U.S. Lifesaving Station Marblehead, Ohio

U.S. Lifesaving Station Marblehead, Ohio. . , This building is a replica of the U. S. Lifesaving Station which was built in Marblehead in 1876. The actual building was located about one mile west of this location on the site presently occupied by the U. S. Coast Guard Station Marblehead. The 1876 building stood until 1921 when a new Coast, Guard station building was constructed on the site., During 1876 the federal government established a series of six lifesaving stations across the southern shore of Lake Erie. These stations were located at Fairport Harbor, Ashtabula, Cleveland, Lorain, Marblehead and Toledo. By the time the U.S. Lifesaving Service was combined with the U. S. Revenue Cutter Service in 1915 to form the new U. S. Coast Guard, there were 376 lifesaving stations in the country, with 77 of them on the Great Lakes. The stations were typically staffed by a crew of six "surfmen" and one station "keeper". The crew lived in the station and had a weekly duty schedule consisting of training with the rescue boat, practicing with the breeches buoy apparatus and performing needed equipment maintenance. In 1939 the U. S. Lighthouse Service was added to the Coast Guard and the operation of all lighthouses is their responsibility to this day., Since there was no television or movies at the time, the training exercises often drew a crowd of spectators, as can be seen in the photos. Marblehead's station was just outside the gates of Lakeside and exercises were well attended., Today, Coast Guard Station Marblehead is one of the largest and busiest in the United States. Inside this building we have created a museum with exhibits covering the history of the Lifesaving Service and the U. S. Coast Guard.