{"nrhp_refnum":"00001553","name":"Oak Island Life Saving Station","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"217 Caswell Beach Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Caswell Beach","county":"Brunswick County","state":"NC","lat":33.891726590000076,"lon":-78.03321638699998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2000-12-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Maritime History","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-and-one-half story frame life saving station at 217 Caswell Beach Road, Caswell Beach, Brunswick County, North Carolina, built in 1889 from the U.S. Life Saving Service's 1882 prototype design and moved across the road about 1938.","why_significant":"It is one of the most intact of North Carolina's fifteen surviving life saving stations and the southernmost one, authorized to improve rescue capability near Frying Pan Shoals. It is significant under Criterion A for North Carolina maritime history, including keeper Dunbar Davis's 1893 rescue of five schooners. It is significant under Criterion C as the most architecturally intact 1880s station in the state.","narrative":"Oak Island Life Saving Station is a one-and-one-half story frame building on Caswell Beach Road, near the mouth of the Cape Fear River. Built in 1889 to the U.S. Life Saving Service's 1882 prototype design, probably by architect J. Lake Parkinson, it has a front-gable form, kingpost trusses, board-and-batten and German siding, and a rooftop lookout tower. Congress authorized the station in 1886 after deadly shipwrecks near Frying Pan Shoals. Keeper Dunbar Davis, who served from 1891 to 1915, led volunteers in rescuing five schooners during an August 1893 hurricane. The station was decommissioned in 1932, when a Coast Guard station replaced it, and was sold about 1938, moved across the road, and converted to a summer cottage. Alterations were modest: the boat doors became windows and a rear shed was added. The original floor plan and much interior finish survive. It is recognized for its role in North Carolina maritime history and as the most intact 1880s station in the state.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1889-ca. 1938","architect_builder":"Parkinson, J. Lake","architectural_style":"Stick/Eastlake","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Used as a private summer cottage since the late 1930s; the interior retains its original floor plan and finishes.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:53.527807-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/13/7191/47719113/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/00001553.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00001553/6aeebf1b88-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00001553/6aeebf1b88-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Pubdog (talk)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oak_Island_Life_Saving_Station_Jun_10.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Pubdog (talk)</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oak_Island_Life_Saving_Station_Jun_10.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47719113","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oak_Island_Life_Saving_Station","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18155276"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/brunswick-county/oak-island-life-saving-station-00001553/"}