The forgotten heroes of the Delaware shore: the Indian River Life-Saving Station, 1876-1915

Delaware’s Life-Saving Heroes at Indian River Station

Delaware’s coast claimed ships by the dozen before the Indian River Life-Saving Station opened in 1876. Six surfmen and a keeper lived there from September through May, training hard each day.

They practiced beach rescues on Mondays, boat drills on Tuesdays, and resuscitation techniques on Fridays. At night, they walked the shore in all weather, swapping metal tokens with men from other stations.

Their motto said it all: “You have to go out, but you don’t have to come back. ” These brave men saved 419 lives from 62 wrecks before joining the new Coast Guard in 1915.

The station still stands at Delaware Seashore State Park, where you can see their original surfboat.

Delaware’s Coast Claimed Thousands of Ships

Over 2,400 ships sank along the Delaware coast.

Hidden shoals just below the water made ships run aground, with cargo lost to waves and sailors drowning while land was in sight.

Since colonial times, shipwrecks lined Delaware’s shores. Before the Life Saving Service started, local farmers rushed to save survivors and collect wreckage.

Strong currents, shifting sandbars, and frequent storms made this Atlantic coastline one of America’s most dangerous.

Uncle Sam Stepped In With Lifesaving Stations

The government got into saving lives on August 14, 1848, when the Newell Act was signed.

Congress gave $10,000 to set up unmanned lifesaving stations along New Jersey’s coast.
Sumner Kimbal took over the Treasury Department’s Revenue Division in 1871.

By 1872, stations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island joined the growing network. The first stations were simple buildings with basic gear to protect sailors on the east coast.

The Station Moved After Just One Year

The Indian River Life-Saving Station was built in 1876 to protect sailors from Bethany Beach up to Cape Henlopen.

Workers first put the building 400 feet closer to the shore, but a sand dune started forming around it almost right away.

They moved it to its current spot in 1877. The station opened on January 1st. The building had a Carpenter Gothic style and a deep red-brown color.

Brave Men Left Their Homes To Save Strangers

Six surfmen and a keeper ran the Indian River Life-Saving Station in Sussex County from September through May. They lived at the station, often for months, and spent days training and sharpening their skills.

These men gave up comfort at home to train by day and walk the beaches at night. Their motto was “You have to go out, but you don’t have to come back.”

Most surfmen worked as local fishermen or farmers who knew the waters well and could handle small boats in rough seas.

Monday Meant Practicing With The Lyle Gun

On Tuesdays, the men did boat drills.

They launched both the surfboat and lifeboats, pulled them back in, and rowed for at least half an hour.

Fridays meant learning how to bring back the “apparently drowned” through a type of CPR. On clear days, one surfman always watched from the tower.

The 3,000-pound boat had to be loaded onto a huge wooden cart with big wheels and pulled to the beach by hand.

The men also trained with the beach gear, including the Lyle gun and breeches buoy used to save people from stuck ships.

Tokens Proved Surfmen Completed Their Beach Patrols

At night and in fog, the men walked the beach. During night shifts, surfmen patrolled the shore watching for ships stuck on land or other trouble signs.

Surfmen often walked until they met someone from the next station coming the other way; then they swapped stamped metal tokens (checks).

A phone sat in the room used to talk with other Delaware stations. These were some of the first phone lines ever put up in the state.

Each patrolman carried a beach lantern and signal flares to talk with ships or alert the station if they spotted trouble.

Heavy Equipment Had To Be Dragged By Hand

The station stored the surfboat, Lyle gun, ropes, flares, beach cart and all gear needed for rescues. In good weather, a boat rescue worked fine.

But when the sea turned nasty, they used the breeches buoy.

Though they wanted men with small-boat skills, it took lots of training and constant practice to launch a boat in rough seas and fire the Lyle Gun.

The beach cart came next with the gear. Fully loaded at nearly a ton, men pulled this through sand, sometimes for miles, before even starting a rescue.

Bodies From The Red Wing Washed Ashore In 1891

On October 27, 1891, evening fell as the south patrolman from Indian River Life-Saving Station punched his patrol clock at the keypost north of the inlet.

All bodies found were broken and battered, killed not by drowning but by being trapped in the ship’s wreckage.

Officials looking into the Red Wing crash found that the six men of the Indian River Life-Saving Station had tried everything possible to save the crew.

The unmarked graves of the Red Wing crew lie in Ocean View Presbyterian Church cemetery, with only two bodies ever named.

Hundreds Of Lives Saved By Indian River Surfmen

The crew at this station helped at over 60 wrecks and saved 419 people.

By 1915, United States Life-Saving Service rescuers had saved more than 186,000 lives, making them the greatest group of their kind worldwide.

The US Life-Saving Service rescued over 175,000 people between 1871 and 1915.

Built in 1876, this station stands as the oldest on the east coast still in its original spot and the only one of 6 in Delaware that remains.

The surfmen worked without modern tools, using only courage, strength, and grit to save lives in the worst conditions.

President Wilson Created The Coast Guard

In 1915, the United States Life-Saving Service joined with the Revenue Cutter Service to form the United States Coast Guard.

The station kept working until 1915, when the US Revenue Cutter Service and the USLSS combined to create the US Coast Guard.

President Woodrow Wilson merged it with the Revenue Cutter Service to form the Coast Guard in 1915. The service ran successfully for 44 years.

This joining brought together shore-based rescues with sea law enforcement duties, creating a more complete organization.

The Old Station Now Welcomes Park Visitors

The site was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

Then in the late 1990’s, after a near century of saving lives, the station would finally be rescued itself by the Delaware Seashore Preservation Foundation.

The organization would restore the building and eventually hand it over to the Delaware Seashore State Park in 2004.

Today, the Indian River Life-Saving Station is located along Route 1 just north of the Indian River Bridge and operates as the main public center for Delaware Seashore State Park.

Visitors can tour the restored building and learn about the brave surfmen who risked their lives to save others along Delaware’s treacherous coast.

Visiting Delaware Seashore State Park, Delaware

The Indian River Life-Saving Station at 25039 Coastal Highway in Rehoboth Beach shows you how brave surfmen rescued sailors from shipwrecks between 1876 and 1915.

You can take a self-guided tour with audio for $4 (discounts for seniors and kids). The station looks just like it did in 1905, with the original bunk room, mess hall, and keeper’s quarters.

They host rescue reenactments throughout the year and are open daily 8am-4:30pm April through October.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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