Two decades after the end of the Civil War, the first U.S. Life Saving Station at Pensacola Bay was established just four miles east of Fort Pickens.

Charged with patrolling the seashore day and night, the crew assisted stranded voyagers. On August 7, 1894 the Norwegian ship Catherine wrecked on a nearby sandbar. The "surfmen" staffing the station used a wooden dory-type lifeboat to rescue the 15 sailors. The two daughters of the station keeper also aided in the rescue. Although, the Catherine was lost, King Oscar II of Norway and Sweden recognized the two daughters for their help.

The Life Saving Station helped save lives along Santa Rosa Island until it was devastated by a hurricane in 1906. The crew salvaged many of the lifeboats and the Lyle gun - a small cannon used to fire a line to ships that became stranded during times when waters were too dangerous to attempt a lifeboat rescue.

The current Cape Cod style house dates to 1908. With the founding of the US Coast Guard, the Life Saving Station became a Coast Guard Station and continued to operate until 1986 when it was deactivated.

Today, it serves as the Ranger Station and Campground Registration for Gulf Islands National Seashore.

Information provided by the National Park Service, narrative written by University of West Florida Public History Student Travis Patterson. Photo provided by Chad K. Mills.