{"nrhp_refnum":"79000251","name":"Bodie Island Lifesaving/Coast Guard Station","other_names":["Bodie Island Ranger Station","Bodie Island Ranger Residence &"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"S of Nags Head on NC 12","address_restricted":false,"city":"Nags Head","county":"Dare County","state":"NC","lat":35.83659906400007,"lon":-75.55890332394924,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-02-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Transportation","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 10-acre historic district within Cape Hatteras National Seashore near Nags Head, Dare County, North Carolina, made up of an 1878 lifesaving station (now a ranger residence and garage), a second station building of about 1925, and a Coast Guard observation tower on Coquina Beach.","why_significant":"The station represents more than 70 years of lifesaving service on the Outer Banks. It was one of 11 stations built in the late 1870s to fill gaps in the earlier 1874 line of stations. Together the buildings show how lifesaving and Coast Guard stations evolved, with two station styles at one site.","narrative":"Bodie Island Lifesaving/Coast Guard Station is a small district of three historic structures on the Outer Banks near Nags Head, North Carolina. The original station was built in 1878 by Allen A. McCullough of Norfolk, Virginia, for $2,240, after the wreck of the steamship Metropolis showed that the stations built in 1874 stood too far apart. A keeper and six surfmen served there, and a separate boat house followed in 1903. Crews took part in dramatic rescues, including the 1894 wreck of the schooner Florence C. Magee. After the Coast Guard was formed in 1915, a second station building and an observation tower were added about 1925. The older station was moved in 1955 because of shoreline erosion and later became a residence, while the 1925 building serves as an office. The buildings were altered as their uses changed, but together they show the evolution of lifesaving stations at one site. The tower is rusting and close to the surf.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Allen A. McCullough (1878)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Station buildings are in use as a park ranger residence and office; the observation tower is deteriorated and threatened by the nearby ocean. The 1878 building and its boathouse were moved in 1955.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:57.245167-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/20/7199/47719920/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/79000251.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000251/a764968d5f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000251/a764968d5f-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Womack, James M.","credit_html":"Womack, James M., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BODIE_ISLAND_LIFESAVING_STATION,_VIEW_TO_NORTHEAST_FROM_ENTRANCE_DRIVEWAY_-_Bodie_Island_Lifesaving_Station,_Off_Highway_12,_Nags_Head,_Dare_County,_NC_HABS_NC-394-2.tif"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47719920","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodie_Island_Lifesaving_and_Coast_Guard_Station","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4936565"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/dare-county/bodie-island-lifesaving-coast-guard-station-79000251/"}