The Eagle Harbor
Life-Saving Station
This boat house is the last building remaining
on the site from the large Eagle Harbor Life-Saving Station.
ANNOUNCEMENTS --
This is a test web site designed only to be seen by KCHS Board members. It is based on the existing KCHS web site, uses the much of the same content as the existing site but has major technical and design changes and additional content. Take the link below to the announcements page for all the details.
All of the KCHS Museums are closed for the 2013 season. We will post the 2014 schedule of activities in the spring.
Check the Sites and Museum Schedule page for hours and locations for all 11 KCHS museums for the past 2013 season.
The Life Saving Station Boathouse as
it looked when it was operational with
three boats in their bays.
Lake Superior may be calm as glass one moment and have 20 foot seas the next. Storms rage on the lake from April through the infamous Gales of November into January. The crew of the Eagle Harbor Life Saving Station knew that all too well yet they lived by the motto of the U.S. Life Saving Service "You have to go out but you don't have to come back". Once a separate governmental agency the Life Saving Service became part of the U.S. Coast Guard in 1915. To honor these brave men and their families the Keweenaw County Historical Society has opened a Life-Saving Station Museum near the at the marina in Eagle Harbor in the old Life Saving Station boathouse. It contains several exhibits including:
- A 36-foot U.S. Coast Guard Motor Life Boat (MLB) self-righting surf boat
- A 26-foot Coast Guard motor surfboat that was acquired in December, 2009 from a National Park in North Carolina
- The trailer used to haul the surfboat
- A Beach Cart which contained all the equipment surfmen used to transport equipment to the scene of a wreck
- A Line Cart used to carry line for rescues
- A Life-Car, a small covered lifeboat used to transport shipwreck victims to shore
- A Lyle Gun used to shoot a rescue line from the shore to a wreck
- A Buda boat engine, an engine manufactured by the Buda Marine Engine Company of Illinois that was used to power surfboats
Postcards were printed celebrating
the successful rescue of the crew of
the Waldo by members of the crew
of the Eagle Harbor Life Saving Station.
The Museum also has a 26-foot pulling surfboat which is being now being restored. Once the26-foot surfboat is delivered from the restorer, the museum will display all the early wooden rescue boats used by the U.S. Life-Saving Service and the U.S. Coast Guard.
A view of the Station with all of the
buildings in place. (Photo courtesy of
Fort Wilkins Historic State Park,
Michigan Historical Center.)
The Museum has a glass enclosed viewing area inside the restored Life-Saving Station boathouse. It has one display about the Eagle Harbor station's most famous rescue, the 1913 wreck of the steamer L. C. Waldo. The Waldo was wrecked in a November storm off Keweenaw Point. Nine Eagle Harbor rescuers were awarded the Life-Saving Service's highest honor, the Gold Medal, for their heroic role in assisting in the rescue of 24 souls and one dog from the Waldo. Another display uses a collection of memorabilia to discuss the Marshall family which served both the Portage and Eagle Harbor Life Saving Stations.
The The Eagle Harbor Life-Saving Station and museum is open from mid-June to early October.
Planning your visit
Hours & Admission - The Life-Saving Museum will be open from 9 am to 6 PM daily from mid-June to early October.
Location -The Life Saving Station is at the end of Marina Road, which cuts off of M26 about 1 mile east of the bathing beach in Eagle Harbor. It is on the opposite side of the harbor from the lighthouse, near the Eagle Harbor Marina. GPS: N 47 27.543 W-88 08.931, Decimal Degrees: 47.45905, -88.14885
Need a map? Click on this small Google Map to open a larger version that will give you complete access to a larger Google map of the area, satellite view, etc. You may use this link to go to Google Maps Help if you are not familiar with Google Maps.
Related Links - You may wish to explore the following sites for additional information about life saving stations and the wreck of the Waldo.
Association for Great Lakes Maritime History
The Eagle harbor Life Saving Station
Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum - Whitefish Point Light Station
USCG Awards for the rescue of the crew of the Waldo
