-type station. At least 16 of the 1875-type stations were built on the Atlantic and Great Lake coasts. For Oregon, Washington and California, a modified version was drawn which altered some of the detailing and eliminated the lookout tower, substituting a dormer instead. This is the version that was built at Cape Arago.87 The 1875-type station was 19' wide, 43' deep and 1-1 /2 stories tall. It was capped by a gable roof. The first floor was essentially a boatroom with a living room at the rear. It had an internal stair located at the back of the boatroom which led to a second floor divided into two rear rooms, a store room at the middle, and a large room at the front. A tall flag pole rose from its front gable above the boatroom doors. As mentioned previously, the Cape Arago Station was a modified version of the 1875-type. In fact it had modifications unseen at any other life-saving station (Figure 48). The Life-Saving Service did build from a standard set of plans, but it was not unusual for builders to make alterations to suit the local materials and conditions. Cape Arago did not have a lookout tower or platform on its roof but instead substituted a • 86Noble, That Others Might Live, 64-65 . 87Shanks, The U.S. Life-Saving Service, 214-18. 86 Figure 48. Detail of Cape Arago Station, 1885. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters (Life- saving Service Photos: Personnel File). balcony above the boatroom doors. This balcony can be found on the 1875-type clipped gable stations, but the Cape Arago Station did not have a clipped gable. To access the balcony, there was a door flanked by two windows. The 1875-type stations had the window but no door; the 1875-type clipped gable had the door but no windows; the Cape Arago Station had both the windows and the door. The Cape Arago Station's gable stick work was simplified to a collar brace and king post pattern. Its diagonal bracing at the comer is unlike other stations in that they • usually used either a diamond pattern or an X pattern; Cape Arago used a straight diagonal board. This detailing was the same on the Shoalwater Bay Life-Saving Station 87 and the Neah Bay Life-Saving Station, both built in 1877 in the Washington Territory, and probably provided the plans for the Cape Arago Life-Saving Station. Local contractors were found for the construction of the Shoal water Bay and Neah Bay stations; however, a bid low enough could not be obtained for the Cape Arago station so the federal government was forced to build the station. 88 Where the Cape Arago station diverged from all other stations was that the entire building was raised on pilings to place the boatroom above the high water line. The stilts were in turn braced by 8" by 8" diagonal braces 15' long.89 It is believed all other 1875- type stations had a ramp from their boatroom; Cape Arago had none. Instead the surfboat was pulled into slings under the station building and hoisted up into the boatroom.90 One more peculiarity about the Cape Arago station was its location below a cliff in a cove. The local builder constructed a flight of stairs from the top of the cliff down to a small room off the back of the second floor, something not seen at other stations. This provided access directly to the second floor from the outside. There was also a flight of stairs leading from the living room down to the beach of the cove. Both of these stairs are later additions not built during the initial construction phase. Since the keeper did not mount regular beach patrols, there was little to do other than station maintenance and making repairs after storms. Large repair or construction 88George Richard Reynolds, "The United States Coast Guard in the Northwest: 1854-1900" (Master's thesis, University of Washington, 1968), 128. I 89U.S. Life-Saving Service, "Logbooks of the Life-Saving Service," Cape Arago Life-Saving Station, 30 November 1885. 90Ibid., 31 July 1886. 88 projects were contracted out, but the keeper was responsible for maintenance. Keeper Abbott recorded in the 1884 logbook his work in May and June painting the station. He whitewashed the "foundation," rails and steps for three days; he "coal tarred" the lower frame for a day; he painted the roof for three days; and he painted the building itself for seven days.91 The logbooks are made up of a series of one-page, preprinted forms. The keeper was responsible for recording weather conditions throughout the day, beach patrols, the number of ships that passed, and general remarks. Two additional questions on the form were related to maintenance: "Is the house thoroughly clean?" and "Is the house in good repair?" Usually these questions receive a ubiquitous, "Yes;" however, after storms the question about good repair often received a "No." The station's location on the cove made it susceptible to pounding surf and logs carried in that surf. On 10 January 1885, Keeper Abbott determined that the station was not in good condition and reported that, "The veranda is rotten all through, wetting and staining the front of the building, the floor is of tounged [sic] and grooved lumber and it is impossible to make it tight with putty or with caulking, a new one is badly needed, and should be covered with either zinc or canvas painted." This was one of the few repairs made at the station during its life by a contractor and it cost $55.00.92 Note the aerial car faintly visible on the left edge of the photo in Figure 47. The car ran out from the mainland to Lighthouse Island where the lighthouse and life-saving • 91 lbid., May-June 1884. 92lbid., 12 May 1885. 89 station were built. There was a report by Keeper Abbott that on 24 November 1885, "a tremendous sea ... carried away the Bridge that connected the Island with the mainland also the Ladders at both ends of the Bridge together with the Light Keepers Boat."93 There is a notation on 26 November that Keeper Abbott "effected communication with mainland by means of rigging the Beach Apparatus . ... " This is likely the aerial car visible in the photo as the photo dates to 1885. A new bridge was built, but it was carried away by "heavy surf' in November 1888.94 Maintenance on the structure was such a headache, keepers referred to it as the "Bridge of Sighs. "95 The bridge that stands today (Figure 49) linking the mainland to Lighthouse Island is similar but not identical in appearance to the one in the circa 1910 photo (Figure 50). Undoubtedly, the bridge across the channel has been reconstructed several times. On 24 June 1885, a deed was received by the Keeper William Abbott for a piece of land on South Slough as a location for an auxiliary boathouse.96 Abbott reports in the 1885 logbook that on 17 August, the contractor had finished a boathouse on South Slough. Unfortunately, the 24 November storm that washed away the bridge also knocked the boathouse over onto its side; however, the rescue boats were saved. The boathouse was salvaged, rebuilt, and continued to be used at South Slough. 93Ibid., 24 November 1885. 94Ibid. , 22 November 1888. 95James A. Gibbs, Oregon 's Seacoast Lighthouses: An Oregon Documentary, • Bert Webber, editor (Medford, OR: Webb Research Group, 1992), 66-67 . 96U.S. Life-Saving Service, "Logbooks of the Life-Saving Service," Cape Arago Life-Saving Station, 24 June 1885. 90 Figure 49. Bridge to Lighthouse Island, 1999. Source: Author. Figure 50. Bridge to Lighthouse Island, Circa 1910. Source: Author' s Collection. I 91 Figure 51. Location of Fonner Cape Arago Station, 1999. Source: Author. The Cape Arago Life-Saving Station was too small to house a crew and it was poorly sited; therefore, the location was abandoned in 1891. The station building continued to show up in the foreground of pictures of the Cape Arago Lighthouse. In the circa 1910 photo (Figure 50), the Cape Arago Life-Saving Station is still there; however, it is badly deteriorated and surrounded by logs. Without maintenance to the structure, the station was doomed to the elements (Figure 51 ). Cape Arago Life-Saving Station at North Spit The U.S. Life-Saving Service moved the operations of the Cape Arago Life- Saving Station from Lighthouse Island to the North Spit of Coos Bay in July 1891. As early as September 1890, Keeper Joseph Hodgson had been assisting in locating a site for 92 a new station.97 According to the daily logbooks, by March 1891, a building contractor was involved in the project. Keeper Hodgson moved the boats and gear on 8 July 1891 , to the new station on North Spit. On 1 August 1891 , Hodgson "shipped" a crew of eight surfmen, and the station began patrols for the first time in its history. Keeper Hodgson oversaw the transition from a poorly located station with no crew to an infinitely better situated station with a full compliment of eight paid surfmen. Even though the new station at North Spit was even further away from the land form known as Cape Arago (Figure 52), the station retained the original Cape Arago name and continued to be documented as the Cape Arago Life-Saving Station until mid- 1902 when it became known as the Coos Bay Life-Saving Station.98 Keeper Hodgson helped in siting the station approximately two miles from the entrance to Coos Bay on the north edge of the bay (Figure 53). The station house was placed on a small rise just off Hungryman Cove (Figure 54 ). The move to the new location was a wise one. The life-savers found themselves in a much better position from which to launch rescues. On 20 October 1896, the steamer Arago ran aground on the rocks of the north jetty at the mouth of Coos Bay. Only 19 of the 32 passengers and sailors survived that morning; however, the rescue of the 19 was roundly praised. Captain Reed of the Arago lived to write the U.S.L.S.S. superintendent of the 12th District: "I must thank you for the lives of all of us that were rescued by the United States life-saving crew, for I believe it was through your efforts 97Ibid. , 8 September 1890. 98The Annual Reports continued to use the Cape Arago name for the station until the 1902-03 season when it was changed to the Coos Bay Life-Saving Station. 93 0 2 miles PACIFIC OCEAN NORTH SPIT Siletz River Yaquina River A/sea River Siuslaw River Smith River Umpqua River M Chetco River 25 25 50 miles Figure 52. Location of North Spit on Coos Bay, Oregon, as Shown on a 1996 DeLorme Topographic Map. 94 ,~~ ~~; ~. -~ -:~~/ ·.• , o .,_,,. O· ·v,/<' ./:·,:.~ '• ... • ~/ . 24' ,_,_ y. . ,,,,P, ¼.I ,;t :1,t1ll-/7;::: J-Y/ / ,., , ( HY ,rf?I)({.-1/ //// / Li, ; Sitka '" ~ .5 m~les ,•· D o, ,?J ,.,, -,:d::ii#'oiAts ··,_a.Y ~\I-po -0 :·-·::\)X{::..:~/:(.{:·_/:;. -:: Ligh t ' ?' 0 Light .0 C Coos H ead Figure 53. Aerial Photo of the Cape Arago Station Area on North Spit in 1939 Superimposed Over the Empire, Oregon, USGS Map (1970 Revision). 95 Figure 54. Coos Bay Life-Saving Station at North Spit, circa 1910. Source: Oregon Historical Society (OrHi #0028P207-006940). that the life saving station was changed from Cape Arago, from where no lifeboat could have reached us that day or the next."99 The fully-staffed life-saving station was just part of the federal maritime improvements occurring at the mouth of Coos Bay. For many years, Oregon representatives to Congress had been fighting for federal money to enhance the entrance to the bay. Lumber and coal drove the economy of the area, and if the ships could not reach the goods, there was no money to be made. In June 1861 , the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey began the formal charting of Coos Bay, finishing in 1866. However, the harbor improvements suggested in that survey did not get underway until 1879. The first stone was laid for a jetty across the South Slough on 6 April 1880. The Army Corps 99U.S. Life-Saving Service, 1897 Annual Reports, 39. 96 of Engineers thought that blocking the South Slough would stop sediments from entering the mouth of Coos Bay. Unfortunately, the construction project went on for ten years before it was abandoned in 1890 as too impractical to justify the costs. Standard jetties were then designed to jut out 1,800 feet on either side of the harbor entrance. 100 At this time, the Columbia River and Yaquina Bay already had their first jetties, so the designer of those breakwaters, James Polhemus, was brought in to supervise the construction of jetties at Coos Bay. The north jetty was started in 1890 and finally completed in 1901 . The directed flow of water out of Coos Bay scoured out the bar crossing, deepening the channel from an average of 11 feet to 17 feet. Later dredging further deepened the channel. A south jetty was not completed until 1928.10 1 The improved entrance to the bay did not eliminate the need for the life-saving service, however. Wrecks continued to occur because of increased ship traffic, vicious crosscurrents at the entrance, storms, and larger ships. The wreck of the New Carissa in February 1999 is testimony to the still hazardous conditions at the entrance to Coos Bay. The most tragic wreck ever to occur at Coos Bay ensued on 12 January 1910. 102 The wreck of the Czarina took 23 lives and was described as the worst disaster in 25 years in the United States. 103 The official account of the wreck is presented in Appendix A. 100Dow Beckham, Stars in the Dark: Coal Mines of Southwestern Oregon (Coos Bay, OR: Arago Books, 1995), 50-51. 101Ibid., 51-52. 102Nathan Douthit, A Guide to Oregon South Coast History (Coos Bay, OR: River West Books, 1986), 77. 103u.S. Life-Saving Service, 1910Annual Reports, 59. 97 Figure 55. Cape Arago Life-Saving Station at North Spit, 1898. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters (Life-Saving Service Photos: Personnel File). The station house at North Spit (Figure 55) was built from the standard Marquette plans as described in Chapter III. In general, the house was divided by a central hallway and stair with the right half reserved for the keeper and the left half for the crew. On the main floor, the keeper's living room, office, kitchen, and pantry were to the right. On the left was the crew's living room and quarters. Upstairs, the right half contained bedrooms for the keeper and his family. On the left was the crew's locker room. The boathouse was a standard Fort Point-type boathouse. It was located close by, most likely to the southwest, enabling quick access to the bar. The building was one- story with two bays and measured 24' wide by 40' deep. One bay held a surtboat and the other bay a lifeboat. The boathouse is thoroughly described in Chapter III. 98 A pair of water towers were built adjacent to the station house to capture runoff from the roof of the station house. In Figure 54, a washhouse can be seen to the left of the station house. A washhouse was necessary since the station house had no plumbing other than the hand pump to the kitchen sink. In 1892, the crew built a wharf in front of the station constructed of planks found on the beach. 104 During September 1893, the crew built a woodshed. 105 The wreck pole is visible to the left of the group in Figure 55. A tall flag pole rises over the station yard. A post topped by a bell box appears to the left of the station house. During June 1892, the crew built a handsome picket fence around the property. 106 Many of the stations along the Oregon Coast had auxiliary buildings scattered around the vicinity. The majority of these structures were lookout towers and boathouses. The lookout towers were always positioned at the most advantageous site so as to be able to observe as much of the waterway and beach as possible. Usually this site was far too inhospitable or remote to build the station itself. Auxiliary boathouses were often built at supplemental locations so that if a rescue boat could not be launched from a principal location due to tide or bar conditions, an auxiliary boat could be launched from a different location usually outside of the entrance to the waterway, often from a beach. The Annual Reports noted, "Near the point of the spit, and overlooking the entrance, is the service observation tower and a house that shelters a boat and other 104U.S. Life-Saving Service, "Logbooks of the Life-Saving Service," Cape Arago Life-Saving Station, 25 February 1892. 105Ibid., 4 September 1893. 106Ibid., 2 June 1892. 99 equipment designed for the use of the life-saving crew in affording assistance to vessels that get into difficulty on the bar and in contiguous waters ." 107 The boathouse was a simple, gabled-roof, two-bay structure with a wooden boardwalk to ease the movement of the boat carriage over the soft sand. Less is known about the lookout tower, though it was built during September 1893 and was probably similar to the one at the Umpqua River Life-Saving Station (see Chapter VII). 108 The Cape Arago Life-Saving Station at North Spit, later known as the Coos Bay Life-Saving Station, was abandoned after 25 years in favor of the protection and convenience of the South Slough town of Charleston. The old station house was abandoned in 1916, but the water tanks were recycled and moved across Coos Bay to the new station site. The U.S. Navy occupied the old station in 1941 and used it as a direction finder station during World War II. At the end of the war it was returned to the Coast Guard and in 1953 sold to a private party as surplus. It burned sometime around 1967. 109 Coos Bay Lifeboat Station On 28 January 1915, the U.S. Life-Saving Service merged with the Revenue Cutter Service to form the U.S. Coast Guard. Most of the construction work undertaken by the Coast Guard after the merger and up through the 1920s involved repairs rather 107U.S. Life-Saving Service, 1910 Annual Reports, 59. 108U.S. Life-Saving Service, "Logbooks of the Life-Saving Service," Cape Arago Life-Saving Station, 18 September 1893. 109"Golden Years of Lifesaving," Coos Bay World, 21 September 1974. 100 than new construction. 11 0 However, on the Pacific Coast there was such a lack of stations that the building of new stations continued unabated. In what could have been one of the first stations built by the new Coast Guard in the United States, construction began in 1915 in Charleston to replace the Coos Bay Life-Saving Station at North Spit. Charleston is on the south side of the entrance to Coos Bay (Figure 56). It is a seacoast fishing town; boats and docks dominate the landscape and modem oyster shell middens mark the entrance into town. The new station's location was probably somewhere near the site of the old auxiliary boathouse built for the Cape Arago Life- Saving Station when the station was located at Lighthouse Island. The new location was situated quite close to the entrance to Coos Bay and near a high promontory ideal for a lookout tower; two essential features the old station lacked (Figure 57). The idea to build a new station developed as early as 24 April 1913, as that is when two parcels of land were acquired for the new site. Government machinery moves slowly and it took several years before drawings were made. The drawings are unique to this station and it is believed to be one of a kind. Some of the drawings for the new station are actually dated a few days before the formation of the Coast Guard, but all of the drawings are firmly labeled, "Coos Bay Coast Guard Station." It was not until September 1916 that the crew on the North Spit moved across the bay to the new Charleston location. 110Shanks, The US. Life-Saving Service, 241. 101 0 2 miles PACIFIC OCEAN Siletz River Yaquina River A/see River Siuslsw River Smith River Umpqua River Chetco River 25 25 50 miles Figure 56. Location of Charleston on Coos Bay, Oregon, as Shown on a 1996 DeLorme Topographic Map. 102 q I 0 I ', 1 I ;,, .5 ~iles I / ' ;::chi~ I ~19 :ef•.''-~;i!:.)'it. I I _; C) Submerged ~jf •• \ J etty _ -Ff} :< 23 27 31 1C)/ -\ \ ---- ,Jfj:i' •1 , I \ ~• ,.:, C \ \ «,: ·:· \ \ I; · 9 ' F 48 ./ ~ight I I p I I/ 9 is'/!, ,' I / h :: S, ~(;:~ 'ff ,! :If/\ - Boa R'ii'mp ,8i~ : 1 w 'l 1/r =~ t G ?'d anb, \ 1 1-;;, gs I ' I , 0 t!. ,,,. t\o\ " ( \ "' ~,, / l,, - /l~ ·•0, . .\. . .r,~r~f:: I .,.,- Collver Point '\ \ Younker ---..._ Point &1"AiL.S o~ <.u.,..,._...c. .... ..4:s-c.AI-IL- ""•"- J.'-o. . ..4 ..4. I I I I : : I I C.003~ OrECO.H 1 _-k,,,_,,,_,,.._ .,.~ COA:5'r -ltJ> cr5"-DD!l -+- .......A 'naH, f----i DR.A'WINC. N.O Figure 58. Coos Bay Lifeboat Station, Site Plan, 1915. Source: Oregon Institute of Marine Biology. ....... 0 +:>, 105 Figure 59. Coos Bay Lifeboat Station, circa 1916. Source: Oregon Historical Society (OrHi #654-A 98320). Figure 60. Coos Bay Lifeboat Station, 1923. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters (Coos Bay File). 106 Fortunately, the keeper's dwelling, the crew's dwelling, and the boathouse have not suffered the same fate as the auxiliary buildings. The keeper's dwelling was a simple gable-roof structure, built on concrete piers. It was 46' 8" wide by 27' O" deep and had a living room, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, and an office (Figure 61). Windows were double-hung, six-over-one, and the roof and walls were sheathed in shingles. The vestibule on the rear of the keeper's dwelling was enlarged sometime between 1923 and 1939, according to historic photographs. The crew's dwelling was designed in the same simple style as the keeper's dwelling, but was wider across the front at 56' 6" wide by 27' O" deep (Figure 62). It had three bedrooms for six of the crew members, a single bedroom each for the top two crewmen, a mess room, kitchen, bathroom, and a storm clothes room. Minimal detailing was the same as on the keeper's dwelling. The crew's dwelling received a substantial addition sometime between 1923 and 1939, according to photographs. During that period, a building approximately identical to the crew's dwelling was built behind and parallel to the crew's dwelling and then connected at the center by a hyphen to create a H-shaped plan (Figure 63). This new "addition" became "the dorm" and the old crew's dwelling became "the office." 111 It was common practice at stations for married crew members to build houses close to the stations. These small, one-story, gable roof structures are purely vernacular, built with local materials by local carpenters. Five are recognizable in Figure 63 to the 111According to a site plan dated 1968, created by the University of Oregon, on file at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology. tl t. tTII :1 tl Err I tl :::::....J: ... tl tr-~ i.- •', ~~ :r-~J .s& , 1 •• I :: ... ,t';'!~tF=71'~taMI ..,._._::,1~ ····-·"-'- • II • a•c.n.ON ...... --;• -' ---•: --0 1i3 ,!j-~r,t1T',...~.,,r,. -.=• :.-- " . • lt••·•l'·'•'t'" • '""rot1MDATI0,.. PLA>4 .,c, "'- FL O O ~ PLAN ...._ 'SC.A._ ... . ~•-.r• o • _. KEEPER'$ DWELLING-< Figure 61. Coos Bay Lifeboat Station, Keeper's Dwelling, 1915. Source: Nautical Research Centre (#3-412). -0 -..) Ll • I 1';\ .., &HO .._&...VATl.0"4° 4 -~¾---~-;- ~ tJ l:J L: n 11 ; ! :-1 ~-- s4- •· t1 y t:l ,,·. 1· ;.. J 7-·-•- . ""CR£W'S DWELLING"' Figure 62. Coos Bay Lifeboat Station, Crew's Dwelling, 1915. Source: Nautical Research Centre (#3-413). ,_. 0 00 109 Figure 63. Coos Bay Lifeboat Station, 1954. Source: National Archives (RG 26-CGS, Box 2, Folder Coos Bay). left, and one is visible under construction in 1923 in Figure 60. These dwellings have been lost over time, though they may have been moved and recycled elsewhere. The boathouse was as unique as the dwellings for the keeper and crew (Figure 64). The Coos Bay Lifeboat Station boathouse is believed to be the only one built from the plans drawn. The building measured 40' wide by 50' deep and was three- bays wide and five-bays deep (Figure 65). In 1915, the bays stored one 34' motor lifeboat, one Dobbins lifeboat, one Monomoy surfboat, and one Beebe-McLellan surfboat. 112 Its distinctive features are the six buttresses on each side of the building, recalling the 1874-type stations with their side buttresses. Like the dwellings for the keeper and crew, the roof and walls of the boathouse were covered in shingles, 4-1/2" to 112U.S. Coast Guard, 1915 Annual Report, 69. 110 Figure 64. Coos Bay Lifeboat Station, Boathouse, 1923. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters (Coos Bay File). Figure 65. Coos Bay Lifeboat Station, Boathouse Ramp, 1923. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters (Coos Bay File). 111 weather on the roof, 5" to weather in the gable, and 6" to weather on the walls (Figure 66). Posts were 6" by 6", beams were 6" by 8", and rafters were 2" by 8". Extending from the front of the boathouse was the 338' launchway (Figure 67). Only the upper portion of the launchway, where there were three sets ofrailroad tracks, was covered in planks. This portion was supported by a wooden framework of 12" by 12" members bolted to concrete piers. Once the three tracks merged, the remaining four- fifths of launchway was simply rails on wooden pilings. These wooden piles were replaced in 1940 with concrete piers when the boathouse underwent a general upgrade to the approaches around the boathouse. A large concrete jetty was built in 1916 to the west of the boathouse and launch way to protect them from the onslaught of storms and surf. Sometime between 1923 and 1931, a carpentry shop was built adjacent to the boathouse to the west. The building still stands, but it has been rehabilitated into a guest house altering its original use, exterior, and interior drastically. The original lookout tower stood further to the west on a high promontory overlooking the entrance to Coos Bay. The tower has since been replaced with a modem lookout at the same location. A standard, Roosevelt-type, four-bay garage was built behind the keeper's dwelling, circa 1940, and still remains today; however, its garage doors have been replaced, windows replaced, and a large entrance stair has been tacked onto its southern end wall. +-t,!,:--=!eo-"l=.'~--,,¥=--t="==-ol=r-!i~~m+m~-~~--~------ ----~--uu-,._,_ ________~ ,!- 1 .... aoATHov.sa. - ... ~- •-h."-~'- 0"" .C. Figure 66. Coos Bay Lifeboat Station, Boathouse Plan, 1915. Source: Oregon Institute of Marine Biology. ............ N ,,,-~ -~~~] ~•s--==,., 1-';':;~--~-,--4.-. 4 .»a.'J"A:SJ... OT JaT,-Y-...C. -ottTa, a.Nt>- ~c.A.L.E. OT ::OaT""AlL.:s - 1/+"-- 1°- 0• Figure 67. Coos Bay Lifeboat Station, Launchway Plan, 1915. Source: Oregon Institute of Marine Biology. --w 114 Preservation Any remains above the beach sand are gone from the cove on Lighthouse Island where the Cape Arago Life-Saving Station once stood (see Figure 51). Not even a piling from the original station is visible. However, there is a chance for interpretation of the site through a photographic plaque display. The oldest known photograph of the station is shown in Figure 47. It was taken at a point that would make an interesting location for a plaque displaying the photograph along with history of the Cape Arago Life-Saving Station. However, the site is on restricted federal property, and a visitor needs permission to even reach the overlook point to the island. Only Coast Guard personnel are allowed to cross the bridge to Lighthouse Island. Like the station on Lighthouse Island, the station at North Spit has been reported to have no above ground remains. This area also has extremely restricted access, due to the wreck of the New Carissa (1999), wildlife conservation issues, and its inaccessibility by vehicle. A water approach in a shallow-draft water craft would be the best means to investigate the old station site; however, the author was not able to make such a trip. Unlike the Lighthouse Island and North Spit sites, there are physical remnants of the 1916 Coos Bay Lifeboat Station at Charleston. The boathouse remains nearly intact, the crew's dwelling has been altered, and the keeper's dwelling is visible. All three buildings are currently being used by the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology (OIMB), a facility of the University of Oregon. 115 The boathouse is the most intact of the three buildings. The building is in its original location. In 1975, the University of Oregon rehabilitated the boathouse and turned it into a lecture hall for OIMB. As designed by the University of Oregon Physical Plant, there were plans to build a two-story, lighthouse-like tower on the rear of the building to serve as an entrance. Instead, a much more modest projection was built on the back of the boathouse to serve as a lobby and to create an area for a men's restroom and a women's restroom (Figure 68). On the front of the boathouse, the doors were removed and replaced with multi-light inoperable windows (Figure 69). The eastmost bay received a three-sided bay window and the westmost bay has a door next to its fixed window. Inside, the sloped floor of the boatroom was terraced with a new floor over the old to accommodate level seating. A projection booth was added to the rear of the boatroom. There were plans to renovate the attic space; however, this was never performed, and the attic space remains as originally built. The rails have been removed from the launchway but their impression in the wood of the decking remains. Where the decking ends, the concrete pilings continue on into the water and give an excellent sensation of what the launchway once was. A pump shed and large diameter water lines have been added to one side of the ramp. Both the boathouse and the remains of the launchway should be maintained in their current configuration. Future adaptations of the boathouse should not be performed if they disturb the Coast Guard-era elements. Between 1968 and 1970, the Coast Guard built new family housing on the old Coos Bay Coast Guard Station site. Fortunately, they did not destroy the dwellings of the 116 Figure 68. Former Boathouse (1915), Coos Bay Lifeboat Station, 1999. Source: Author. Figure 69. Former Boathouse and Launchway (1915), Coos Bay Lifeboat Station, 1999. Source: Author. 117 keeper or crew. Instead, these buildings they moved south a couple of hundred yards to the site of a former Civilian Conservation Corps camp. This group of buildings became the core campus for the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology. The new Coos Bay Lifeboat Station was built to the east on the "new" waterfront on land reclaimed from the South Slough. The crew's dwelling underwent a dramatic rehabilitation from dwelling to neurobiology research lab. The design came out of the office of Kruse & Fitch Architects of Seattle in 1968. 113 Several more alterations have occurred since, the latest being a large, just-completed, two-story addition to its south elevation. However, the crew's dwelling is still unmistakable from the exterior and should remain as such (Figure 70). At a minimum, the wood shingle siding, windows, and porch should be retained. The interior has been-too heavily altered to offer any interpretive value. The keeper's dwelling has been served an even worse life sentence than the crew's dwelling. It has been enveloped by a just-completed, two-story library complex (Figure 71). Only through photo comparison can the exterior of the former keeper's dwelling be distinguished. The new building does not differentiate the keeper's dwelling in any way on the interior. A plaque on the interior denoting what the building once was is the only means left to present the history of the former Coast Guard building. 113Plan on file at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology. 118 Figure 70. Former Crew's Dwelling (1915), Coos Bay Lifeboat Station, 1999. Source: Author. Figure 71. Former Keeper's Dwelling (1915), Coos Bay Lifeboat Station, 1999. Source: Author. 119 CHAPTER V POINT ADAMS STATIONS The Columbia River is the largest river on the West Coast and separates Oregon from Washington. At Oregon's northwest comer, the Columbia River flows into the Pacific Ocean. Where the two bodies of water meet, the confluence produces some of the most consistently turbulent water anywhere in the world. Due to these hazardous conditions, the area has become known to mariners as the "Graveyard of the Pacific." At Oregon's northwest comer are Point Adams and the town of Hammond (Figure 72). The area around Hammond was home to the earliest Euro-American settlements in the West. Lewis and Clark settled in for the Winter of 1805-06 just six miles southeast of Hammond on Young's Bay. Five miles to the east, Astoria was the first American city established on the West Coast. Settled as a fur trading post in 1811, Astoria was named for Pacific Fur Company pioneer John Jacob Astor, 88 years before Hammond became a town. The original indigenous populace of the area was the Clatsop Indians. All the people who settled on the tip of Oregon were drawn by the same thing, the Columbia River. The river acted as a highway into the interior, it provided plenty of fish and ample game along its banks, and there were seemingly inexhaustible supplies of fur- bearing creatures. Despite a tense feud between the British and Americans, Astoria held on and gradually settlers from the East began to populate the area. In the 1840s, Portland 120 + CIFIC Siletz River Yaquina River CEAN A/sea River Sius/aw River + a Smith River Umpqua River Chetco River 0 2 miles 25 50 miles Figure 72. Location of Hammond, Oregon, as Shown on a 1996 DeLorme Topographic Map. 121 was becoming the major trade center north of San Francisco. The news of gold strikes in California in 1848 solidified the link between Portland and San Francisco, with Astoria being the way point for those traveling by sea. A customs house was established at Astoria in November 1848 to monitor goods sailing between San Francisco and Portland. Development of the ports along the Oregon Coast was hampered by a lack of aids to navigation. When the Tonquin arrived with Astor's party from the Pacific Fur Company in 1811, they lost two boats and eight men while taking soundings to navigate over the Columbia bar. 114 Soon, a primitive range system was set up for river navigation. White flags would be tied to trees on the shore that, when lined up by a ship's pilot, would show that the ship was in the channel. At night, the flags would be substituted with bonfires; however, piloting in the dark was rarely risked. Bar pilots came into use in the 1840s and were licensed by the Oregon provisional government starting in 1846. 115 The Revenue Cutter Jefferson Davis arrived in the Oregon Territory in September 1854. This marked the first federal government assistance to mariners in the region. The ship was sent in response to a request from the Collector of Customs to counter smuggling. The cutter enforced the customs laws by meeting ships offshore and inspecting their cargo. In addition to enforcing customs laws, the Jefferson Davis 114Frank Turner, "The Graveyard of the Pacific," Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 7 September 1958. 115Sally Donovan and Barb Kachel, National Register Multiple Property Nomination for Lighthouse Stations of Oregon (Salem, OR: Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, 1992), E.6, E.19. 122 transported government officials, protected lighthouse personnel and other settlers from harassment by Indians, and rescued survivors of shipwrecks. 116 Communications and commerce along on the Pacific Coast depended almost exclusively upon water transportation. The local populace relied on the waterways to remain in contact with the East Coast, California, Washington, and other Oregon settlements. However, there were still no modern aids to navigation in the Oregon Territory when the Jefferson Davis arrived in 1854. A navigator had to rely on spotting a prominent headland, when the weather cooperated, and using the land form to guide his ship to harbor. At night or in poor visibility, ships would remain well offshore to avoid running aground. Navigators often mistook landmarks and led their ships into danger. It was obvious that a system of navigational aids would be needed to facilitate shipping. 11 7 In August 1848, Congress created the Oregon Territory. In that Act, a lighthouse for Cape Disappointment118 and a system of buoys for the Columbia River and Astoria Harbor were specifically mentioned. 11 9 Quickly, officers of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey were sent out to find suitable locations for the aids. The survey recommended that 16 lights be constructed along the Pacific Coast: ten in California, five Washington, and one in Oregon at Umpqua River. The light at Cape Disappointment was given high 116Rear Admiral Ed Nelson, Retired, "History of the Coast Guard in Clatsop County" Cumtux (Summer 1994). 11 7Ibid. 11 8Cape Disappointment is the headland on the north side of the Columbia River entrance. 119Nelson. 123 priority but was slowed when the bark Oriole wrecked on the Columbia bar while carrying supplies to build the lighthouse. 120 The Cape Disappointment Lighthouse became the first major navigational aid to be established in the Oregon Territory when it was lit on 15 October 1856. A sister lighthouse was constructed on the Oregon side at Point Adams in 1875, but discontinued in 1899, and demolished in 1912. The Cape Disappointment light is still active today and is the oldest on the Pacific Coast. The first revenue cutter to be stationed in Astoria was the Joseph Lane, a schooner that arrived on 20 March 1856. The Joseph Lane assisted ships over the bar, inspected cargoes, and aided mariners in distress. 121 In addition to keeping the lights burning, lighthouse keepers were tasked with life-saving duties. The keeper of the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse, J.W. Munson, was the first to provide life-saving services at the mouth of the Columbia prior to the arrival of the Life-Saving Service. After 17 died when the Industry wrecked on the Columbia bar in March 1865, Munson rebuilt a lifeboat that he found on the beach and fitted it with air tanks. He is credited with providing the first life-saving equipment on the Columbia River. 122 Finally, in 1878, the Life-Saving Service augmented Munson's life-saving operation with the Cape Disappointment Lifeboat Station, converting it to a life-saving station with a full-time winter crew in 1882. By 1888, there was a full-time crew of eight surfmen year-around. 120Donovan and Kachel, E.21 . 121Nelson. 122Ibid. 124 The crew at Cape Disappointment Life-Saving Station found themselves extremely busy during fishing season. Just outside the mouth of the Columbia lay the favorite fishing ground for gillnetters. Almost every year the Annual Reports document the death of one or two of the fishermen near Peacock Spit, a narrow strip of land projecting out from Cape Disappointment. "The fishing ground is dangerous and the men are venturesome, while many of them, notwithstanding the accidents constantly occurring in the vicinity, seem to not fully comprehend the dangers of the place," noted the Annual Reports .123 The boats the gillnetters used were small and crewed by two men, a boatpuller and a netpuller. The nets were long and heavy and often dragged the boat and the men into the breakers. The life-savers would actually go on patrol among the hundreds of fishing boats and wait for trouble at Peacock Spit. They would have a crewman in the lookout tower on Cape Disappointment signal them if there was an emergency and direct the pulling boat to the scene. Point Adams Life-Saving Station With the large numbers of rescues occurring at the mouth of the Columbia River in the 1880s, Superintendent Kimball deemed another station necessary. Oregon Senator John H. Mitchell requested an appropriation for a life-saving station at Fort Stevens in early 1886. 124 With a slight alteration of the location to Point Adams, the appropriation for the life-saving station was folded in with another 17 stations under House Resolution 123U.S. Life-Saving Service, 1904 Annual Reports, 34. 124Congress, Senate, 49th Cong. , 1st sess., S. 1496, 1886. 125 6975 and approved by Congress on 10 April 1886. Its quick approval showed how vital it was to get an additional station on the Columbia River. Land was purchased at a lightly populated, waterfront area east of Fort Stevens, on the north edge of what was soon to become the town of Hammond (Figure 73). The Point Adams Life-Saving Station was built during 1889 and put into service in December 1889, according to The Daily Astorian. It was the first true life-saving station to be erected in Oregon, as the Cape Arago Life-Saving Station did not have a crew, only a keeper, prior to 1890. The Point Adams station had eight men on duty year-around. Starting in 1900, an extra man supplemented the crew from 1 May to 25 August, the only Oregon station to have such a large crew during the Life-Saving Service era. The Cape Disappointment station across the river also received a ninth surfman in 1900. The Point Adams and Cape Disappointment stations were two of the five most heavily staffed stations in the nation. 125 Some of the greatest tandem rescue efforts in the United States occurred between these two stations. One of them, the wreck of the Rosecrans in 1913, is detailed in Appendix B. The station Albert Buruley Bibb designed for Point Adams was quite novel for its time. Bibb had started working for the Life-Saving Service in 1885 doing remodels of old stations. The first station he designed from scratch was in 1887 and became known as a Bibb #2. The design departed dramatically from its predecessors in what was essentially a 1-1/2 story bungalow with a boatroom attached like a garage. This was the 125 According to the Annual Reports, the only stations with larger crews were the Fort Point and Golden Gate stations guarding San Francisco Bay which had nine surfmen each year around, and the Baaddah Point station in Washington which had ten surfmen year around. 126 I 6 r-~~- swash L1 :II:,_,_ 1. ' 1: • Tower I!> I 1 , .• I: .. !·f~r·t S~even --L 4\ IJ {]} 7----- "~" ---- ""~ Tower \. I ~ ::::-~II . I -; \\ I '~ 18 Figure 73 . Aerial Photo of the Point Adams Station Area in 1945 Superimposed Over the Warrenton, Oregon, USGS Map (1984 Revision). 127 first station to emphasize the living quarters over the boatroom. For Point Adams two years later, he went one step further and detached the boatroom entirely from the dwelling (Figure 74). The evolution allowed the boathouse to be placed in a location convenient to launching a boat while the living quarters could be placed in a more protected location. Having the rescue apparatus in its own building also allowed for increased ventilation to dry out the equipment. Only three of what has become known as the Fort Point-type stations were built, but all were constructed on the Pacific Coast. The Point Adams station house was a symmetrically-planned, gambrel-roofed structure with three prominent dormers (Figure 75). In its symmetry, gambrel roof and front door detailing, the style is nodding to the Colonial Revival. The one sheet shown in Figure 76 is the only drawing that could found for the three stations built. The design was short-lived, as all three stations were built in 1889, and no more would come from the plans. The Fort Point Life-Saving Station on San Francisco Bay was the prototype, followed by the Point Reyes Life-Saving Station just north of San Francisco Bay, and finally the Point Adams Life-Saving Station. The Fort Point Life-Saving Station is the only one that still stands, and it was the last U.S. Life-Saving Service station still in use in the nation when it was decommissioned in 1990. Today, it is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The plan for the Fort Point Station in Figure 76 shows two additions using the original plan as a base drawing. There is a tiny office to the right of the entry and a three-sided bay on the right-side elevation. These modifications were not made to the Point Adams Life-Saving Station. Variances from the plans made at Point Adams were 128 Figure 74. Point Adams Life-Saving Station, Circa 1900. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters (Point Adams File). Figure 75 . Point Adams Life-Saving Station, Circa 1910. Source: Oregon Historical Society (OrHi #654-A 10541 ). , r:i:=:n;a~:=:::, I '~-':_J -.- ,- - --- - - - - -- • I j" r,,.,, r, """' ,. .. ,. N l'L AN J:,.,.,-.~011,,11 .01,\-/!1,/../·~· """ ,,t itrr.tt.· ~ "W...,#116-'' S FOl:F/"OINf ~,re SAVINd .trArt,c/.1 Figure 76. Fort Point-Type Station Plan. Source: Nautical Research Centre (#5-51). 130 operable shutters, eight-over-eight windows at the first floor, and an entry porch with steps off of all sides. As was typical among Oregon life-saving stations, the plan is symmetrical with a central entry and stair hall. Colonial detailing abounds, such as multi-pane windows with shutters, sidelights at the entry, classical porch columns, a lunette in the central dormer, and eave returns on the dormers. The entire building was sheathed in shingles. The plans show the central stair hall with dining room and kitchen to the left and living room and bedroom to the right. At the end of the stair hall was a bathroom containing a bathtub, toilet, and sink. This was the first and only life-saving station in Oregon to include a bathroom inside the station house. The second floor would have had a central stair hall leading to four bedrooms for housing the crew, two to a room. The attic space was ventilated at the end walls and would have been used for storage. The roof was surmounted with a lookout between brick chimneys with corbeled caps. Undoubtedly, there was access through the attic to reach the lookout position. There was no basement. Heat was provided by fireplaces in the dining room and living room, and based on the fact there were six flues, there was a fireplace in each of the four crew rooms. From the Fort Point plans, there was apparently an ell projecting from the rear of the station. A one-story ell is visible in one of the earliest photos of the Point Adams Station and was probably the keeper's bedroom, most likely accessible only from the 131 Figure 77. Point Adams Coast Guard Station, 1938. Source: Oregon Historical Society (OrHi #0020P364-000364-A). outside. Sometime between 1923 and 1931, the front porch was filled-in (Figure 77). Apparently the door in the middle dormer was sealed off at about the same time, possibly to house a bathroom for the second floor. I The station's boathouse was a standard Fort Point-type boathouse located to the west of the station house. The building was one-story with two bays and measured 24' wide by 40' deep. The hip roof had a flared eave and was capped with a distinctive "witch's hat" ventilator. This standard boathouse plan is thoroughly described in Chapter III. A short path from the boathouse led to the original riverwall about 150' in front of the station. The wood revetment was built to stem erosion from the Columbia River. At the riverwall was a ramp for launching the pulling boat. There is a note in the 1914 Annual Reports that states, " ... serious erosion of site, necessitating removal of 132 boathouse and launchway to another location . . ." at Point Adams. 126 The 1915 Annual Report clears up the matter when it mentions, "The boathouse has been moved to a new location and the launchway rebuilt." 127 Photos corroborate that at some point between 1905 and 1923, Point Adams did acquire another boathouse, one built on piles in the water with an attached launchway. Photos in 1923 show a two-bay boathouse, approximately 900' from the riverwall and connected to shore by a long boardwalk, well out into the Columbia River. The one-story, gable roof boathouse was approximately 25' wide and 40' deep. Between the station and the boathouse appears a vast area of sand on the 1945 aerial (see Figure 73). This sand is the dredge spoils produced by the Army Corps of Engineers in the 1930s and 1940s to help retain the Point Adams shoreline and at the same time deepen the Columbia' s channel. 128 Adjacent to the station house to its east was a square, one-story storehouse with a pyramidal roof and cupola ventilator. Next to the storehouse was a 1-1/2 story, gable- roofed carpentry shop. Both of these were built sometime between 1889 and 1905. However, along with the 1889 station house, they were demolished by 1945. A shop building was erected east of the station between 1923 and 193 9. It was used as a carpentry shop for small boat repair, maintenance, and storage. The shop building, approximately 20' wide by 45' deep, was constructed with a post-and-beam foundation. The one-story structure was a utilitarian building with little detail. The 126U.S. Life-Saving Service, 1914 Annual Reports, 21. 127U.S. Coast Guard, 1915 Annual Report, 35 128David Miller, phone interview by author, transcript, Eugene, OR, 10 May 2000. 133 building had a gable roof and was clad entirely in shingles. Illuminating its interior were horizontal bands of multi-pane windows, four on the side and two on the front, along with a large door on the back. Point Adams Lifeboat Station The Point Adams Lifeboat Station was erected to replace the inadequate life- saving station house built 50 years earlier in 1889. The new station was the first of the four Roosevelt-type stations to be built on the Oregon Coast. These stations followed a standard plan developed by the Coast Guard and were for the most part built during Franklin Roosevelt's administration (1933-45), hence the designation, Roosevelt-type. The new Point Adams station was begun in October 1938, and built as a Public Works Administration Project (PWA). George Buckler of Portland was the general contractor and it cost $44,000 to build. 129 What was unusual about the construction process at Point Adams was the proximity of the old and new buildings (Figure 78). The Coast Guard designers wanted to site the new station as close as possible to the site of the old station; however, they also wanted to continue to use the old station until the new station was ready in April 1939. Therefore, the new station was built just a few feet in front of the old station. Like the former Fort Point-type life-saving station house, the new Roosevelt-type station house was completely symmetrical across the front. However, the new station's Colonial Revival roots were much more apparent. Colonial Revival detailing was 129"Point Adams New Station Nearly Ready," Astorian Budget, 16 March 1939. 134 Figure 78. New Point Adams Coast Guard Station, 1939. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters (Point Adams File). represented by multi-pane windows flanked by operable shutters, large Classical comer boards, Tuscan columns, eave returns, a water table with cap, and metal railings in Classical motifs. Even the restricted roof of the entry porch was rimmed with a balustrade. On the rear elevation was an entrance door sheltered by a small gable hood supported by distinguished brackets. The building was a commodious 80' wide and 32' deep, designed to sleep 17 but could easily handle more people. On the first floor was a central stair hall, dividing officer's quarters to the left from the crew's living space on the right (Figure 79). On the left was the Officer in Charge's (OIC) office, living room, bathroom, and bedroom. On the right was the crew's mess, kitchen, and day room. At the end of the stair hall was a spare bedroom. The second floor was divided symmetrically into four bedrooms for the crew (Figure 80). Each room was setup to sleep four with four beds and four built-in ,, ··,-- l- •• o T No,.1.~A u,. C.1.ou1 ho" 10 bl \. ....u u. kt. '"t..t,. ._,1.,6l. YoK"' 01,.,A i"1. ! I .. ~:·.•·--- ..... _ --i --·---·· _________,.: :~: . . --~ f'I R .~-r 'F'LOOR nr "N Figure 79. First Floor Plan, Umpqua River Lifeboat Station, Drawn October 1938. Source: Umpqua River Coast Guard Station National Register Nomination. -vJ V, 4 • Mt t,u GYftll ----------------- -·, I I I , .. 10,10N Q.1ooc. I I I I L. ______ ----- . - -- 4° Ht1AI. GulTtll 5f.COND flOOO. PLAN 3 c.• 1.t ·t.· .1! 0 · Figure 80. Second Floor Plan, Tillamook Bay Lifeboat Station, Revised Drawing May 1940. Source: Tillamook Bay Coast ...... Guard Station National Register Nomination. w 0\ 137 lockers. At the end of the stair hall was the crew's bathroom with two toilets, two sinks, and two showers. In the stair hall, the staircase continued on to the attic which was divided into two large bunk rooms with lockers on the end walls. A fold-down stair in the stair hall provided access to the 9' by 9', continuously manned, lookout. 130 Six dormers, with arched windows, pierced the attic. Under the building was a full basement with a drill room, boiler room, storm clothes room, provision room, and laundry room. The entire building was surrounded by a concrete sidewalk in the form of a large oval. As for the building's structure, its exterior walls and subfloor were constructed entirely out of "wolmanized" (i.e., pressure-treated) lumber to help prevent dryrot and insect damage. The foundation had an interesting composition where a 1O " reinforced concrete wall was poured, covered with an asphaltic waterproofing, and then sandwiched with a 4" concrete wall to protect the waterproofing. Inside, the floors were covered in mottled brown battleship linoleum except in the kitchen where it was green and in the bathrooms which had "the newest type cork tiled floor." 131 A standard, four-bay equipment building was built in 1939 to the south of the station (Figure 81). Stations starting in the 1930s all had what were called equipment buildings, which served as garages for vehicles and small boats, plus had storage space for equipment in the attic. The plan of the building was approximately 50' wide by 30' deep and built on a concrete foundation. The equipment building continued the Colonial 130Unlike all other Oregon stations, it is believed Point Adams did not have a lookout tower detached from the building. Their principal lookout was integrated into the dwelling. 131"Point Adams New Station Nearly Ready," Astorian Budget, 16 March 1939. 138 Figure 81. Equipment Building ( 1939) at Point Adams Lifeboat Station, 1997. Source: Author. Revival theme of the station house with its arched, multi-light windows in the dormers, eave returns at the gable ends, a lunette over the gable windows, and water table with cap. Each dormer was centered over a garage door that contained 10 lights over 15 panels. On the back side, there were four more dormers. On the west elevation was an entrance door sheltered by a small gable hood supported by elegant brackets. The building was clad in shingles and finished with classical corner boards. It appears that at about the same time as the station house and equipment building were being erected, a second boathouse was erected next to the boathouse out in the Columbia River. For awhile there were three boathouses at the station. This 1939 boathouse was also two-bays wide but significantly larger at about 35' wide by 50' deep. It also was one-story, shingle-clad with a gable roof and loft area. For a short time the 139 two boathouses sat side by side at the end of the long boardwalk, but by 1945, the c.1915 boathouse was gone. The 1939 boathouse was unfortunately lost in 1982 during a winter storm. A good portion of the long walkway remained and was used for a tidal gauge station. However, the rest of the walkway over the water was destroyed by an ice storm in 1988. The Army Corps of Engineers then removed the rest of the walkway pilings back to the shoreline in early 1989. 132 Fortunately, the portion of the walkway over land still remains today. Preservation The Point Adams station complex is remarkably intact (Figure 82). The station was decommissioned c.1963 and was used for a brief time by the Clatsop Community College. In 1969, the National Marine Fisheries Service bought the station complex and its 5.8 acres from the Coast Guard to use as a research station. At the time, the National Marine Fisheries Service was well aware of the historic importance of the station and have done their best to preserve what remains over the past 30 years. 133 The Point Adams 1889 station house, the c.1915 boathouse, and the 1939 boathouse are all gone, but the 1889 boathouse, c.1925 shop building, and the 1939 station house and equipment building all survive. The 1939 station house is the most intact building on the site (Figure 83). It retains its original exterior appearance with only the addition of a non-integral, metal fire 132Miller. 133lbid. 140 Figure 82. Decommissioned Point Adams Lifeboat Station Complex, 1997. Source: Author. Figure 83. Station House (1939) at Point Adams Lifeboat Station, 1997. Source: Author. 141 escape on either side of the building to serve the second floor and attic. The shutters have been removed, but they are in on-site storage. On the interior, the National Marine Fisheries Service has not altered the spatial arrangement, only the use of the rooms. All decorative features have been retained. Much of the original signage, cabinetry, closets, and hardware remains. Unfortunately, most of the light fixtures have been replaced over the years; however, in the entry hall there is an original 1939 light fixture. The National Marine Fisheries Service has even continued to use the same shades of paint, such as pale yellow and pale gray, on the interior. The station house is a good model of adaptive reuse. The original boathouse from the 1889 station is a rare artifact (Figure 84). The only other boathouse remaining in Oregon from the Life-Saving Service era is at Barview on Tillamook Bay. Of the five Fort Point-type boathouses built in Oregon, Point Adams has the only one remaining. Unfortunately, the boathouse lost its most character-defining feature, the witch ' s hat ventilator, sometime after 193 9. It has also lost its two, paired boatroom doors, its flared eave, and some of its windows. During the Coast Guard era, an entry door was inserted along with several newer windows. However, the boathouse is structurally sound and well maintained. As with all of the buildings on the site, a new cedar shingle roof was installed in 1990. If there was a strong desire, coupled with financial support, this would be a prime building for restoration back to its 1889 appearance. At the very least, National Marine Fisheries Service should continue to maintain the structure and not alter it further. 142 Figure 84. Boathouse (1889) from Point Adams Life-Saving Station, 1997. Source: Author. The exterior of the equipment building (1939) is in excellent shape. The attic space has been adapted into a meeting space. The other four-bay, Roosevelt-type equipment buildings in Oregon are at Siuslaw River and Coos Bay and are identical to the one at Point Adams. The Coast Guard still uses the Siuslaw River and Coos Bay equipment buildings and have altered their exteriors significantly to meet their current needs. In contrast, the Point Adams equipment building has excellent integrity. The National Marine Fisheries Service should continue to maintain the building in its current state, its exterior should not be altered, and its interior not be changed any further. The 143 same applies to the c.1925 shop building. It is in good condition, and it should continue to be used and maintained. In front of the station were the ubiquitous wreck pole and flag pole. Both of these disappeared sometime after 1945. A bell stand stood in front of the station through WWII, but has also since been removed. The original wood riverwall is still visible in the brush, though it is now well inland behind the dredge spoils. The wooden boardwalk that led to the c.1915 and 1939 boathouses still remains, though it is truncated once it reaches the water's edge. In 1939, a 50', four-legged, steel signal flag tower was erected northeast of the station house. The tower still stands today, making it the only pre-WWII signal flag tower still standing in Oregon. In summary, the National Marine Fisheries Service should continue to maintain their 1889 boathouse, their c.1925 shop building, and their 1939 station house, equipment building, and signal flag tower. They should retain their concrete sidewalks, the boardwalk out to the Columbia River, and the remains of the old riverwall. Along with the Port Orford Lifeboat Station, Point Adams is the most intact pre-WWII Coast Guard Station in Oregon. At a minimum, the National Marine Fisheries Service should pursue a National Register Nomination for the site encompassing these buildings. Once listed, they could search for additional funds for the preservation of the station's important buildings. 144 CHAPTER VI COQUILLE RIVER STATIONS The Coquille River is considered one of the most dangerous river entrances on the Oregon Coast (Figure 85). During a 20-year period from 1891 through 1910, the Annual Reports recorded 55 strandings at the mouth of the Coquille River. In comparison, the Coos Bay area reported only 41, the Umpqua River had 14, and the Tillamook Bar had 11. In fact, the Coquille River was second only to the San Francisco Bay area (with 71 groundings) on the entire Pacific Coast during this same time period, and the Coquille River ' s shipping volume was far less. Part of the difficulty at Coquille River is that the distance between its two jetties is only 500 feet, with the channel itself narrowing to 100 feet. Prior to the construction of the jetties, however, the bar was even more dangerous. The only deaths of Oregon life-savers occurred during a boat drill on the Coquille Bar in 1892. Groundings occurred constantly due to shifting winds, cross currents, engine breakdown, steering failure, and broken tow lines. The life of a surfman at Bandon was a busy and risky one. The Coquille River principally serves the town of Bandon located on the south side of the river's mouth (Figure 86). The first settlers in the area arrived in 1853, though Hudson Bay Company trappers had been in the area as early as 1826. The native Coquille Indians had, of course, lived in the area long before that. The river was the highway for such settlements as Coquille, Myrtle Point, Prosper, and Powers. Bandon 145 Tug ngin:J in Schooner, Mouth of Coquil River. Oregon Figure 85. Tug Towing in a Schooner Over the Coquille River Bar, Circa 1910. Source: Author's Collection. received a post office in 1877, and quickly formed into a community based on lumber, salmon, and dairy products. Bandon was located only 20 miles from Empire City on Coos Bay, yet almost all of the traffic went by water; as late as 1886, there was not even a wagon road between the two areas. 134 The Coquille River entrance was recognized early on as extremely dangerous. The first schooner to finally make it across the bar came down from the Umpqua River on 25 August 1859. Reportedly, the locals lined the banks to greet their economic salvation. 135 An initial $4,000 was raised by the community in 1880 to finance a feeble attempt to confine the river to one channel. In 1884, the federal government kicked in 134Gibbs, Oregon's Seacoast Lighthouses, 49. 135Jerry Winterbotham, Umpqua: The Lost County of Oregon (Brownsville, OR: Creative Images Printing, 1994), 122. 146 Siletz River Yaquina River A/sea River Smith River Umpqua River Rogue River Chetco River 25 50 miles Figure 86. Location of Bandon, Oregon, as Shown on a 1996 DeLorme Topographic Map. 147 $10,000 toward the effort and started building a jetty on the south side of the mouth of the Coquille. In 1895, more money was sunk into the south jetty, and a north jetty was begun. Both of the jetties were declared complete in 1908. 136 The Lighthouse Bureau did not rank the need for a lighthouse at the Coquille River very highly. Not until 1891 did Congress appropriate funds to build a lighthouse station on the north spit of the Coquille River. The light was illuminated in 1896, making it the 11th lighthouse to be erected in Oregon. Today, the Coquille River Lighthouse is an Oregon State Parks property and is open to the public. Coquille River Life-Saving Station At about the same time as the lighthouse was being discussed, a life-saving station was proposed for the Coquille River. Oregon Representative Binger Hermann requested the establishment of a life-saving station in 1889. 137 The argument must have been persuasive and the facts clear, as a station with crew was approved on 20 February 1889. It appears that this was the fastest approval of a bill for any Oregon life-saving station. The amount appropriated was $8,000, whereas most stations of this period and area were receiving $5,000. Construction on the station was well underway by June 1890, and it was activated in early 1891. The keeper made do with a crew of seven until 15 December 1911, when the station finally acquired an eighth surfman. 138 136Donovan and Kachel, E.33. 137Congress, House, 50th Cong., 2nd sess., H.R. 1643, 1889. 138U.S. Life-Saving Service, 1912 Annual Reports, 108. 148 The station was built on the standard Marquette plan with a Fort Point-type boathouse, as described in Chapter III. The station complex was situated on the west end of the Bandon waterfront on First Street (Figure 87). The boathouse was located on the river's edge with a launchway descending directly into the water (Figure 88). The station house was located on the bluff above the boathouse at the end of an 81-step staircase (Figure 89). In general, the 50' by 30' house was divided by a central hallway and stair with the right half reserved for the keeper and the left half for the crew (Figure 90). On the main floor, the keeper's living room, office, kitchen and pantry were to the right. On the left was the crew's living room and quarters. Upstairs, the right half contained the bedrooms for the keeper and his family. On the left was the crew's locker room. The boathouse was a Fort Point-type boathouse. The standard Fort Point boathouse is thoroughly described in Chapter III. The Coquille River boathouse was located on the waterfront approximately 70' below the station complex. The building was one-story with two bays and measured 24' wide by 40' deep. One bay held a surfboat and the other bay a lifeboat. A launchway led from the building directly into the Coquille River. Around 1915, a diminutive boathouse was appended onto the original boathouse to store the crew's new 36' motor lifeboat (Figure 91). A new launchway was built adjacent to the old one to give the new motor lifeboat a direct run into the river. As with other stations, there were auxiliary buildings. To the south of the station house were two gable-roofed structures. One was one-story and most likely the wash house. A larger, 1-1/2 story building was probably the workshop. A round water tank, elevated by a square, battered stand, was squeezed in between the 1-1/2 story building 149 Figure 87. Aerial Photo of the Coquille River Station Area in 1939 Superimposed Over the Bandon, Oregon, USGS Map (1973 Revision). 150 Figure 88. Coquille River Life-Saving Station Crew with Lifeboat, Circa 1912. Source: Bandon Historical Society (BHS #34). and the station house. Boardwalks connected the buildings, and a picket fence surrounded the station site. About a mile southwest of the station there was a lookout station to watch the river mouth (Figure 92). The watch house was similar to those mounted at other stations on a tower. This one, however, was elevated by its location on Coquille Point and had no need for additional height. The watch house was an 8' cube with windows on each side, capped by a hipped roof, and built on a wooden platform. Below the lookout on the beach was an auxiliary boathouse where a surfboat and equipment were kept just in case the boats from the station could not get across the bar in an emergency (Figure 93). 139 139U.S. Life-Saving Service, 1910 Annual Reports, 59. 151 Figure 89. Coquille River Life-Saving Station Staircase to Station House, Circa 1910. Source: Bandon Historical Society (BHS #1559) . • 152 Figure 90. Coquille River Life-Saving Station, Circa 1900. Source: Bandon Historical Society. Figure 91. Coquille River Life-Saving Station Boathouse with Station House Directly Behind on Hill, 1916. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters (Coquille River File). 153 Figure 92. Lookout at Coquille Point, Circa 1900. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters (Life-Saving Service: Stations File). Figure 93. Lookout and Abandoned Boathouse at Coquille Point, Circa 1910. Source: Bandon Historical Society (BHS #178). 154 In late-1916, a concrete sidewalk and retaining wall were poured at the base of the station bluff. At the stair to the station, the retaining wall opened in two places to create two, eight-step flights that rejoined into one before going up the hill. Between 1923 and 1936, the upper portion of the launchway was replaced with a concrete ramp and bulkhead. Plans were drawn in November 1933 to insert a basement under the station house. Final drawings were made in February 1934 and the basement was built soon after (Figure 94). An exterior entrance to the basement from the rear was provided, as well as an interior stair from the central hall. A furnace and hot water tank were installed. A small lean-to was erected on the south end of the building to house the first toilet for the station house. A new garage building was also built at the same time. It was a 1-1/2 story structure, 22' wide by 27' deep, with a gable roof penetrated by two dormers. Inside were a bedroom and bathroom over a two-bay garage. Unfortunately, most of the town of Bandon burned down soon after in 1936. Only 16 out of approximately 500 buildings survived the blaze on 26 September 1936. The station complex did not outlive the firestorm (Figure 95). All that did survive were the boats, the concrete launchway, and the bell stand on the hill. Coquille River Lifeboat Station The new Coquille River Lifeboat Station was" ... the finest and most substantial building erected in Bandon since the fire of '36 ... ," declared the local Bandon Western ·£' --:::~~ _J...,,,~1-...-... ------- --- ~-s--:~==t:·_=-:.~ :~,~- = us= c,,,,,,o ()r,-,u tY C~,. £~/tl#K c~- Go,rM#KKr IN.AMO ~ F;---~ ; J --- : .-~ --~: ·. - ,- -~- --,'-' -- . 1-~_:_~h-~r ~,~- ...,_,..,.....,..,., e- ~--i--~- 4 - ·•-'" ·•·-1 _,.... Figure 94. Coquille River Life-Saving Station Remodel Plan, 1933. Source: Nautical Research Centre (#3-439). -V, V, 156 Figure 95. Remains of the Coquille River Life-Saving Station Boathouse After Bandon Fire, 1938. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters (Coquille River File). World newspaper in 1940. 140 Quinn Construction Company of Portland was the general contractor for the building; however, local subcontractors were used on the job. Working drawings were completed by the Coast Guard on 23 December 1938, and construction started in February 1939 (Figure 96). It was decided to consolidate all of the Coast Guard operations into one building on the waterfront, similar to the one on Y aquina Bay's waterfront, though larger. The structure cost approximately $80,000, but equipping the station drove the cost up to $125,000. This was by far the most expensive of the pre-WWII stations built in Oregon. The station was built on the site of the old 140"Completing Federal Structure," Bandon Western World, 11 January 1940. 157 boathouse to take advantage of the existing launch way; however, the site had to be enlarged, so two lots to the east were purchased from the Gallier Estate. 141 After the old life-saving station and boathouse had been destroyed on 26 September 1936, the crew was housed in the town's former city hall. Captain J.A. Trantor and the crew finally moved into their new station in late-January 1940 after waiting more than three years for their new dwelling (Figure 97). The Bandon Western World noted that to the east of the station, "Married members of the crew have bought lots and built small houses ... forming a colony that is now termed, 'Little America. "'142 The new, two-story station was 120' wide by 54' deep, making it easily the largest station constructed on the Oregon Coast. It was built on a reinforced concrete foundation with a concrete bulkhead along the river to protect the property. The station's exterior walls and sub floor were constructed entirely out of wolmanized Douglas fir lumber to help prevent dryrot and insect damage. 143 The first floor had a 54' by 42' boatroom built over the former launchway not destroyed by the fire (Figure 98). To the left of the boatroom was the crew' s kitchen, mess room, utility room, storm clothes locker, and porch. To the right were the three-bay equipment room and workshop, and the office of the Officer in Charge. The equipment room housed a surfboat, a lifeboat, a tractor, truck, and automobile. On the left side of the second floor, there was a bathroom and three bedrooms for two surfmen each (Figure 99). The center section of the second floor 141 lbid. 142lbid. 143Photo caption, wolmanized lumber truck, Coquille River File, U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters. 158 Figure 96. Coquille River Lifeboat Station Under Construction, 1939. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters (Coquille River File). Figure 97. Coquille River Lifeboat Station, 1939. Source: Oregon Historical Society (OrHi #0028P244-006977). .I. ~~Al ¾ r.-,-~q_ U ~t. lh lot Gelli1t,S ~;~:·-- •11 Wullll ••Ill ate•t c., .. '"'JM Ste,, c., .... llil ~ t'>. ..c :i2A.Jl.-~~E£>o.c COQUIU~ ll.JWLSTATI0.11 ~TATIOH f>UILDING r111..JT rLOOR.. PLAN OllrGON ✓ca c: 1. , y.·_• ,· -o- Figure 98. Coquille River Lifeboat Station, First Floor Plan, 1938. Source: US. Coast Guard Civil Engineering Unit, Oakland, CA. ...... v-, I.O .......' !II.• -r.;a .tt c.11 · /'-:::2-', __, \ 'wr.d ,__ /,;>;;, :-.. 5 ,T..-...t r:·----- - a-- --.::1 ~ i ' ,!, e i,;-------p - ~- ~-------~t l"}I-r= -"7/I < la:,-~ t ~ --- i l '} ~ 1 ~ ;· 1 ;· ' '-+I'> / E COND FLOOP,. PLAN Figure 99. Coquille River Lifeboat Station, Second Floor Plan, 1938. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Civil Engineering Unit, Oakland, CA. ....... 0\ 0 161 contained a large day room and three more bedrooms large enough for four crewmen each. The right side of the second floor had four more bedrooms, and a kitchen, dining room, living room, and laundry room. The third floor was used for storage space, but during WWII, the area was converted into additional living quarters for the patrolmen (Figure 100). 144 Windows and doors were all weather-stripped with copper. The building was completely electrified with". . . electric ranges, refrigerators, etc." An oil- burning heating system serviced the entire building. The station also boasted the "latest style" of one-piece, stainless steel sinks. 145 The old Life-Saving Service bell was removed from its stand on the top of the hill and put into a new stand east of the building. 146 The Coquille River Lifeboat Station was used heavily during WWII. Besides the Coast Guard's usual role of protecting life at sea, the station was under Navy jurisdiction and entrusted with beach patrols. The station served as headquarters for a beach patrol that covered a range of about 15 miles of coast centered on Bandon. Throughout the war, local marine traffic remained heavy as large shipments of milk, salmon, and lumber left the port. 147 144Kay Linke and Greg Dilkes, National Register Nomination for Coquille River Life Boat Station (Salem, OR: Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, 1983), 8.2. 145"Completing Federal Structure," Bandon Western World, 11 January 1940. 146William Alvey, phone interview by author, transcript, Eugene, OR, 25 May 2000. 147Linke, 8.2. Figure 100. Coquille River Lifeboat Station, Attic Plan, 1938. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Civil Engineering Unit, Oakland, CA. ,_... 0\ N 163 The Coast Guard scaled back quickly after WWII. In July 1946, the station was decommissioned. The station was reactivated in 1962, with a seven-man contingent. From 1964 until 1969, a portion of the building was used by the Bandon School District to teach boat building. 148 Finally, the Coast Guard moved out of the station entirely in Fall 1971. The building was deemed too costly to maintain to justify its retention.149 The Coast Guard "surplused" the station, and it was acquired by the National Park Service. In June 1980, the structure was transferred from the National Park Service to the Port of Bandon, which still owns it today. Preservation Of course, the fire of 1936 took the 1891 station complex. The auxiliary boathouse below the lookout tower out on Coquille Point was tom down before 1916. The lookout tower itself has also disappeared over time. Today, the Coast Guard monitors the mouth of the Coquille River during the summer months only. They still occupy the old life-saving station property on "Coast Guard Hill," using a post-WWII lookout tower and operating out of a double-wide mobile home (Figure 101 ). The former Coquille River Lifeboat Station stands virtually intact and mostly vacant (Figure 102). The station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. It is owned by the Port of Bandon who have only a few of the potential spaces rented. The Port uses the equipment room at the east end of the building as a vehicle maintenance shop. The i4slbid. 149"Coast Guard to Cut Bandon Operations," Bandon Western World, 22 April 1971 . 164 Figure 101. Aerial of Station with Current Coast Guard Lookout at Upper Right and "Little America" to Left, 1966. Source: National Archives (RG 25-CGS, Box 2, Folder Coquille River Station). Figure 102. Former Coquille Lifeboat Station, 1999. Source: Author. 165 boatroom remains unused. The Port has maintained the exterior well and should continue to do so according to the Secretary of the Interior's Standards. This building is the most underutilized of the former Coast Guard stations in Oregon. Business offices make a good, compatible reuse of the structure, as long as rehabilitation standards, as defined in the Secretary's Standards, are followed. Its largest tenant, the Bandon Historical Society, operated a museum displaying the history of Bandon starting in 1991. Unfortunately, they were forced out by rising rents in 1995. Today, the museum occupies the old city hall on Highway 101, its new location tripling their attendance. The museum had occupied the former day room and three bedrooms at the center of the second floor of the station. This space is an ideal home for a maritime museum, and it is unfortunate that it is not being used for such a purpose. The day room is 42' by 20' and has five windows overlooking the river. The three adjacent rooms are each 13' by 24' and face Coast Guard Hill. A Coast Guard, military, or maritime museum would not conflict with the mission of the Bandon Historical Museum and might even generate a synergistic relationship. 150 Another option for the adaptive reuse of the building would be to create a maritime teaching program, similar to what has been created at Hull, Massachusetts, by the Hull Life-Saving Museum, and use the station as the learning facility. The large, three-bay boatroom and adjacent four-bay garage would make ideal boat building space. Students could be housed on the second floor and in the attic space. There are bathrooms, kitchens, and laundry facilities. The day room could be a lecture hall. There 150Judy Knox, phone interview by author, transcript, Eugene, OR, 25 May 2000. 166 are even multiple exits from the upper floors, a safety code issue that is rarely met easily by Coast Guard stations. The ground floor is level with the street, making for straightforward disabled access, another feature seldom found in Coast Guard stations. If it were promoted and capitalized upon, the Coquille River Lifeboat Station could be a fine asset for the community of Bandon . • 167 CHAPTER VII UMPQUA RIVER STATIONS European settlement on the Umpqua River was solidified in 1836 when representatives of the Hudson's Bay Company built Fort Umpqua near the site of present day Elkton. The presence of the fort encouraged settlement of the area by nonnatives. The fort was abandoned in 1852, but not before the area began to be populated by Americans. 151 In the late l 840s and early 1850s, the settlements along the Umpqua River became major trading partners with the gold fields of California and Southern Oregon. The settlers knew there was a fortune to be made in supplying the miners with food and timber. The town of Scottsburg, about 30 miles up the Umpqua, thrived during the gold rush in California in 1849, and then again in 1852 with the gold rush in Southern Oregon. 152 Only two, navigable rivers, the Columbia and the Umpqua, cut through the Coast Range and connect the Pacific to the Willamette Valley. Being the further south, the Umpqua was the quickest water route to the Southern Oregon mines from San Francisco or Portland. When the Pacific Coast was surveyed for aids to navigation, the only lighthouse recommended for Oregon was one for the Umpqua River. 151 Joyce Ruff Abdill, ed., Historic Douglas County, Oregon (Roseburg, OR: Douglas County Historical Society, 1982), 12-13. 152Sally Donovan and Marianne Kadas, National Register Nomination for US. Coast Guard Station, Umpqua River, Administration and Equipment Building (Salem, OR: Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, 1992), 8.8. 168 The entrance to the Umpqua River is twisted by an enormous sand spit dangling from the north side of the mouth and projecting southward (Figure 103). The entrance to Coos Bay is configured similarly but on a larger scale. This "North Spit" forces the river southward in an attempt to find an outlet to the ocean. At least eight major shipwrecks occurred at the mouth of the Umpqua River between 1850 and 1857, several coming to rest on North Spit, before a lighthouse was erected. On 3 March 1851, Congress appropriated $15,000 toward the construction of a light at the Umpqua River. Title for 33 acres on North Spit was obtained 1 October 1851, across the river from the small settlement at Winchester Bay. Funds continued to be appropriated over the years until enough was collected and construction was finally begun in 1855. Due to construction difficulties on the isolated Oregon Coast, the lighthouse was not illuminated until Fall 1857. Unfortunately, the lighthouse was built on the unstable sand of North Spit. In February 1861, the structure was undermined by a winter storm and collapsed soon after. Fortunately, the light was removed from the tower before the disaster. 153 For more than 30 years, pilots made do without a lighthouse. The Lighthouse Board argued in 1864 that a lighthouse at Cape Arago would serve the region better. This, of course, helped the economic situation of Coos Bay while hurting the economy of the Umpqua River Valley. Finally, Congress acted on 2 October 1888, by purchasing a large amount of stable land on the south side of the Umpqua on a low headland far back from the ocean and river. Construction began in 1891. Problems with contractors, cost 153Gibbs, Oregon's Seacoast Lighthouses, 81-82, 88. 169 PACIFIC O CEAN 0 Siletz River Yaquina River WINCHES A/sea River Smith River Umpqua River Chetco River 25 50 miles Figure 103. Location of Winchester Bay, Oregon, as Shown on a 1996 DeLorme Topographic Map. 170 overruns, and construction errors kept the light from being illuminated until 31 December 1894. 154 Umpqua River Life-Saving Station After the Umpqua River Lighthouse collapsed in 1861, shipwrecks began to occur with increasing frequency. The 1870s saw a long string of tragic disasters. Besides pushing for a new lighthouse, the local populace also requested a life-saving station. Oregon Representative Binger Hermann requested an appropriation of $8,000 in early 1888 to establish a life-saving station near the mouth of the Umpqua River. 155 The proposed station was rolled into House Resolution 8181, along with ten other life-saving stations, and approved on 17 July 1888; however, a limit of $5000 was set per station. A site for the station was selected to the southwest of Fort Umpqua on Army Hill, 156 northeast of the 1857 lighthouse (Figure 104). Conveniently, it was located on land owned by the U.S. Government since the 1850s. 157 The Umpqua River Life-Saving Station opened in September 1891, with a full-time crew of seven. It was not until 1 July 1893 that the station acquired an eighth surfman. 158 The station was built according to 154Ibid., 82-85, 88. 155Congress, House, 50th Cong., 1st sess., H.R. 1766, 1888. 156This Fort Umpqua was not associated with the Fort Umpqua erected by the Hudson's Bay Company. The Fort Umpqua on North Spit was built in 1856 to mark the southern boundary of the Siletz Indian Reservation. It was dismantled in 1862. I 157Donovan and Kadas, 8.15. 158U.S. Life-Saving Service, I 894 Annual Reports, 13. 171 Cov .5 Winche ~ p, Windy • Figure 104. Aerial Photo of the Umpqua River Life-Saving Station Area in 1939 Superimposed Over the Winchester Bay, Oregon, USGS Map (1985 Revision). 172 Figure 105. Umpqua River Life-Saving Station, 1923. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters (Umpqua River File). the standard Marquette plan with a Fort Point-type boathouse (Figure 105) as described in Chapter III. The station complex was located on a small area of stable soil, 1800' southwest of the base of Army Hill, adjacent to the river beach. In general, the 50' by 30' house was divided by a central hallway and stair with the right half reserved for the keeper and the left half for the crew. On the main floor, the keeper's living room, office, kitchen and pantry were to the right. On the left was the crew's living room and quarters. Upstairs, the right half contained bedrooms for the keeper and his family. On the left was the crew's locker room. The boathouse was a Fort Point-type boathouse. The standard Fort Point boathouse is thoroughly described in Chapter III. The Umpqua River boathouse was • located adjacent to the station house about 60' away to the southwest. The building was 173 ~ - . -... ~ ~ ' ., :c ·~ Figure 106. Behind Umpqua River Life-Saving Station, 1923. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters (Umpqua River File). one-story with two bays and measured 24' wide by 40' deep. One bay held a surfboat and the other bay a lifeboat. Unusual tracks or guides made from large timbers led from the boathouse to the river's edge about 400' away making for an easy launch. On the back was a lean-to added sometime after the station's construction. There were many auxiliary structures on the station grounds. At the water's edge, there was a small wharf. The wreck pole stood next to the landing. In the area between the boathouse and station house was a garden surrounded by a solid board fence (Figure 106). At the comer of the garden closest to the front of the station house was an elaborate bell stand. The bell was used to summon the crew in an emergency. The front yard of the station house was also surrounded by a solid board fence. No other station in I Oregon appears to have had a solid fence suggesting that drifting sands were especially a 174 Figure 107. Shop Building Behind Umpqua River Life-Saving Station, 1923. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters (Umpqua River File). problem at Umpqua. A solid fence also extends from the back of the station house toward the hill connecting up to the station's flag pole and a structure with a pyramidal roof. Directly behind the station house was a gable roof structure with lean-to, most likely the shop building (Figure 107). Attached to the shop building on its northeast side was a paddock area enclosed by a picket fence. According to Figure 107, there were two horses contained within this corral, the earliest sign (1923) of station horses found in Oregon. Another gable roof structure stood northeast of the corral, probably a small barn for the horses. A small pyramidal roof building was next to the barn. Southwest of the shop building was a small gable roof building. Behind that was the ubiquitous water storage tank. Wooden boardwalks connected the buildings. The lookout tower was 175 Figure 108. Lookout at Umpqua River Life-Saving Station, 1923. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters (Umpqua River File). located closer to the mouth of the Umpqua River about a mile away from the station house (Figure 108). The Army Corps of Engineers had been working on making the Umpqua River safer and more accommodating to river traffic since they first surveyed it in 1870. The channel was deepened and obstructions removed upriver, but nothing was done at the mouth of the Umpqua. A 1896 survey showed that the expense was too great to build jetties at the entrance. Finally, commerce picked up enough to justify the cost. Work was begun around 1923, funded by the federal government and the Port ofUmpqua. A jetty on the north side of the river was completed in 1927. A jetty on the south side of 176 the river was started in 1930 and completed in the late 1930s. The jetties made the river more navigable thus boosting commercial interests and the local economy. 159 Urnpqua River Lifeboat Station A new lifeboat station was erected in 1939 to replace the inadequate life-saving station house built nearly 50 years earlier in 1891. Work was begun on the Umpqua River Lifeboat Station by the general contractor, Lillebo Construction Company, in early 1939. 160 It was decided to locate the station next to the Umpqua River Lighthouse (1894). As mentioned earlier, the Lighthouse Board had learned its lesson and erected the new lighthouse on a stable shelf of land on the south side of the Umpqua River entrance (Figure 109). The lighthouse reserve was 190 acres and could easily accommodate a neighbor to the north of the lighthouse keeper's dwelling. The new station was the second of the four Roosevelt-type stations to be built on the Oregon Coast (Figure 110). These stations followed a standard plan developed by the Coast Guard and were for the most part built during Franklin Roosevelt's administration (1933-45). Like the former Marquette station house at North Spit, the new station house was completely symmetrical across the front. Colonial Revival detailing was represented by multi-pane windows flanked by operable shutters, large Classical comer boards, Tuscan columns, eave returns, a water table with cap, and metal railings in Classical motifs. Even the restricted roof of the entry porch was rimmed with a balustrade. On the 159Donovan and Kadas, 8.11. 160Ibid., 7.1. 177 - NO TH JETTY 0 .5 .25 0 Figure 109. Aerial Photo of the Umpqua River Lifeboat Station Area in 1945 Superimposed Over the Winchester Bay, Oregon, USGS Map (1985 Revision). 178 Figure 110. Umpqua River Lifeboat Station, 1939. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters (Umpqua River File). rear elevation was an entrance door sheltered by a gable hood supported by distinguished brackets . . The building was painted white with green shutters and a red roof. The building was a commodious 80' wide and 32' deep, designed to sleep 17 but could easily handle more. In fact, 18 men were stationed there in 1956 and many more during WWII. 161 On the first floor was a central stair hall, dividing officer's quarters to the left from the crew's living space on the right (Figure 111). On the left was the Officer in Charge's (OIC) office, living room, bathroom, and bedroom. On the right was the crew's mess, kitchen, and day room. At the end of the stair hall was a spare bedroom. The second floor was divided symmetrically into four bedrooms for the crew (Figure 112). Each room was setup to sleep four with four beds and four built-in lockers. At the end of the stair hall was the crew's bathroom with two toilets, two sinks, and two 161Gerry Pratt, "Light Station Marks 99 Years of Duty on Oregon's Coast," Oregonian, January 1956. .;..,_ ____ -------11~- - · --- · .,I... .. . . -··---. --- ··-· ·-·- · ~-!·+:-...L .~:.:J:...t_.!'£ ~:.!".'..r-·· -~·-=-o: - t --- 6 -r.: . . ---!- -- i • ~-- -~ . :.T{:. . •L.· : i :.-rL . . ' ! ~ - I! 1~ 'o'. 'o \ • § ··€.-i' I i- f:j ~: 2 ; ' i ~I io' i I ·· • ·;:::i__.1_ I i . -~ : ~--· 1-1- ·.- r. .j.J::·. ·.-. ., , t.,; I , 1 - -1- ':'' i .... ~i . .... I . Lt JrlOT\.~ I.LL C.lOU1 hon le h L..,..u1,.._ k,ol.K •'" 1.lT • It.'''-01.1Ai'-I• f'I R -~.,.. F'LOOR nr "N Figure 111. First Floor Plan, Umpqua River Lifeboat Station, Drawn October 1938. Source: Umpqua River Coast Guard ...... Station National Register Nomination. --i \0 ----------------- --, 0 ,. , .. Ion°" st.1ooc. I 1 •WOOO S~IN41L,.L aoo,. .... I I I I L----------- . --- "A , 5(CONO fl0012 PLAN ~ c.•1.t •1,.· . ,~o· Figure 112. Second Floor Plan, Tillamook Bay Lifeboat Station, Revised Drawing May 1940. Source: Tillamook Bay Coast Guard Station National Register Nomination. -00 0 181 Figure 113. Equipment Building at Umpqua River Lifeboat Station, 1991. Source: Oregon State Historic Preservation Office (Umpqua River Coast Guard Station File). showers. In the stair hall, the staircase continued on to the attic which was divided into two large bunk rooms with lockers on the end walls. Six dormers, with arched windows, pierced the attic. Under the building was a full basement with a drill room, boiler room, storm clothes room, provision room, and laundry room. A standard, five-bay equipment building was also built in 1939 to the north of the station (Figure 113). Stations starting in the 1930s all had what were called equipment buildings, which served as garages for vehicles and small boats, plus had storage space for equipment in the attic. The plan of the building was approximately 62' wide by 30' deep and built on a concrete foundation. The equipment building continued the Colonial Revival theme of the station house with its arched, multi-light windows in the dormers, eave returns at the gable ends, a lunette over the gable windows, and water table with cap. Each dormer was centered over a garage door that contained 10 lights over 15 182 Figure 114. Boathouse at Umpqua River Lifeboat Station, 1962. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters (Umpqua River File). panels. On the back side, there were five more dormers. The attic was divided into two dormitory rooms and a bathroom during WWII to house beach patrolmen. 162 On the south elevation was an entrance door sheltered by a small gable hood supported by elegant brackets. The building was clad in shingles and finished with classical comer boards. It was painted in the same color scheme as the station house. The boathouse for the Umpqua River Lifeboat Station was situated on the Umpqua River nine-tenths of a mile away to the north. The boathouse was built in 1939 at the same time as the station. It was constructed on pilings out in the river at the end of a nearly 800' long wharf (Figure 114). The wharf was wide enough and strong enough to accommodate vehicles. The boathouse was approximately 40' wide by 60' deep, 162Donovan and Kadas, 7 .5. 183 one-story, shingle-clad with a hip roof and loft area. The boathouse was three-bays wide, with overhead garage doors on the front and back of the building. Five windows on each side along with six gable dormers helped illuminate the space. The boathouse was the largest, pre-WWII Coast Guard boathouse on the Oregon Coast. Unfortunately, the boathouse was gutted by fire 20 March 1966. 163 The wharf still stands and is maintained by Douglas County for the use of the public as a crabbing pier. A 65' lookout tower was erected on the edge of the dunes, northwest of the station house in the 1939. The tower has a metal frame with a wooden watch house capped by a pyramidal roof. A watch was maintained 24 hours a day. The tower still stands today and is maintained and used by the Coast Guard when needed. A concrete tennis court was built behind the station house, which is still visible today. A four-sided, battered water tower was erected behind the lighthouse to the east. The area where the lighthouse keeper's dwellings once stood became the drill field where the wreck pole was set up for breeches buoy practice. The water tower disappeared between 1959 and 1966, along with the wreck pole. The water tower was replaced by a pump house. As with most life-saving and lifeboat stations along the Oregon Coast, a small community of dwellings associated with the families of married surfmen sprung up near the station. A reference to a " ... few cabins at the bottom of the hill ... assigned to married crewmen ..." is the only reference to the family housing at Umpqua. 164 On the 1945 aerial, there are five small dwellings visible to the north of the station on the road 163"Sunday Night Blaze Destroys Umpqua River Coast Guard Boathouse Near Winchester Bay," Coos Bay World, 21 March 1966. 164Donovan and Kadas, 8.16. 184 Figure 115. Umpqua River Lifeboat Station with Station Buildings at the Bottom and "Little America" at the Top, 1945. Source: University of Oregon Map Library (53VV16PI-M516-PS 26 Sept 45 5M-167). leading up to the station (Figure 115). Most logically, this was the family housing. The homes no longer stand at their former location, but they may have been taken elsewhere given Oregon's history for moving buildings. After only 20 years, plans were already afoot in 1959 to dispose of the buildings and boathouse of the Umpqua River Lifeboat Station. 165 In 1968, the Coast Guard moved out of the station buildings and into their new home to the north in Salmon Harbor on Winchester Bay. Starting in 1971 when the old station buildings were declared surplus, the Douglas County Parks Department began an effort to acquire the station from the 165Photo caption, station disposition plan, Umpqua River File, U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters. 185 Coast Guard. 166 Douglas County finally received the buildings and 4.7 acres in 1976, and set to work rehabilitating the station house into a local museum. On 19 June 1980, the former station house was opened to the public. 167 Preservation The Umpqua River Life-Saving Station built in 1891 on North Spit was abandoned in 1939 when new quarters were built for them adjacent to the Umpqua River Lighthouse. There are reportedly no above ground remains of the old life-saving station. Like the North Spit at Coos Bay, this area has restricted access due to wildlife conservation concerns and is inaccessible by vehicle. A water approach by boat would be the best means to investigate the old station site; however, the author was not able to make such a journey. Fortunately, the Umpqua River Lifeboat Station is still quite intact when compared to the life-saving station (Figure 116). The boathouse was lost in 1966, but the 1939 station house and equipment building still stand thanks to Douglas County Parks. After Douglas County acquired it in 1976, they began the work of turning the station house into a local history museum. They retained all of the exterior features , right down to the operable shutters (Figure 117). Inside the station house, the mess room, OIC office, and day room were converted into exhibit rooms without harming the finishes. The histories of the Life-Saving Service and Coast Guard on the Umpqua River are on 166Larry Bacon, "Station's Fate Uncertain," Eugene Register-Guard, 3 February 1975. 167Donovan and Kadas, 7.5. 186 Figure 116. Station House at Umpqua River Lifeboat Station, 1991. Source: Oregon State Historic Preservation Office (Umpqua River Coast Guard Station File). Figure 117. Rear Elevation of the Station House at Umpqua River, 1991. Source: Oregon State Historic Preservation Office (Umpqua River Coast Guard Station File). 187 display in the mess room. The other two rooms have exhibits on the county ' s maritime history, settlement, logging, and Native Americans. The day-to-day operation of the museum is done by Douglas County Parks Department volunteers. 168 To accommodate the 1970s rehabilitation, the OIC bedroom and spare bedroom were joined by removing the wall between them to create a visitor's lobby and information area. The OIC living room was divided to create men's and women's restrooms, with the former OIC bathroom and hallway serving as anterooms. The kitchen is still used as a kitchen; however, the cabinetry dates to a 1958 remodel. 169 Rooms on the second floor and in the attic were left unaltered. Only one room on the second floor is used and only as a meeting room once a week. In the basement is a for- profit gift shop. Douglas County leases the space to the business, and fortunately, the basement features remain mostly unaltered. 170 Much of the interior woodwork and hardware have been retained throughout the building. The ceiling on the first floor was lowered to accommodate a sprinkler system. Unlike the adaptive reuse of the station house at Point Adams, the Umpqua River station has had to also accommodate the disabled public. The most difficult problem encountered when rehabilitating the Roosevelt-type stations is conforming to the American Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. The ADA is civil rights legislation that requires less-able people be given access through the removal of architectural barriers. 168Ed St. John, phone interview by author, transcript, Eugene, OR, 24 May 2000. 169Photo caption, kitchen remodel, Umpqua River File, U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters. 170Ed St. John, 24 May 2000. 188 The station design conforms to the basic tenant of Classical Revival government architecture which dictates that the building be elevated and that the public must ascend stairs to get inside. This design feature has been a curse to government buildings across the country. In situations where the historic architecture would be severely compromised, leeway can often be given and the disabled accommodated through documentation of the inaccessible areas. Since the entire museum was unattainable to the disabled, something had to be done to allow all people into the building. To welcome the less-able into the station house, a door was cut into the south elevation at a window location to provide for ramp access to the first floor. This entrance acts as the principal entrance to the museum. Another door has been cut into the north elevation at another window location to allow an access ramp into the basement. Due to fortuitous ground elevation changes, the two ramps are not too obtrusive. Shifting the visitor's entrance to the rear comer was an awkward compromise, as the building was designed to be entered from front and center, but accommodations and a choice had to be made. Because of its symmetry and decorative features, the front elevation of a Roosevelt-type station should never be altered. The five-bay equipment building is in excellent shape. Four- and five-bay equipment buildings were built at all of the Roosevelt-type stations. A five-bay equipment building still stands at Tillamook Bay Lifeboat Station; however, the building at Tillamook has had its garage doors replaced. An exposed sprinkler system was installed by Douglas County during the rehabilitation of the station between 1976 and 1980. Douglas County Parks uses the building today as a maintenance shop. Outside the 189 equipment building sits a 36' motor lifeboat rehabilitated by a local Boy Scout troop in the late 1970s. The 1939 lookout tower, maintained and operated by Coast Guard, should continue to be maintained. The only other pre-WWII lookout tower on the Oregon Coast still standing is the one at Yaquina Bay, and its watch house has been highly altered. The tower is integral to telling the story of the Umpqua River Lifeboat Station and should be retained. In 1992, both the station house and equipment building were listed on the National Register. These buildings should continue to be maintained as described in the Secretary of the Interior's Standards in Appendix C. Other than minor paint problems, the only maintenance issue observed was that the plantings should be kept further from the building, or at least kept well-trimmed, particularly the shore pine on the southeast comer. Further alterations to the original fabric of the building should not be performed, but if required by the County, they must be done in compliance with the Standards. A last recommendation would be for the Coast Guard to add the lookout tower to the National Register Nomination, as it was integral to the operation at the Umpqua River Lifeboat Station. 190 CHAPTER VIII YA QUINA BAY STATIONS Yaquina Bay forms a southern boundary for the town of Newport on Oregon's central coast (Figure 118). There have been four station locations throughout the history of water rescue on Y aquina Bay. The first station was located 1-1 /2 miles south of the entrance to Y aquina Bay at South Beach. This life-saving station was activated in April 1896. In 1906, the station was abandoned for the more advantageous quarters of the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse on the north side of the bay. The crew then moved down to the waterfront in 1932, and into their one-of-a-kind lifeboat station on Front A venue. Unfortunately, in 1944, the station burned down to the pilings, and the Coast Guard was forced to occupy temporary quarters. A new lifeboat station was built in 1949 on a shelf of land just east of the Y aquina Bay Bridge. The building is still being used today as the Coast Guard station for Yaquina Bay. Yaquina Bay Life-Saving Station at South Beach As early as 1888, Oregon Senator John H. Mitchell and Oregon Representative Binger Hermann had introduced legislation for a station at Y aquina Bay to protect the vital shipping interests ofNewport. 171 The proposed station was rolled into House 171Congress, Senate, 50th Cong., 1st sess., S. 559, 1888; Congress, House, 50th Cong., 1st sess., H.R. 1767, 1888. 191 0 Siletz River Ysquina River A/sea River Smith River Umpqus River Chetco River 25 25 50 miles Figure 118. Location ofNewport, Oregon, Shown on a 1996 DeLorme Topographic Map. 192 Resolution 8181, along with ten other life-saving stations, and approved on 17 July 1888, with a limit of $5000 per station. House Resolution 8181 had included the life-saving station at Umpqua River, which was soon built in 1891. Yaquina Bay's life-saving station was inexplicably held up until it was finally manned with a crew of seven in April 1896. 172 The logical location for the station would be a site where a surfboat could be launched easily and close to the probable location of shipwrecks. A site 1-1 /2 miles south of the mouth ofYaquina Bay was chosen to satisfy these two desires (Figure 119). The site was flat with an easy transition from stable land to the beach sand, plus most of the shipwrecks occurred south of the Yaquina Bay entrance. 173 The station was positioned just above the high tide line and consisted of a station house, boathouse, barn, woodshed, and utility building (Figure 120). 174 A drill field was created in front of the station between it and the water. The wreck pole was erected at the far north end of the field (Figure 121). The station house was built from the standard Marquette plans as described in Chapter III. In general, the house was divided by a central hallway and stair with the right half reserved for the keeper and the left half for the crew. On the main floor, the keeper's living room, office, kitchen, and pantry were to the right. On the left was the 172U.S. Life-Saving Service, 1896 Annual Reports, 13. 173Steve M. Wyatt, Guarding the Coast: Yaquina Bay's Life Savers (Newport, OR: Lincoln County Historical Society, 1996). 174"Life-Saving Crew Helps Bring Water Rescue to Newport," Newport News- Times, 29 September 1982. 193 Figure 119. Aerial Photo of the South Beach Station in 1939 Superimposed Over the Newport South, Oregon, USGS Map (1984 Revision). 194 Figure 120. South Beach Station, 1906. Source: Lincoln County Historical Society (LCHS #590). Figure 121. South Beach Beach-Apparatus Drill, Circa 1905. Source: Oregon Historical Society (OrHi #0351P034-021001). 195 crew's living room and mess room. Upstairs, the right half contained the bedrooms for the keeper and his family. On the left was the crew's quarters. 175 This living arrangement varied from the standard Marquette plans in that typically the crew lived on the main floor and had their lockers on the second floor. It must be kept in mind that keepers often altered their stations and that no two stations were identical, only similar. The boathouse was a standard Fort Point-type boathouse. It was one-story, 24' wide by 40' deep, with two bays. One bay held a surfboat and the other bay a lifeboat. A wooden ramp and boardwalk extended from the front of the boathouse toward the beach. The Fort Point-type boathouse is thoroughly described in Chapter III. As shown in Figure 122, there were small dwellings in the foreground. It was common practice at isolated stations for married crew members to build small houses close to the stations. These one-story, gable roof structures are purely vernacular, built with local materials by local carpenters. These dwellings have been lost over time, though they may have been moved and recycled elsewhere. Also visible near the center of the photo is an outhouse behind the woodshed, as indoor toilet facilities were not provided for at the station. Other ancillary structures on the station grounds were the flag pole, bell stand, boardwalks, and fencing. All were made of wood. The Y aquina Bay Life-Saving Station also had the most impressive signage of any of the stations on the Oregon Coast (Figure 123). Unfortunately, none of these ancillary structures have stood the test of time. 175lbid. 196 Figure 122. South Beach Station, 1904. Source: Lincoln County Historical Society (LCHS #589) . Figure 123. South Beach Station, Circa 1905. Source: Lincoln County Historical Society (LCHS # 1099). 197 Figure 124. Yaquina Bay Station Boathouse After Move, 1923. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters (Yaquina Bay File). Lifeboats, as opposed to surfboats, were a more practical type of rescue boat on the Oregon Coast. Lifeboats were considerably larger and heavier than surfboats so they could not be easily hauled by hand to a launch site. Instead they were usually launched directly into the water from their boathouse down a long ramp. The lifeboats were cradled in carriages fitted with railway wheels correlating to rails on the launchway. This provided a quick launch and easy recovery of the boat. The station at South Beach had such a boathouse on the south shore ofYaquina Bay. It was a two-bay, gable roof boathouse built to hold two rescue boats (Figure 124). A switch was provided partway down the ramp so that only one set of rails went into the water. The principal drawback of the site at South Beach was the lack of elevation to scan the ocean and shore for wrecks. Three-mile beach patrols verified by patrol clocks 198 had to be mounted continuously. 176 Also, though it is only about five minutes by car today, the station was considered isolated in its day from nearby Newport. Therefore, within ten years, plans were laid to move the station closer to Newport. By 1906, the station and crew were ready to move to new quarters on the north side ofYaquina Bay in Newport. The South Beach site was abandoned after only ten years of service. The station buildings at South Beach were eventually acquired by the William S. Ladd estate of Portland. The station structures disappeared sometime after 1939 but before 1951. 177 Y aquina Bay Life-Saving Station at Yaquina Bay Lighthouse "Monday evening, Capt. S.I. Kimball, General Supt. Of the U.S. Life-Saving Service, Capt. C.H. McLellan, General Inspector of Washington D.C., and Capt. D.F. Tozin, U.S.R.C.S. Inspt. of the 13th Life-Saving District with headquarters at Portland, arrived in this city to arrange for the transfer of the Y aquina Bay Life-Saving station to the north side of the bay."178 With this event in 1906, the Yaquina Bay Life-Saving station was moved from South Beach to the Y aquina Bay Lighthouse. The team inspected the lighthouse and its residence as to its "condition for immediate occupancy." The group decided to have the boathouse on the south side of the bay floated over to a new site near the "powder house" on the north side of the bay. The boathouse at the old 176Pemot S. Duff, "Yaquina Bay Lifesaving Station Tales," Sunday Oregonian Magazine, 18 March 1951. 177Ibid. 178"Life-Saving Station Transferred," Yaquina Bay News, 2 August 1906. 199 Figure 125. Yaquina Bay Lighthouse (1871) Prior to Life- Saving Service Occupation. Source: Oregon Historical Society (OrHi #654-A 38714). station site on South Beach was kept as an auxiliary boathouse to store a surfboat and beach gear. 179 The team felt the lighthouse would make a good quarters for the crew and the tower an excellent lookout station (Figure 125). Reported the Yaquina Bay News , " . .. the patrol duty is no longer necessary, which will be a great relief to the members of the crew as the exposure they were formerly subject to was very trying upon their health." 180 A residence building near the lighthouse became home to Keeper W ellander and his family. 179Ibid. 180Wyatt, Guarding the Coast. 200 The lighthouse, built in 1871, is the second oldest existing lighthouse on the Oregon Coast. 18 1 The Yaquina Bay Lighthouse is only one of two lighthouses built in Oregon by the U.S. Lighthouse Board with the light integrated into the residence. 182 The structure is the oldest building in Newport, a seaport town founded in 1866. 183 The lighthouse is significant to the life-saving service in that it is considered the only lighthouse in the United States used as a life-saving station. The Yaquina Bay Lighthouse is situated on a 65' tall bluff on the north side of the mouth ofYaquina Bay (Figure 126). The lighthouse was designed by Robert Stockton Williamson, lighthouse engineer, with Cape Cod massing and details. 184 The builder was Ben Simpson, a local contractor. 185 It was constructed between May and October 1871 and illuminated on 3 November 1871. 186 The lighthouse is a two-story wood frame structure built on a high brick basement. A square light tower rises another story from its east elevation. The main body of the house measures 34' wide by 24' 6" deep with a one- story ell projecting from the rear elevation (Figure 127). The ell is 29' long by 12' 6" 18 1The oldest standing lighthouse in Oregon is the Cape Blanco Lighthouse from 1870. 182The other was the Point Adams Lighthouse, built in 1858, and burned in 1912. 183Elisabeth Walton, National Register Nomination for Old Yaquina Bay Lighthouse (Salem, OR: Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, 1974). 184Donovan and Kachel, F.11.10. 185Walton, National Register Nomination for Old Yaquina Bay Lighthouse. 186Bruce Roberts and Ray Jones, Western Lighthouses: Olympic Peninsula to San Diego (Old Saybrook, CT: Globe Pequot Press, 1993), 48. 201 .5 .25 0 NEWPORT , 7 YAQUINA BAY ' STATE PARK I' Figure 126. Aerial Photo of the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse Station in 1939 Superimposed Over the Newport North, Oregon, USGS Map (1984 Revision). 202 Figure 127. Yaquina Bay Life-Saving Station, 1917. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters (Yaquina Bay File). wide and housed a workshop, storeroom, and toilet. A gallery runs along the ell's south side, set off by posts and arches. The windows of the lighthouse are six-over-six, double-hung, with a wood sash. They are protected by reconstructed storm shutters. The drop siding is a cedar in a channel rustic pattern. The lantern room is made of iron and housed a fifth-order Fresnel lens. Two brick chimneys straddle the ridge of the cedar shingle roof. The front entrance is protected by a reconstructed gabled-roof porch, decorated with scroll work and supported by bracketed posts. The front door is a reconstruction. The central hall is lit by a transom over the door. Most of the reconstruction and repair work was performed 203 by Oregon State Parks personnel in 1973-75. The lighthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. 187 The Y aquina Bay Lighthouse was superceded by the Y aquina Head Lighthouse just three years after construction of the bay light. On 1 October 1874, the light at Yaquina Bay was extinguished. Keeper Charles Pierce, his wife, and eight children moved south for duty at the Cape Blanco Lighthouse. Royal Bensell and his wife moved into the Y aquina Bay Lighthouse as caretakers, as the Lighthouse Board did not relinquish title to the structure. In 1888, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers moved into the building while harbor improvements were underway including the construction of the Yaquina Bay jetties. 188 It is unknown how the life-savers adapted to the space in the lighthouse. Since it was a dwelling for a lighthouse keeper and his large family, the building most likely was used in the same manner. The life-saving keeper had his own house down the hill, so the crew had the run of the house. The main floor had a central hall plan, with the dining room and kitchen to the left, and the parlor and work room to the right (Figure 128). Upstairs were four bedrooms divided up among the crew. An eighth surfman was finally added to the crew on 1 May 1913, so the rooms would have divvied up evenly after then. 189 Storm clothes were probably kept in the basement. 187Elisabeth Walton, Old Yaquina Bay Lighthouse Restoration, typed manuscript (Salem, OR: Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, 1973). 188Walton, National Register Nomination for Old Yaquina Bay Lighthouse. 189U.S. Life-Saving Service, 1913 Annual Reports, 137. - ------ ··· · . ··-1 l I !: " :! t· ,] [9 if JJ,•l(.h ~·~,. . -,,~<.:~s, ----t,~"I\. ... ~<. Y\'T'9, )'(<..-rt..,a 'JJ'W(.'1.'1.\t,4,. "'f ~l''-j. ~! :~~-{-\.\)\\b - -Q,.1(.,. ...... - .t:, "'· c..,,.;._ / ,I~ .. ,,,. .. .... _ _. cf,,,.,,,,,.. 5, 41' '1(~ ,;~·r-: H-2H Figure 128. Williamson's 1871 Plans for the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse. Source: Nautical Research Centre (#33-232). 205 In 1933, the Coast Guard moved out of the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse for new quarters on the waterfront. The federal government released the 36-acre property in 1934 to the State of Oregon Highway Commission for highway right-of-way and park purposes. Park personnel used the property for a time but the residence proved unsatisfactory and the lighthouse was scheduled for demolition in 1946. 190 The threat to the lighthouse galvanized the community, and local citizens campaigned for its preservation. Out of the rescue effort emerged the Lincoln County Historical Society, formed in 1948. The Oregon Highway Commission continued to threaten the structure until 1955 when the commission finally reversed its decision and decided to retain the building for its "scenic and historic interest." 191 The historical society opened the lighthouse as a house museum in 1965, under a lease agreement with Oregon State Parks, a division of the Highway Commission, and continues to operate it as such today. The integrity of the lighthouse is good, and the condition is excellent. Many of the interior features have been maintained or restored. The operable window shutters were removed sometime during the occupancy of the Life-Saving Service prior to 1923, but have since been reconstructed in a compatible manner. A central forced-air heating system was installed in 1974. The ell was sensitively reconstructed during the 1973-75 rehabilitation using the original plans, historic photographs, and archaeological evidence to house modern restrooms. 190Walton, National Register Nomination for Old Yaquina Bay Lighthouse. 191 James M. Howes, The Old Yaquina Bay Lighthouse: A BriefH istory (Newport, OR: Lincoln County Historical Society, 1968). 206 Yaquina Bay Lifeboat Station "A new site was also looked over for a new station building with regard to the future should the Government at any time require the use of the present building."192 This statement was made in 1906 when the Life-Saving Service moved into the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse. The "site" the federal government had looked at was on the west end of Newport ' s waterfront (Figure 129). In August 1911, the Newport City Council purchased a lease from John Margson, and coupled with an adjoining tract of waterfront property from the federal government, requested the U.S. Life-Saving Service erect a "first class life saving station, with the best modem improvements." 193 What was built soon after was a small boathouse (Figure 130). Not much is known about this "bay boathouse" other than what can be gleaned from photographs. The boathouse that was moved from the southern shore of Y aquina Bay still acted as the principal boathouse (Figure 131 ). The "beach boathouse" had been moved in 1909 further east to a more sheltered location near the site of the present Yaquina Bay Bridge. 194 On 8 August 1930, a "fire of unknown origin" destroyed the beach boathouse along with all of its equipment. The boathouse had contained two lifeboats, a surfboat, 192"Life-Saving Station Transferred," Yaquina Bay News, 2 August 1906. 193Newport Commercial Club to the Newport Common Council, 23 August 1911 , typed manuscript (Lincoln County Historical Society, Newport, Oregon). 194"Removal of U.S.L.S. Boat House Underway," Yaquina Bay News, 23 September 1909. 207 - I '"lf' -- - -~. r --- . .... .....;:. .5 .25 0 ' ·1 ~ --~ .- . . ..... -.. - 1 IEurekil em • ,._2c:io.1 ., I NEWPORT ·,· : · Yaqu ew 1 • • •• •] $ch ~ L ;· ;:\ i:::{ ....-.::.:.i::· ··:, ' . r-- ---. ..· .,. , ✓, r - ·• · ~ I \ I ••• ,$_ I ' . • ·' Lt. -1 -+ 1' / • r ~ L: __l ------~~· ~Jo., \ ·.» . ' '~7 <)) LI. .., ,' S:"- ,.-. ! UlfV,1 / VAQUINA BI\V r tsJ, fUARo RES BM I C 590 <., l STATE PARK . 8.' r 11J \ '-~- si:i NEwPoRr / . -~:r~!i~l~i~0,, B :)J.SG.i'_\ ·:: r ' ~->~ 1/ -- 4 - ;_l'i~RJ- Figure 129. Aerial Photo of the Yaquina Bay Station in 1939 Superimposed Over the Newport North, Oregon, USGS Map (1984 Revision). 208 Figure 130. Yaquina Bay Boathouse, 1931. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters (Yaquina Bay File). Figure 131. Governor Oswald West (in Derby) with Life-Saving Crew at New Boathouse Location, Circa 1912. Source: Lincoln County Historical Society (LCHS #335). 209 Figure 132. Yaquina Bay Station, Circa 1932. Source: Lincoln County Historical Society (LCHS #252). and a beach cart. The loss was estimated at $20,000. Only one of two Lyle guns was salvaged from the ruins. Luckily, there was a Monomoy surfboat and a beach cart stored at the old boathouse at South Beach. 195 The Coast Guard finally took this opportunity to build what the locals had always wanted, a first class life-saving station. In September 1931, a contractor from Seattle, William Wills, began demolishing the old "bay boathouse" that was in the path of the new station. 196 Construction went quickly and on 5 April 1932, Captain Anton Gustafson declared the new station open and ready for occupancy (Figure 132). The cost was $18,000 plus $6,000 for the furnishings. The building comprised a crew quarters, kitchen, and dining room, plus it allowed for the housing of a lifeboat, surfboat, a truck, 195"Coast Guard Boat House Burned," Yaquina Bay News, 14 August 1930. 196"Work Starts on New Coast Guard Guarters [sic]," Newport Journal, 7 September 1931. 210 and the beach apparatus. 197 The building was two stories, built on pilings in a T-shaped plan (Figure 133). Integral to the station was a two-bay boatroom sloped to the launchway (Figure 134). The structure was covered in shingles and left natural to the weather. By WWII it had been painted white. Nine-over-nine, double-hung windows illuminated the interior. The only elaboration to the elevations was a gabled entry hood supported by heavy brackets over the street-side door. In November 1934, the Coast Guard secured property to build a residence for the station keeper at the comer of Bay and First streets.198 The old lighthouse keeper's dwelling that had been occupied by the Coast Guard since 1906 needed to be tom down to make way for the coastal highway project's Yaquina Bay Bridge (1936). In July 1935, construction was begun on the new keeper's house. A crew of eight Coast Guard carpenters were assisted by members of a local crew. The new building contained six rooms on the first floor and two rooms upstairs, and had a full concrete basement with garage. The house was steam heated and built in the "Cape Cod style" at an estimated cost of $6,500. 199 The house still stands in its original location today. In March 1936, a lookout tower was put into service just southeast of the lighthouse. It stands 50' tall and 115' above the water, overshadowing the lighthouse. 197"New Station Officially Dedicated," Newport Journal, 6 April 1932. 198"Coast Guard Keeper Will Have New Residence Here," Yaquina Bay News, 22 November 1934. 199"Will Build New Quarters," Newport Journal, 3 July 1935. 0 ,.,, ► " \ \ ,.:( <.> \ ,vvgi ;:! C u ::.! ~l fl I I ,s- \ 0 r .J _!..fL 2~f;JZ • 8 "r~v (.7 7~ ~ C ,-:;. ... r (' t 0 gz l> IQ I<") r~ 0 / I r N Figure 133. Yaquina Bay Station, Rear Elevation. Source: Nautical Research Centre (#13-598b). -- • -)ID[ [l[VATION- -~c.01c,r.,:c- Figure 134. Yaquina Bay Station, East Elevation. Source: Nautical Research Centre (#13-599a). -N N 213 Figure 135. Yaquina Bay Station, Circa 1935. Source: Oregon Historical Society (OrHi #04552002-019153). The tower was built as a Public Works Administration (PWA) project and is still used as a lookout today, though the watch room has been altered.200 In 1941, the Yaquina Bay Station was expanded on its west side to accommodate the activities of the wartime beach patrol, making it "one of the best and more modern equipped stations along the Oregon coast" (Figure 135).20 1 On 1 November 1941, the Coast Guard was assigned to the Navy which expanded the Coast Guard's duties to include beach patrol. As its name implies, the purpose of the beach patrol was to patrol the beach watching for signs of enemy activity or invasion. Y aquina Bay was one hub of 200"New Look-out Station in Service," Newport Journal, 18 March 1936. 201"Yaquina Bay Coast Guard Station Burns to Ground," Yaquina Bay News, 6 January 1944. 214 the beach patrol on the Oregon Coast. Richard Van Hine, the station keeper in 1943, was in charge of 500 Navy personnel, most of whom were on beach patrol.202 On 2 January 1944, the Yaquina Bay Station also succumbed to a fire of "unknown origin." The fire departments from Newport and Toledo, plus Coast Guardsmen and Army troops, could not contain the blaze (Figure 136). All motorized equipment was saved, though one pulling boat bumed.203 The crew lived at the Abbey Hotel after the fire for several months. Fortunately, beach patrol activities were scaling back with the war. The crew then moved into six temporary barracks moved to a site above the waterfront owned by the American Legion. However, due to postwar construction material shortages, it was not until 1948 that bids went out for the construction of two new Coast Guard buildings on a shelf of land east of the Y aquina Bay Bridge. The land had been purchased from the Port Commission in 1945 and had been used by the Coast Guard as a drill field. One building was to be a 2-1/2 story frame structure to contain the headquarters of the local Coast Guard and provide accommodations for a crew of 22 men, consisting of a bunk room, recreation room, galley, and mess hall (Figure 137). The other building was to be 1-1/2 stories on a 202Wyatt, Guarding the Coast. 203"Yaquina Bay Coast Guard Station Bums to Ground," Yaquina Bay News, 6 January 1944. 215 Figure 136. Yaquina Bay Station, 2 January 1944. Source: Lincoln County Historical Society (LCHS # 1091 ). 216 Figure 137. Yaquina Bay Station Under Construction, 1949. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters (Yaquina Bay File). concrete slab and used to house motor equipment. 204 Both buildings were built using Minalith fire-retardant treated fir. 205 The Coast Guard moved into their new station on 14 December 1949 (Figure 138). The day following, the six temporary buildings on American Legion land were transferred to the Legion in lieu of "restoration of the property and rent. "206 The buildings were located on Harbor Drive between 10th and 11th Streets and were eventually demolished to make way for Pacific Communities Hospital.207 204"New Building for Coast Guard Soon," Newport News, 30 December 1948. 205Photo caption, station construction, Yaquina Bay File, U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters. 206"Legion Gets Coast Guard Station Back," Newport News, 22 December 1949. 207Wyatt, Guarding the Coast. 217 Figure 138. Yaquina Bay Station House, 1983. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters (13-CGD-0924830306). At some point between 1944 and 1949, a three-bay boathouse was built on piles in front of the new station. Unfortunately, it was crushed in 1979 by the Peruvian freighter, Inca-Huayayna-Capac, when it lost control of its steering. A new boathouse was erected in its place. The 1949 workshop was torn down in early 1980s for a new barracks. The dormers from the crushed boathouse were recycled and used on the new barracks. Preservation Any above ground remains of the life-saving station at South Beach were obliterated sometime between 1939 and 1951. However, that does not mean that there 218 are no structures from the station in existence. Oregon has a long tradition of moving buildings, and the station outbuildings were relatively easy to move. More investigation in the South Beach area would be required to determine if all remnants of the station are truly gone. The Y aquina Bay Lighthouse is one of only three vestiges of the Life-Saving Service in Oregon. Its preservation has been a long running battle that started as one of the earliest preservation efforts in Oregon. The State of Oregon has maintained it for the last 66 years and listed it on the National Register in 1974. Currently, the story of the Life-Saving Service's occupation of the lighthouse is underrepresented, a situation that is a problem across the nation. The southwest chamber on the second floor (i.e. , the large bedroom) is designated the Coast Guard room, but it is limited to just pictures and some clothing displays. There is very little documentation in the room. Considering that the Lighthouse Board only operated the light for three years and the Life-Saving Service and Coast Guard occupied the station for 27 years, the small display is inadequate and should be enhanced, particularly with more documentation. Another option to make the Life- Saving Service-era more prominent at the lighthouse would be to recreate the Y aquina Bay Life-Saving Station sign that once hung over the entry porch.208 The maintenance of the building itself is quite good considering the limited funding given Oregon State Parks. For example, the building is due to be painted in June 2000, prior to the complete failure of the exterior paint. The volunteer group, the Y aquina Lights, staffs the museum, gift shop, and keeps the house in order. Donations and gift shop revenue are recycled 208Photograph of sign in Shanks, US. Life-Saving Service, 198. 219 back into the building. From the standpoint of physical reminders of the Life-Saving Service, it is imperative that the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse be preserved. The keeper's house erected in 1932 still stands in its original location and is being used by the local Coast Guard commander. The house should continue to be maintained as used as a residence. The Coast Guard has rebuilt the watch house at the top of the 1935 lookout tower so that the lookout's integrity is now low. Since the fire in 1944, all that remains of the Coast Guard Station on Front Street is the concrete launchway. The Yaquina Bay Coast Guard station built in 1949 on Naterlin Drive has turned out to be one of the last of the Roosevelt-type stations to be built in the United States. The station house has good integrity and is in excellent condition (Figure 139). The most glaring modification is an enlarged central dormer on its street-side elevation (Figure 140); however, its waterside (i.e., front) elevation is intact. The station is a great example of a late Roosevelt-type station, joining the ranks of the older Roosevelt-type stations at Point Adams (1938), Tillamook Bay (1942), and Umpqua River (1939). Continued use and maintenance of this station is the most practical option for the station house. 220 Figure 139. Yaquina Bay Station, 1983. Source: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters ( 13-CGD-092283-07-06). Figure 140. Yaquina Bay Station, Street Side, 1999. Source: Author. 221 CHAPTER IX TILLAMOOK BAY ST A TIONS In 1788, John Meares, a British naval officer with Portuguese papers, was searching for the Columbia River. Unable to locate the river, he traveled further south and discovered what he called Quicksand Bay. Living on and near the bay were a band of Salish Indians. When Lewis and Clark came across the same natives nearly 20 years later, the explorers referred to them in their journals as the "Kilamox" and "Killamuck." Over the years, the name evolved into "Tillamook," and Quicksand Bay became known as Tillamook Bay.209 Slowly but persistently, American settlers drove the Tillamook away from their bay. Dairy farms began to dominate the area's fertile valleys. Tillamook County was created by the Oregon territorial legislature on 15 December 1853, solidifying the spelling of Tillamook. A post office was established at the town of Tillamook on 12 March 1866.210 The town ofBarview, closer to the mouth of Tillamook Bay, was named in 1884 (Figure 141). Dairy continues to be the dominant industry in the county. The Tillamook Cheese Factory is the world' s largest cheese plant.211 Much of the rich 209Donovan and Kachel, E.5. 210Lewis A. McArthur, Oregon Geographic Names, 6th ed. (Portland, OR: Oregon Historical Society, 1992), 83 5. 211 State of Oregon, 1991-92 Oregon Blue Book, 352. 222 0 Siletz River Yaquina River A/sea River Siusla w River Smith River Umpqua River Chetco River 25 25 50 miles Figure 141. Location ofBarview, Oregon, as Shown on a 1996 DeLorme Topographic Map. 223 timber land surrounding the area was destroyed during the "Tillamook Burns" of the 1930s. Today, timber harvesting is returning as reforested areas mature. The dairy and timber products had to travel by sea to reach their markets. Aids to navigation were required to help mariners reach those markets. However, the entrance to Tillamook Bay was not considered extraordinarily dangerous. The Lighthouse Board finally recommended a lighthouse be erected at Cape Meares, a headland about five miles south of the entrance to Tillamook Bay, in 1886. Work was well underway on the petite, 38' iron lighthouse in 1889. The lamp was illuminated on 1 January 1890.212 Tillamook Bay Life-Saving Station As early as 1889, Oregon Representative Binger Hermann was pushing for a life- saving station at Tillamook Bay.213 Simultaneously, he was crying out for one at the nearby Nehalem River. Unfortunately, Hermann was denied both locations. In 1904, Representative Hermann tried again, pointing out that there were no stations between the Columbia River and Yaquina Bay.214 For 50 miles in either direction of Tillamook Bay there was no protection. This was the largest stretch of unprotected coastline in Oregon. This argument prevailed and Congress approved the construction of a station at Tillamook Bay on 28 April 1904. 212Gibbs, Oregon Seacoast Lighthouses, 159-60. 213Congress, House, 51st Congress, 1st session, HR 4622, 1889. 214Congress, Senate, 58th Congress, 2nd session, S 2698, 1904. 224 As typical, the construction process went slowly. In 1905, a site was selected and title for land obtained (Figure 142). In July 1907, a contract was let out to Ferguson & Houston of Astoria to build the station house, boathouse, outbuilding, flagstaff, and drill pole. The price was set at $8,797 and was to be completed by 31 December 1907.215 It is assumed the station was completed on time, as Keeper Robert Farley started to get the station ready prior to May 1908. To assist in preparations, one surfman was hired on from 14 May to 20 May 1908. On 21 May, Keeper Farley reported that the station was "in condition for service" and that he had "shipped" six more surfmen.2I6 The crew immediately went to work on the weekly drills and started patrolling the beach. The District Superintendent and Assistant Inspector were on hand for the opening. While there, they inspected the coastline and set the beach patrol limit at three miles north of the station. Before the District Superintendent left, he selected a site for the lookout tower and left Keeper Farley in charge of purchasing the materials and building the structure.217 No image or description has been found of the lookout. The design for the station came from Victor Mendleheff in 1898. It was drawn for the Petersons Point Life-Saving Station on Grays Harbor, Washington. The Petersons Point station and the Tillamook Bay station were the only ones built from the plans. The station was a gambrel-roof structure, like the Fort Point-type station at Point Adams 215F.G.F. Wadsworth, New York, to Andre Fouchy, Norfolk, VA, 5 July 1907, typed transcript, Northwest Coast Guard Museum, Seattle, WA. 2I6U.S. Life-Saving Service. "Logbooks of the Life-Saving Service." Tillamook Bay Life-Saving Station. National Archives, Pacific Alaska Region, Seattle, 20 May 1908. It was not until 8 December 1912, that an eighth surfman was added to the crew. 2I7Ibid., 21 May 1908. 225 c,) UJ ~ 0:: .5 UJ 0 - ~ Q l,9/it Figure 142. Aerial Photo of the Tillamook Bay Life-Saving Station Area in 1939 Superimposed Over the Garibaldi, Oregon, USGS Map (1985 Revision). 226 Figure 143. Tillamook Bay Life-Saving Station, Circa 1910. Source: Author's Collection. designed by Bibb, but it was much squatter and less symmetrical with an integral porch (Figure 143). It had three dormers, again like the Fort Point-type, but the center one was three-sided to form a diminutive lookout tower. The 1-1/2 story station was sheathed in shingles. Detailing was Colonial Revival with Tuscan columns and lunette windows in the gables. Unlike the earlier symmetrical plan at Point Adams, the Tillamook Bay station was simply balanced. The building was nearly square at 43' 9" wide by 39' 6" deep. It had a central hall plan, but an integrated porch wrapped around the right comer to counter the symmetry (Figure 144). The central hall divided the keeper's office, living/dining room, and kitchen on the right, from the crew's sitting room and kitchen/dining room on the left. At the end of the stair hall was a wash room. Upstairs, 0 t:= =- :::-- - - .u·,· - - - - - - - --~:_·_ -- ,,.,. . - - - - - ,.·,·-j I I Tr -r I 1 1::1:~~~L:::..!!~s• ,,,,.,. ~ I I I II ~, l-11J1===-===11p,111111P:::,~~ I I : -----~•l!'.#,e..,...,_~-.,.:t-------=:::::1111 I I.-+ - ----------- .--- ,I I .l Cl.r~:-::.r,;.- ·• x .., _:::,.,0,- I -~ i - I ,1.,, _ _..__ ,I I , I ., 1- ~ -- - ·-,.,~=-Z.- -i-- -----A,:..J__ 1 I·!" I I I -~ I I .If-~._.~:.,:::.~..,- m....;11111111111-. I ..-. 1111111 I :I i . i ··········r✓ , I ...........~ -r ,+ I _ , __• - -- _,,.,. - -1- - I I ·: c..,.,, ,,.,.,..,_ I ~ I I I ....t.. - ✓-~- .I 1· Ol"hC& ,'I .' -' -~ .. ~ ~ I ; _ l•#tiM,. ., ,,!,_ I I I I _:..-..::-.:-.:--========1==--=-=--= 11"---'---"'I.. : I I ,I I I I I -: - ·- - __ ....... .. _ ➔ . _ _ ~e;,;;;;;;1-Ellllf:2~1111i11d I I I I I I j J I Corm·!';.-.,._ I _lL.,__ _- ==31~1'2'11'Zi1Zlllli~_ ____ J,.9i.-____ t~ I .__ ______ , I I----- - - - - - ------- - ..,.,. - ------ - -· - ~ nAvr ✓roltY ~ ~lr6AJ...,,:,-~ 11"'"'• httl I t I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I ,,_,. Z,o,,.,,w~r -■ • • I I MANK MM MM MM M Figure 144. First Floor Plan, Tillamook Bay Life-Saving Station. Source: Nautical Research Centre (#424). N N --...J 228 the right half contained two rooms for the keeper and his family, and the left half was the crew's quarters (Figure 145). In the center was a spare room for guests. Unlike the Point Adams station that had an interior bathroom, Tillamook Bay had a washroom in the station house and two privies in a symmetrical shop building behind the station house (Figure 146). This building was quite unusual in that it is thought to be the only Life-Saving Service building to combine privy and shop into one structure. The building was one story in a T-shaped plan. It was 28' wide by 3 7' deep and had a wraparound porch on the front leading to the privies. A central hall plan led past coal, wood, and oil storage rooms, and back to the shop area. Upstairs was a loft space. The boathouse was almost a direct copy of the Fort Point-type boathouse designed by Bibb, only simplified. It had the identical framing, it was one story, and it was rectangular in plan with the same overall dimensions, 24' wide by 40' deep (Figure 147). The structure was built on a concrete foundation, unlike the pilings of the Fort Point-type, and capped by a hip roof. One simplification was the elimination of the "witch's hat" ventilator. Admitting in light and ventilating the area were two sets of • paired, double-hung windows on either side of the boathouse. Paired double doors on the front each led to a bay on the inside, one bay containing a surfboat and the other a lifeboat. Hinge details were simplified from the Fort Point-type (Figure 148). The rafters were used to hang equipment, such as the lifecar and breeches buoy. A small tool locker was situated at the back comer. A pair of doors led out the back. This was the only Oregon station plan found with drawings for ancillary structures (Figure 149). The water tank was placed up on the hillside to store water from • ', \ 7 ) '~' ./ECON~ .ITOHY. .• .· :;" ' Cl) I • • ..._ I ~ C!> r : (.,) I • • (!) / • ::t ,' I al z1