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All hands on deck to save No. 69! EverythingWestport.com Saturday, November 29, 2008 View the
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The Westport Fishermen’s Association (WFA) showcased the Horseneck Point Lifesaving
Station’s ongoing renovations at an open house Saturday on East Beach Road.
Scores of people came by to hear about the restoration project and what lay
in store for phase two and beyond. Life Saving Station No. 69, once so
responsible for rescuing shipwrecked lives, is now itself being saved. “We
have made good progress, but there is still much to be done,” Chip Gillespie,
WFA volunteer said. “This is a special part of Westport’s seafaring history,” said
Howard Gifford, member. The Horseneck Point Lifesaving Station, the last of its kind in
a network of 69, was built by the Humane Society in Massachusetts in 1888 on
the east side of Westport River’s channel entrance. This area is called
Horseneck Point, thus the name of the station. The Humane Society of
Massachusetts was founded in 1785 because of the number of shipwrecks that
were taking place in Massachusetts coastal waters. The
building was moved to its current location near the Gooseberry Island
causeway in 1894. This is known because in 1908, the annual inspection notes
say that the station was moved in January of 1894 because it was a poor place
for a boat. It can be speculated that the reasons associated with the move
were that most wrecks occurred to the east of the river’s entrance (courtesy
of Hen and Chicks!) and it was too difficult to drag the heavy surfboat
across the wide expanse of sand to reach the water’s edge. Writings from the
day also indicate that the surf and currents were difficult at the river’s
mouth, particularly during times when a rescue was necessary. Being at the
Gooseberry location also gave the surfboat two launch points on either side
of the sand bar to Gooseberry Island that is now the causeway. The
station housed a boat and equipment. There was a keeper and a trained crew of
six volunteers who would be called upon to bring the boat out of the lifesaving
station in an emergency. Some surfboat crews were trained not only in
seamanship, but also with the use of various equipment including a large gun
that could shoot a line into a disabled boat and allow for rescue as victims
had a lifeline to the rescuers. The Westport surfboat, however, never had a
gun or other breeches buoy equipment, just the boat and associated equipment.
We know this from a hand-written inventory in 1889 by the Humane Society
annual inspector. Manning and rowing the heavy, awkward surfboat was not for the
faint-of-heart. Heavy seas and freezing temperatures from winter storms made
the task near impossible, and sometimes the crew was barely able to save
themselves. Ship wrecks don’t happen in calm seas. Fortunately, the internal
combustion engine brought about some welcome changes. The building was decommissioned as a life saving station in
1913. Amazingly, it survived the hurricanes of 1938 and 1954, when other
nearby buildings did not. The WFA leased the station from the state’s Department of
Conservation and Recreation in 2007. Over the years many additions were added
to the original station, including the kiosk-style visitors’ building and the
less-than-attractive raised double dormer on top of the original station. The
complex’s last use was as a residence. Read
about the chronology of the rescue station.
“The
WFA was moved to undertake this project when they heard the State DCR, which
owns the property, had plans to demolish the structures to clean up the
area,” Gillespie said. “Mary Schmitt, who owned the property before the State
took over, found the old structure inside when she did some renovations. She
did a little research and found out about its previous life as a lifesaving
station. She informed the Westport Historical Commission and they put up a
plaque. So, when the State started to move, the WFA was aware of this and
decided to step in.” Lifesaving
station has historical Westport ties.
“East
Beach was in the middle of a dramatic growth in the late nineteenth century
of leisure and vacation homes, a result of prosperity brought on by the
Industrial Revolution, specifically the mills in Fall River and New Bedford.
A whole community sprang up here between 1870 and 1895, complete with store,
church, dancehall, stable, restaurant and bowling alley with houses from one
end of the beach to the other. All was erased in one hurricane in 1938 except
for the station and a few houses at the west end, which were apparently
sheltered just enough from the worst of the storm by Gooseberry Neck,”
Gillespie concluded. Phase one. The WFA’s first task was to “peel back” the additions and bring
the station back to its original structure. It was decided to retain the
existing visitors’ center to be used for the same purpose: retaining
photographs and artifacts to educate area residents about Westport’s
seafaring past. The picture (above left) is an early photograph of the
original lifesaving station at its current location. In a fortunate twist of events, an oil lamp (pictured above
right) originally hung in the Horseneck Point station (above left).
It was loaned to the open house from the Westport Historical Society that
received it as a donation from Jim Panos of Westport who was given the lamp
from a friend who had discovered it in a Maine antique store! The WFA received two grants totaling $110,000 and have raised
$12,000 from donations, their annual clambake, and the sale of tickets for
the wooden kayaks raffled off at the bakes. “We have a bit more fundraising
to do,” Gillespie said. He expects the phase two bid to be awarded with work
starting in about a month. Read
the Dartmouth Chronicle article about CPC funding. Read
the article on the $60,000 DCR grant. Demolition included separating the visitors’ center from the
life saving station, demolishing all of the additions, and removing the
station’s double dormer, thereby restoring the original roof line is now
underway. The boathouse roof was new construction, as were over 85% of its
walls. The few main support beams for the load-bearing walls, and the floor
were saved. The visitors’ center, being a more recent addition, didn’t
require the extensive reconstruction required of the life saving station. In
fact, one can still see the center’s blackened interior roof boards from an
earlier fire. Contractor Shawn Brissom and his workers did a fine job of
restoring what little could be saved, and reconstructing the buildings as
faithfully as possible. A new northeast foundation was required for the
visitors’ center. “The visitors’ center’s exterior is now completed, although the
interior remains unfinished,” Gillespie said. The original lifesaving station’s walls and roof are now
buttoned up and weather secured. The demolition on interior walls and living
spaces was extensive, having to remove years of additions that accommodated
the many different uses of the building. Much work on the lifesaving station
remains. “We are still seeking donations to restore the building,” explained
Gillespie. Chip Gillespie has done a yeoman’s job of presenting the project
to many groups in town, and soliciting help and donations for this worthwhile
restoration mission.
From left to right: (1) Lifesaving station before – front;
(2) Lifesaving station before – back; (3) renovations underway on visitors’
center; and (4) interior of boat house showing renovations completed under
phase one. The open house from 1 to 3 p.m. featured hot apple cider and
goodies, and casual guitar playing by volunteer Steve Young, a Westport Point
resident. Talks were given by WFA Project Manager Jennifer Gelinas and Chip
Gillespie, WFA volunteer. Long term Westport resident Cukie Macomber
displayed his information on lightships of old, originally presented to a
Westport Historical Society June 2007 meeting. Visitors received tours of the
renovated visitors’ center. But the jewel in the crown was the display of the
Cuttyhunk surfboat on loan from Cuttyhunk Island. The surfboat was brought
over from Howie Gifford’s house where it is being temporarily housed. The jewel in the lifesaving station crown. The surfboat is currently on long-term loan from Mystic Seaport in
Connecticut. “They finally agreed to let us have this boat for the long term,
provided Cuttyhunk didn’t want it back,” Gillespie said. “Originally, the
surfboat belonged to the Cuttyhunk Life Saving Station and Humane Society. As
soon as the boathouse restoration work is done, we’ll move the boat in
there.” Read
the Standard Times article on the delivery of the Cuttyhunk surfboat.
From left to right: (1) Steve Young and his guitar; (2)
Chip Gillespie giving a guided tour of the Cuttyhunk surfboat to Barbara Moss
and Tom Kendig of Westport; (3) early photo of a surfboat being launched by
its six man crew; and (4) the Cuttyhunk surfboat. The
surfboat arrived from Connecticut without oars. “We were able to secure some
oars from donors. They are probably just about right length for a lifeboat.
At least one of them, maybe more are said to have come off the wreck of the
Whaler Wanderer when she went aground off Cuttyhunk. So they may actually be
whale boat oars. We don't actually have a steering oar, which would have been
even longer and with a little wooden leg coming off the steering end to help
turn the oar,” Gillespie said. The
Cuttyhunk surfboat is very large; 25 feet long with six rowing stations and
plenty of room for passengers (rescue victims). She has a big bluff bow, a
high slender stern, and lots of sheer (longitudinal upward curvature of the
deck or gunwale) allowing her to plow through heavy seas while remaining
exceptionally maneuverable when heading out or home through the surf.
Check
out this video on the danger surfboats face in rescuing lives!
From left to right: (1) The visitors’ center was
overflowing with interested town residents; (2) temporary exhibits will
eventually be replaced by more permanent ones with artifacts; (3) The
visitors’ center shines in the sunlight. View the
photo album now 107 photos | Dial-up speed |
Broadband/DSL speed | Phase two of the project will focus on interior restoration for
both buildings, with the boathouse requiring the bulk of the work. The
collection of documentation and artifacts for the rescue station is
extensive, and much research has been done with several trips to the Humane
Society’s historical archives in Boston. Visit the Humane
Society’s historical archive now. - - - - - - End - - - - - - Community Events
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