C. The 1892 Cook House--Construction and Maintenance

The cook house erected late in 1892 served crewmen throughout
the remaining active history of the Little Kinnakeet Station. Construction
of a new cook house facility, separate from that in the 1874 station, got
underway in the autumn with the arrival of two doors, three windows,
two locks, four flues, lumber, cement, and nails for use in building the
structure. In November, Keeper Hooper sought a job foreman from the
Gull Shoal Station to head the project, and by early December the new
building stood complete.(1) The reason for the construction of cook
houses at the southern stations was comfort. As General Superintendent
Kimball explained:

Authority was given for the erection of these cook-houses solely
because it was represented that in that warm climate the
presence and use of the cook-stoves in the living room of the
station during the warm months of the active season, viz:
September and April of each year which is the only place men
have for a sitting room, makes it so hot that it is almost
unbearable. (2)

As built, the cook house, which contained a kitchen as well as a mess
room dining area, measured 18 feet long by 12 feet wide. According to
later drawings, a chimney was located inside the building at one end and
a window at the other. One window and one door were in each of the
remaining two sides. A doorstep was at each entrance. In exterior
appearance the cook house approximated that of the 1874 station; it had a

1. Log entries for October 14, November 15, and 19, and December 2,
1892. NA, RG 26. Copies in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs,
1890-1893."

2. Kimball to Superintendent, Sixth District, December 29, 1892. NA,
RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "6th District - Repairs & Construction."
Other reasons for building the cook house were as follows: "It will cause
the cook-stoves to last twice as long, a fire would be run from 6 to 8
hours per day in the Cook-house, while if used for warming purposes, a
constant fire day and night is run in them about five months. It is also
impossible to keep the station walls free from smoke, and mess room floor
free from grease. There are also millions of flies about four months of
the season in the cook rooms." Etheridge to Kimball, January 2, 1893.
Ibid.

55


February 5.--On their way back to the beach from assisting the
vessel mentioned in the preceding case, the crew of the Little Kinnakeet
Station, (Sixth District,) coast of North Carolina, saw another schooner,
which had been standing down the sound, strand while crossing what is
called the outer reef, some two miles to the westward of the station. The
life-saving crew hastened to board her and found that she was the
Vennor, of New Berne, North Carolina, unladen, and bound between the
same ports as the Avoset. Having been obliged to slip her anchors and
chains on the previous day, during the prevalence of a high wind and
sea, there was no way left of mooring her as she lay aground. The
captain being dangerously sick and in need of medical attendance, the
station crew lost no time in taking him and his two men ashore, where the
latter were given the boat to convey the ailing man to his home at Big
Kinnakeet. The vessel was subsequently floated, having sustained little
or no damage.

February 13.--Shortly before 2 o'clock in the afternoon the crew of
the Little Kinnakeet Station, (Sixth District,) coast of North Carolina,
went off to the assistance of a small schooner which was seen to strand in
Pamlico Sound, about two miles west of the station. She proved to be the
Fox, of Elizabeth City, unladen, on her way to Big Kinnakeet. The tide
being low at the time all that could be done was to lay out an anchor to
windward, after which the surfmen landed the crew of three men. The
vessel subsequently got off without damage.

February 14.--At half-past 8 o'clock in the morning the lookout of
the Little Kinnakeet Station, (Sixth District,) coast of North Carolina,
reported a small schooner ashore in Pamlico Sound, some four miles
northwest of the station, flying a signal distress. The life-saving crew
manned a small boat and reached her in about an hour's time. She was
found to be the Little Betty, of Hatteras, light, bound from Edenton to
Big Kinnakeet, and in no immediate danger. The crew of two men,
desiring to reach their homes, were taken ashore by the surfmen.
Subsequently the vessel was floated off and proceeded in safety.(4)

1892

On February 22, 1892, the schooner Annie E. Pierce, of Somers
Point, New Jersey, bound from Bogue Inlet, North Carolina, to New
Bedford, Massachusetts, was beached by her master at a point two and
one quarter miles south of the Little Kinnakeet Station, (Sixth District,)
North Carolina, and the death of Alonzo Driscoll, the mate of the vessel,
occurred in consequence. As the schooner came into view from seaward
through the rain and mist of that stormy February morning, she was

4. Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving
Service for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1887 (Washington:
Government Printing Office, 1888), pp. 226, 227-28.

119


months later the chimney somehow became damaged and required mortaring
and painting. (26)

1892. On May 2 the superintendent requested lumber and nails for
construction at fifteen of the coastal stations, including Little Kinnakeet.
One thousand two hundred feet of undressed pine seconds, along with ten
pounds of 8d-galvanized nails, were earmarked for Little Kinnakeet for an
unspecified purpose.(27) Probably the materials were needed for routine
repairs. Late in the year a new cook house was built, thereby freeing
the former kitchen and mess facility in the station for use as a sitting
room for the crew.

1893 and 1894. During April, 1893, the crew varnished the lean-to
and boat room and applied another coat of paint to the station.(28) On
February 4, 1894, the Life-Saving Service contracted with F.E. Moore of
Norfolk to have the station and its component structures moved inland,
apparently away from the encroaching surf. The work was originally to
be performed in conjunction with the construction of new buildings,
possibly including a boathouse, before the middle of August at a cost of
$11,487.50. Presumably only part of the contract was fulfilled, with the
buildings moved some distance back from the shoreline. Late that year
two crewmen were sent to the Gull Shoal Life-Saving Station to obtain
shingles for repairs to the roof of the Little Kinnakeet Station. (29)

26. Log entries for September 21 and November 11, 1891. NA, RG 26.
Copies in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1890-1893."

27. Kimball to Superintendent, Sixth District, July 30, 1892, and Acting
General Superintendent to Superintendent, Sixth District, August 3,
1892. NA, RG 26. Copies in CAHA folder, “Little Kinnakeet Repairs."

28. Log entries for April 3, 14, and 16, 1893. NA, RG 26. Copies in
CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1890-1893."

29. “Proposal for Station &c. for the U.S. Life-Saving Service,"
February 4, 1894. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "6th District
Repairs and Construction;" Log entry for December 22, 1894. NA,
RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1894-1895."

21


Bolt rope, best manila, right-hand laid, one red yarn
throughout the entire length of one strand (450
fathoms each)

Bolt rope, best manila, left hand laid, one red yarn
throughout the entire length of one strand (300
fathoms each)

Bolt rope, best manila, left hand laid, one red yarn

throughout the entire length of one strand (150
fathoms each)

Miscellaneous Sizes

per

per

per

(Circumference in inches unless otherwise noted.)

Bell rope, best manila, 24-inch

Best manila, long tiber, smooth laid, 6-thread
Best manila, long fiber, smooth laid, 9-thread
Best manila, long fiber, smooth laid, 12-thread
Best manila, long fiber, smooth laid, 14-inch
Best manila, long fiber, smooth laid, 14-inch
Best manila, long fiber, smooth laid, 1-3/4-inch
Best manila, long fiber, smooth laid, 24-inch
Best manila, long fiber, smooth laid, 24-inch
Best manila, long fiber, smooth laid, 3-inch
Best manila, long fiber, smooth laid, 4-inch
Best manila, long fiber, smooth laid, 4%-inch
Best Russian hemp, 12-thread

Best Russian hemp, 15-thread

Halyards, signal, No. 7, braided, Italian hemp, in coils
Marline hemp (5 and 10 pound coils)

Spun yarn, hemp, 2-yarn (5 and 10 pound coils)

150

per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per

per

pound

pound

pound

pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound

pound


inings, stove, sets, (extra)
Locks, door, brass, (extra)
Locks, door, iron, (extra)
Locks, pad, brass, (extra)
Locks, pad, iron, (extra)
Lumber

Lyle gun and carriage
Lyle-gun projectiles

Mallets, hand
Marline pounds of
Marline-spikes
Matches, safety
Match-safes
Mattress-covers
Mattresses, hackled husk
Mattresses, hair
Match-rope
Match-staves
Measures, pint, quart, gallon
Medicine-chest and key
Adhesive plaster
Ammonia, carbonate
Brandy
Bandages
Lint
Probangs and sponges
Pins
Pills, camphor and opii
Quinine
Snuff
Sinapisms, (mustard plaster)
Salts, Monsell's
Wadding
wine, sherry
Mica, (isinglass,) for stoves, (extra,) pieces of
Mills, coffee
Mop-sticks and mops, (patent)
Mortar, 5-inch, Eprouvette
Mortar-bed, 5-inch, Eprouvette
Mortar-cart

Nails, assorted, (except boat-nails)
Nails, boat, copper

Nails, boat, galvanized

Needles, sail

Nippers, end-cutting

Oakum pounds of

Oars 12-foot

Oars 14-foot

Oars 16-foot

Oars 18-foot

Oats bushels of

Ochre, yellow pounds of
Oil, kerosene gallons

Oil; lamp--mineral, sperm gallons
Oil! linseed, boiled gallons
Oil; linseed, raw gallons
Oil; signal ‘gallons
Oil-stones

145

Paint, black

Paint, black-drop

Paints, mixed gallons
Pans, bake, tin

Pans, bread, tin

Pans, dish, tin

Pans, dust

Pans, fry

Pans, sauce

Pans, tin

Paper, blotting

Paper, cap

Paper, letter

Patent dryer pounds of
Parrott gun and carriage
Parrott-gun projectiles
Pen-holders

Pens, steel

Pepper boxes
Pillow-covers

Pillows, feather

Pillows, hair

Pillows, shuck

Pincers, flat-nosed

Pins, thole, iron, (extra)
Pins, thole, wood, (extra)
Pitchers, molasses
Pitchers, water, albata
Pitchers, water, stone-china
Planes, jack

Planes, smoothing

Plates, bed, for stoves, (extra)
Plates, stone-china

Plates, tin
Platters, stone-china
Pliers

Pokers, stove

Pork pounds of

Pots, coffee, gallon
Pots, iron, gallon
Pots, iron, gallon
Pots, tea, tin, gallon
Powder pounds of
Powder-flasks
Powder-magazines
Powder-measures
Primers, (cannon, fuze)
Priming-wires

Prussian blue

Pump, force, (whose make,) double or single
Putty’ pounds of

Receipt and expenditure, books

Reels, shot-line

Reels, whip-line

Reflectors, lamp

Resuscitation of apparently drowned, Form 23
Revised Regulations Life-Saving Service, 1877
Rivets, boat pounds of

Rockets, assorted

Rockets, line-bearing

Rocket-staves

Rotten-stone pounds of

Rubber cement




actually broke over their heads, they succeeding [sic] in reaching him
and bringing him safely ashore. He was pretty well exhausted when
rescued but stoutly refused to go to the station for shelter until he could
see his shipmates also safe on land. The schooner once started from
where she first struck now began working along the bar to the southward
and ere long the tail of the whip-block also parted, thus for the time
completely severing connection with the beach. The life-saving crews
quickly hauled the lines out of the surf, and after clearing them of turns
and kinks reloaded the cart and moved along abreast of the schooner,
watching an opportunity to again use the gun. It soon came and the line
was once more dropped within reach of the people on board. At this time
the schooner was lying parallel with the beach, head to the northward,
having turned completely around since leaving her first position. The
whip was again hauled off and the tail-block made fast as before, to the
flying jib-stay. When this was done the beachmen, as a precautionary
measure, sent off four life-preservers. Three of them were secured and
put on by the steward and two seamen, who were thus made
comparatively safe. The other life-preserver fouled in the wreckage
alongside and was lost, leaving one man, the captain, without any. It
was extremely fortunate that even three of the belts reached them, for
they were scarcely in their possession when the schooner again swung
around with the same result as before, viz. the parting of the line. At
the time it broke one of the sailors had just started in an attempt to
reach the beach hand over hand on the line. He was of course thrown
into the surf, but by great good luck managed to retain his grasp until
quickly drawn ashore by the life-saving crews. He was slightly injured
by contact in the surf with floating lumber from the deck-load, but a
little brandy from the medicine-chest soon revived him. As soon as the
lines were rearranged, another shot was fired. The schooner changed
her position so rapidly, however that the line fell beyond reach of those
on board. It was quickly hauled back and the fourth fire dropped it
once more over the head stays. In the mean time the vessel was fast
becoming a wreck. The stern had been burst in and the water alongside
and to leeward was thickly strewn with lumber and wreck stuff. Scarcely
had the remaining men in the rigging secured the shot-line for the third
time when it was cut by contact with floating wreckage. With
praiseworthy perseverance the surfmen again hauled back the broken
line, and, after changing it end for end, again shot it over the vessel's
jib-boom. The bight of it, as the current swept it alongside, was
secured by the sailors in the rigging, but they were so benumbed and
stiff, and in such an awkward position, that their effort to haul out the
whip-line failed. As the situation became more and more critical, the two
men who had life-preservers on resolved to attempt swimming to the
beach, leaving the captain alone in the rigging.. They had scarcely left
her when the schooner fell over on her side. It should be remembered
that during all this time she had kept steadily in motion, preserving the
same relative distance from the shore, with a mad whirl of waters
between, which would have swamped any boat attempting to leave the
beach. The two men, buoyed upon the crests of the waves by the
cork-belts, gradually worked themselves shoreward and were at last
thrown within reach of the surfmen, who, joining hands, waded out as
far as possible, grasped them and carried them to the beach hills clear of

115


1900s. Work on replacing the privy began late in March, 1900, on
arrival at Little Kinnakeet of Assistant Superintendent of Construction
Fourchy. By March 26 the water closet was seemingly complete when the
crew cleaned the metal equipments for the unit. A month later, on
direction of Fourchey, the crew painted the trim of the newly installed
water closet. In May they cleaned and cemented the water tank. The
tank received additional coats of cement in September. And in October,
1901, the crew was employed shingling the dwelling house of Keeper
Hooper. (8)

As sentiment grew for building a new station during the first years
of the new century, maintenance continued on the outbuildings of the
1874 station. In December, 1902, the surfmen whitewashed the oil house
and the provision house, and in April, 1903 they "engaged in putting
blocks and brace under tank house to hold tank up, sills and sleapers
[sic]." The following month an inspector recommended that the privy,
and tank house (with tank) be moved, along with the old station and cook
house, to a site some 1050 feet southwest where a new station and boat
house were to be erected. Cost for moving the outbuildings was
estimated at $250. On May 25, 1904, the flagstaff and water closet were
moved to the designated site. By July 19 the contractor had moved the
tank house and it had been raised on blocks. The drill pole was moved
to the new site on August 1, and during the autumn the crew carted rock
from the old location to help stabilize the structures. (9)

Following the construction of the new station in 1904 the outbuildings
associated with the old 1874 station appear to have been gradually

7. (Cont.) CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet-Miscellaneous"; Inspection
report, September 15, 1899. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "6th
District Inspection Reports, 1890-1902."

8. Log entries for March 22, 26, April 25, May 7, 23, 24, September
11, 1900, and October 15, 1901. NA, RG 26. Copies in CAHA folder,
"Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1900-1904."

9. Log entries for December 10, 1902, April 23, 1903, May 25, July 19,

August 1, and October 13, 1904. Ibid.; Abbey to Kimball, May 12, 1903.
NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Construction."

64



syue} 19}2M 9]0N

paend yse0D “SN

‘asnoy Y0o9 Jo pus YINos Oo} UOTIppe pue uUOTIe]s Jo apis YOU UO
“IS6T ‘bT Jequieaon ‘xe[duioo uonels paend yseoD JeayxeuuTY aT

‘VT (ON UoTe4ysNIII

228


Blocks and Sheaves.

Blocks, breeches buoy, English pattern, per sample

Blocks, double, 8-inch, inside galvanized iron strapped,
galvanized iron sheaves, with best composition roller
bushings and loose hooks

Blocks, double, 10-inch, inside galvanized iron strapped,
galvanized iron sheaves, with best composition roller
bushings and loose hooks

Blocks, double, 8-inch, inside galvanized iron strapped,
galvanized iron sheaves, with best composition roller
bushings and loose hooks and beckets

Blocks, double, 10-inch, inside galvanized iron strapped,
galvanized iron sheaves, with best composition roller
bushings and loose hooks and beckets

Blocks, galvanized iron, combination snatch, per sample

Blocks, single, 8-inch, inside galvanized iron strapped,
galvanized iron sheaves, with best composition roller
bushings and loose hooks

Blocks, single, 10-inch, inside galvanized iron strapped,
galvanized iron sheaves, with best composition roller
bushings and loose hooks

Blocks, single, 8-inch, inside galvanized iron strapped,
galvanized iron sheaves, with best composition roller
bushings and loose hooks and beckets

Blocks, single, 10-inch, inside galvanized iron strapped,
galvanized iron sheaves, with best composition roller
bushings and loose hooks and beckets

Blocks, single, 6-inch, inside galvanized iron strapped,
open galvanized iron sheaves, swivel eye with
thimble, ash shell, 18 foot tail of 24 inch manila
per sample

Blocks, triple, 12-inch, inside galvanized iron strapped,
galvanized iron sheaves, with best composition roller
bushings and loose hooks

Blocks, triple, 12-inch, inside galvanized iron strapped,

galvanized iron sheaves, with best composition roller
bushings and loose hooks and beckets

148

each

each

each

each

each

each

each

each

each

each

each

each

each


Doors.

All the doors opening to the outside of the building are to be made
of two thicknesses 44-inch pine, tongued and grooved boards, one inch
thick, and beaded on the edge. The boards are to be cross-laid, as
shown on the plans, and thoroughly clinch-nailed. All the inside doors
are to be made of one thickness, of the same boards, planed both sides,
and battened with a fine batten ten inches wide, and well clinch-nailed.
The front double doors to be made to slide and hung on schive, if so
ordered.

Sash.

All the sash are to be made of pine, 1% inches thick, and glazed
with the best American glass, well bedded, bradded, and puttied. The
size and style shall be strictly as shown on the plans, and the sash
secured in their places with brass sash catches.

Shutters.

Battened shutters for all the windows to be furnished and hung on
the outside, with planished strap-hinges one-eighth inch thick and
eighteen inches long, and secured to shut with a galvanized iron bar,
held one end with staple and the other by bolt passing through the jamb
and secured on the inside.

Scroll Work.

All the scroll and ornamental work of the outside of the building
shall be made of clear pine, in strict accordance with the plans and
details, and is to be placed on the building in the best possible manner.
All joints are to be put together with white lead. On the outside
weather-boarding, corner boards, water table, belt courses, and cross
braces to be placed as indicated on the plans. All to be well and
securely nailed through, and clinch nails used where necessary.

75


second week in March, when Boyle and the workmen departed to start on
the station at Chicamacomico to the north. Boyle left a carpenter and a
painter to finish the Little Kinnakeet station. The carpenter had oiled
part of the inside of the structure before becoming involved in a dispute
with Boyle that hurried his departure. All that remained to be done on
the station was installation of zinc sheeting around the lookout deck atop
the roof and shutter bars on the windows of the boatroom. A mess table
also needed completion. And in mid-March Boyle reported to the
Treasury Department that the station was "finished all but the Shellac
and two blocks which was an oversight. . . ." Boyle's performance on
the contract was generally bad, according to Lieutenant Walter Walton,
Assistant Superintendent of Construction for the Revenue Marine, and
Walton ultimately urged that another contractor be engaged to finish the
stations on the outer banks. Moreover, Boyle's bondsmen lost confidence
in his ability to deliver after the contractor reported that there was no
money in the project, partly because of "the extra ornamentation" he was
to provide "as shown in the details drawings and finished plans."
Lieutenant Walton ascribed Boyle's performance partly to “his having in
tow a notorious woman hired ostensibly as [a] cook," and partly to his
(Walton's) inability "to put a new set of brains into a man. . . ." In
April, 1874, Boyle's contract was terminated and he realized $2375.00 for
erecting the Little Kinnakeet Station. By October, that station, along
with nine more that had been built by two other contractors, reportedly
was ready to receive equipment. (5)

The confusion over the correct plans and specifications for building
the Little Kinnakeet Station that occurred in September, 1873, produced
numerous structural differences that were perceived by Lieutenant Walton

5. Ibid.; Walton to J.H. Merryman, April 1, 1874. NA, RG 26. Copy
in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet" Inspection Reports. The voucher
authorizing payment to Boyle stated that the "Life Saving Station at
Kinnakeet, N.C. has been duly inspected, and . . . the work on the
same, is satisfactory & generally in accordance with the plans and
specifications." NA, RG. 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little
Kinnakeet--1st Construction." See also Walton to J.H. Merryman,
April 1, 1874. Ibid.

11


Illustration No. 12.

Site Plan, Little Kinnakeet Coast Guard Station Complex, March,
1935.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore

224


Log entry, January 26, 1891:

Received--For Men, 5 pair trousers; 5 shirts; 5 undershirts; 5 pair
drawers; 5 caps; 5 pair hose; 5 pair shoes; 5 handkerchiefs; 5
cardigan jackets. For Women, 2 under vests; 2 pair drawers; 2
Balmorals; 2 pair stockings; 2 pair shoes; 2 handkerchiefs; 2
shawls. Miscellaneous--3 blankets; 3 towels; 1 lb. sugar; % lb. tea;
2 Jones beef extract; needles, pins, and reading materials, 7 3/4
yards of table cloth.

Log entry, November 4, 1891:

Received--5 barrels borax; 1 gross matches; 2 boxes polishing
paste; 1 dozen plates; 1 butcher knife; 10 lbs. galvanized nails; 2
padlocks; 1 gross brass screws; 1 dozen tin tablespoons; 1 dozen tin
teaspoons; 1 dozen lamp chimneys; 4 dozen lamp wicks; 6 Bath
bricks; 6 brooms; 2 dust brushes; 2 water buckets, cedar; 2 stove
brushes; 2 6-inch galvanized elbows; 2 5-inch galvanized elbows; 6
joints galvanized stovepipe, 5 inch; 1 coffee pot, 3 gallon; 6 ax
helves; 1 saw set; 1 dozen ruby globes; 1 dozen white globes; 3
lanterns; 1 set coffee cups and saucers; 2 torches.

Log entry, June 17, 1892:

"Received 1 no. 8 Cook Stove. Walker and Pratt M.F.G. &
Brothers."

Log entry, December 10, 1892:

Received--2 gallons boiled linseed oil; % gallon mixed paint; 25 lbs.
white lead; 80 lbs. soap, fresh water; 1 oar, 12 feet; 1 oar, 14
feet; 1 table cover, oil cloth; 1 dozen plates, soup; 1 dozen plates,
dinner; 1 dozen saucers; 1 dozen cups; 1 dozen tea spoons; 50
cartridge bags, red; 9% yards towling, crash; 1 dozen stove polish;
1 dozen joints, stovepipe, 6-inch, galvanized; 2 stove brushes; 1 bit
for brace, 3/4-inch; 1 bit for brace, %-inch; 1 bit for brace %-inch;
1 nail bit for brace; 1 hammer, claw; 1 lb. tacks, galvanized; 25
barrels and sal soda; 2 salt sellers, glass; 6 balls twine, cotton.

Lot entry, March 9, 1895:

Received: 10 double blankets; 10 mattresses stuffed with rattan; 10
mattress covers; 10 pillow cases; 5 yards toweling, crash; 1 coffee
mill; 25 lbs. lead, white; % gallon red paint; % gallon black paint; 6
brooms, corn; 1 lb. polishing paste; soap, fresh water; 6 joints,
stovepipe; 1 pot, tea, 2 gallons; 3 sheets zinc; 1 clock, Seth
Thomas; glasses, binocular, marine; 1 barrel kerosene oil; 1 gross
matches; 1 lamp, not complete--lacks shade and chimney. Oars,
14-foot.

193


wreck of the American schooner S.G. Hart, on the beach three-quarters e
of a mile above Little Kinnakeet Life-Saving Station on August 10, 1898.

By the advice of the keeper we saved our effects in good condition
and also our nautical instruments. He deemed it necessary to remove
things at once, which proved to be none too soon.

Respectfully, yours, C.M. SAWYER,
Late Master of American Schooner S.G. Hart.

Mr. S.I. KIMBALL,
General Superintendent Life-Saving Service, Washington, D.C.

The following card of thanks was published in the North Carolinian,
issue of August 24, 1898:

We wish to extend our thanks to Captain E. O. Hooper, keeper of
Little Kinnakeet Life-Saving Station, for his kindness and valuable
services rendered us while at his station in regard to saving crew and
material from the wrecked schooner S.G. Hart. We think he can not be
too highly praised as a keeper of a life-saving station.

WALTER MCLEAN, Agent
C.M. SAWYER, Master. (9) e

1899

LITTLE KINNAKEET LIFE-SAVING STATION, August 18, 1899.

We, the undersigned, captain and crew of the wrecked schooner
Robert W. Dasey, which was driven ashore by an_ east-northeast
hurricane with very high surf and tide on August 17, 1899, at 5.30
p.m., wish to make the following statement:

At that time no person could have reached us, but as early as
anything could possibly be done the life-saving crew were on hand with
their beach apparatus ready to land us. Our vessel, however, had gone
high up, so that the life-savers caught the outer jib stay, which was
loose, and held it while we came down upon it, one at a time. Then they
took us upon the beach clear of the surf. They arrived at the wreck
about 6 a.m. on August 18, 1899. After landing us they took us to
station three-quarters of a mile distant, and provided us with dry
clothing, stimulants, and food; they gave us the very best treatment,

9. Annual Report of the United States Life-Saving Service for the Fiscal t
Year Ending June 30, 1899 (Washington: Government Printing Office,
1900).

124


Cape Hatteras. Half an hour later Miller presented himself at the station
in a state of great exhaustion from running, and announced that he had
discovered a vessel coming on the beach. What he had seen is sent forth
here in his own words:

She bore to the southward and eastward of my position, which
was about a mile from the station, and appeared to have a piece
of her mainsail set and the fore staysail on. I had a glimpse of
her only for a moment. After a little I saw her a second time,
and it appeared to me that she had hauled more to the
southward. I had three views of her, all very brief and
obscured by the squalls of snow driving from the beach. I did
not proceed farther toward her or tarry to try to make out her
hull and appearance, knowing that if she held on her course
she must surely become a wreck.

Another member of the Big Kinnakeet crew also got a view of the
vessel. He testifies that on hearing Miller make his report to the acting
keeper he caught up a marine glass and looked down the beach from an
open window. Owing to the driving snow and the spray from the
breakers, he could not distinguish her hull plainly, but made out two
masts, one of them upright, the other hanging over as if broken. The
vessel seemed to him to be stationary. It does not appear from the
evidence that any other member of this crew saw the vessel again before
she broke up.

The acting keeper sent a telephone message to the Little Kinnakeet
and Cape Hatteras Life-Saving Stations, several miles to the northward
and southward, respectively, requesting the assistance of the crews at
those places, he being of the opinion that the vessel would strike within
the limits of his patrol. The crew under his temporary command had in
the meanwhile made the beach-apparatus cart ready, and in a short time
all hands were on their way down the beach.

The crew of the Cape Hatteras station reached the vicinity of the
disaster first, having set out unencumbered by any apparatus. One of
their number went on ahead of the rest with instructions to meet the Big
Kinnakeet crew and help them along with their life-saving equipment.
This surfman passed the vessel shortly after 9 o'clock. Relating what he
saw offshore, he says:

When the breakers ran back I could see the shape of the hull
of a vessel her entire length. As far as I could tell, she was
heading nearly northeast. No masts were standing, but they
were washing about on top of the wreck. I saw no signs of
life, although I remained watching a couple of minutes. I
judged the vessel to be between 550 and 600 yards from the
each.

The three life-saving crews met about 9.30 a.m. There was no

wreck work to be performed, however, for the ship had already been
destroyed. There were no masts to be seen, nor any parts of a broken

130


Ax handles (felling ax), extra hickory, all white,
polished, 34-inch

Ax handles (felling ax), extra hickory, all white,
polished, 36-inch

Bevels, sliding T, No. 4, 10 inch, Disston's

Bits, gimlet, for braces, best solid cast steel, %-inch,
Russell Jennings's or Pugh's

Bits, auger, for braces, best solid cast steel, 4-inch,
Russell Jennings's or Pugh's

Bits, auger, for braces, best solid cast steel, %-inch,
Russell Jennings's or Pugh's

Bits, auger, for braces, best solid cast steel, 3/4-inch,
Russell Jennings's or Pugh's

Bits, auger, for braces, best solid cast steel, 1-inch,
Russell Jennings's or Pugh's

Bits, plain, screw driver, % inch, solid cast steel;
standard quality, Russell Jennings's or Pugh's

Bits, snail, countersinks, for wood, cast steel, standard
quality, Russell Jennings's or Pugh's

Bits, rose, countersinks, cast steel, round shanks, for
brass, standard quality, Russell Jennings's or
Pugh's

Bits, flat, countersinks, cast steel, for iron, standard
quality, Russell Jennings's or Pugh's

Braces, Barber's improved, rachet, No. 32, 10-inch
sweep, maple, cherry, or walnut heads and handles

Brands, metal, U.S.L.S.S., in 1-inch letters, 18-inch
iron handles

Chisels, socket firmer, solid cast steel, 4-inch, with
handles leather tipped, 6 to 6% inch blade, Buck
Bros.'

Chisels, socket firmer, solid cast steel, 4-inch, with
handles leather tipped, 6 to 6% inch blade, Buck
Bros.'

Chisels, socket firmer, solid cast steel, l-inch, with

handles leather tipped, 6 to 6% inch blade, Buck
Bros.'

185

each

each

each

each

each

each

each

each

each

each

each

each

each

each

each

each

each


Castings
Castings
Castings
Castings
Castings
Castings
Castings
Castings
Castings
Castings
Castings
Castings
Castings
Castings
Castings
Castings
Castings
Castings
Castings
Castings
Castings

Castings

for
for
for
for
for
for
for
for
for
for
for
for
for
for
for
for
for
for
for
for
for

for

"Irving" No. 4

"Jewitt" range No. 93

"New Elmwood" plain range No. 8
"New Medallion" plain rnage No. 8
"New Spendid" stove No. 80 20
"Regal Hub" stove No. 8-20
"Princess Beaver" No. 12, indirect draft
“Princess Beaver" No. 13, full revertible
"Matchless Diamond" No. 140

1894 "Oak Jewell" No. 618
"Splendid" No. 2

"Trojan" No. 25

"Stewart Oak" No. 195

"Stewart Oak" No. 4

"Granite Peninsular" range No. 8 21
"Model Grand" range No. 8 20
"Peerless Universal" range No. 8 20
"Universal Eadiator" No. 3

"World's Leader" No. 111
"Areadian" range No. 80
"Somersworth Ideal" range No. 8 20

"New Sterling" range No. 81

Colanders, family, retinned, feet fast, 12 x 5? inches

Collars, tin, for 5 inch stovepipe

Collars, tin, for 6-inch stovepipe

174

per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
each
each

each

pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound

pound



the location of several associated structures. The plan showed the old
privy west and slightly north of the 1874 station, roughly 500 feet from
the 1904 station. Southwest from the privy and about 500 feet distant
stood a stable with a corral approximately 210 feet square. One hundred
feet north of the stable was a gasoline pump, while about 275 feet east of
the stable stood the drill pole, with which the crew practiced rescue
maneuvers. Little more than 100 feet south of the station watch tower
was a signal tower, while on the north side of the station, between it and
the house, were kept a hose reel and fire pump. It is not known
whether the stable and corral shown on the plan were ever
constructed. (26)

When the station was reopened in 1945, along with the additions to
the station building and the cook house there were repairs to existing
facilities. These included repairing the fence around the station complex
as well as fixing the concrete walks about the premises. The
construction of the heating and lighting plant required the removal of the
northward running walk from the northwest corner of the station; at the
same time the walk running diagonally from the watch tower corner to join
that running between the station and the cook house, was extended to
the north end of the cook house.(27) A photograph taken in the early
1950s indicates that the Coast Guard signal tower had been removed but
that the drill pole remained. In addition, a few yards west of the 1874
station a loading ramp and platform had been constructed. (28)

26. "Little Kinnakeet Lifeboat Station Plot Plan," January 28, 1943.
Copy in the map files of CAHA. The signal tower appears in a
photograph taken December 5, 1944. This picture also shows what seems
to be a privy about 100 feet north of the east side of the complex. Copy
in the files of CAHA.

27. "Little Kinnakeet L.B. Station, Proposed Alterations & Additions,"
March 19, 1945. Copy in the map file of CAHA.

28. Photographs dated November 4, 1951, and October 4, 1954. Copies
in the files of CAHA.

70


bolt struck the building with such force that the chimney was knocked off
and broken and a hole "about three feet square" blown in the roof. The
impact tore out a window on the north end of the building and generally
made a wreck of that area. The following Monday the crew made an
effort to repair the damage, but before extensive work was done the
district superintendent sought a determination from the Coast Guard
commandant as to whether the old building justified such an effort.
Responding to an inquiry from Washington on July 3, Superintendent
Edgar Chadwick opined: "This building should be preserved as the
repairs necessary are small. It is of much use as a store house for extra
gear and [as] the housing of shipwrecked persons." Proposals for fixing
the structure were received and opened in late June and Chadwick urged
the commandant to accept that of Kramer Bros. & Co. of Elizabeth City to
complete the required repairs for $14.47. Materials for the job included
128 feet of lumber, enough for twelve pieces, each 16 feet long by 1 inch
by 8 inches, for sheathing, plus a quantity of heart cypress or juniper
shingles, each 6 inches by 20 inches. (46)

1921. Kramer Bros. Co. also received the contract five years later
"for furnishing and delivering material necessary to repair the old station
for the purpose of sheltering a horse and to build a horse pound."
Projected cost of the conversion of the 1874 building was $50.60. Bids
were solicited in September and Kramer was the sole respondent. The
following month saw at least part of the old station fitted out as a stable
for a horse to help move the boats more readily in life-saving
emergencies. (47)

46. Log entries for June 3, 5, 1916. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA
folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1916-1920"; Chadwick to Commandant,
June 7, 1916. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet
Repairs"; Chadwick to Commandant, July 3, 1916 (1). Ibid.; Chadwick to
Commandant, July 3, 1916 (2). Ibid.; Superintendent of Construction
and Repair Howard Emery to Superintendent, Seventh District, July 7,
1916. Ibid.; Emery to Superintendent, Seventh District, July 7, 1916.
Ibid.

47. R.T. Crawley, Superintendent, Seventh District, to Commandant,
September 7, 1921. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet
Repairs"; Log entry for October 18, 1921. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA
folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1921-1924."

28


Illustration No. 9.

Top: View towards east of 1904 station complex, with 1892
cook house in foreground, March 9, 1934.

Bottom: View of station complex, May 2, 1935. Note picket
fence and buildings to the north.

U.S. Coast Guard

218



Fig. 4.--Relative positions of men while placing apparatus.

Keeper loads with cartridge, No. 1 provides the shot, wipes and
holds it while No. 2 wets a fathom of the shot line and bends it into the
shank with three half hitches. No. 1 then inserts the shot into the bore
from side to gun, forcing it gently but firmly down upon the charge
without disturbing the fakes and without any slack line between the gun
and the shot-line box.

Nos. 1 and 2 take position on their knees on the left and right side
of the gun, respectively, and train the muzzle to the right or left by the
rear handles, as directed by the keeper, who pricks the cartridge,
leaving the priming wire in the vent, steps 2 or 3 yards to the rear,
sights over the gun, and commands "Right," "Left," or "Well," as
required, giving his orders in a sharp, distinct tone.

The lateral training obtained, due allowance being made for the
wind, the keeper gives the gun the necessary elevation with the
combination level, withdraws the priming wire, inserts the primer,
bending the loop at a right angle to the tube, hooks the lanyard into the
loop, stands off on the weather side, gives the cautionary word "Ready,"
and fires. :

When firing the gun, the keeper reeves the lanyard through the
rear handle of the carriage and gives a sharp, strong pull in a direction
below the level of the vent, to avoid disturbing the elevation.

In the meanwhile No. 4 unloads and carries the crotch to a point on
a line between the sand anchor and wreck, at a suitable distance from the

99


at Little Kinnakeet. Kimball suggested that the existing plans be
employed to forestall further delay.(2) Within a month Kimball directed
a commission composed of Captain C.A. Abbey of the Revenue Cutter
Service, Inspector and Superintendent of Construction; Lieutenant George
M. Daniels, Revenue Cutter Service, Assistant Inspector, Seventh
District; and Paul Bausch, Civil Engineer, to proceed to Little Kinnakeet
and examine the site. The members were to "report the character of the
station which you would recommend to be built there. . . ." On May 12
the commission filed a written report with Kimball which called for
construction of a bungalow type dwelling measuring 50 feet square at an
estimated cost of $5000. A "boat- and beach apparatus house," also
proposed for construction, was to measure 24 feet by 46 feet and cost
$1800. Once moved, the old 1874 station under the plan would serve as a
barn, while the cook house and mess room, privy, and iron water tank
and its house were likewise all to be moved to the new site at a projected
cost of $850.(3)

On Friday, February 5, 1904, sealed bids for construction of the
new station, based on specifications and drawings, were opened in
Kimball's Treasury Department office. At Assistant Superintendent of
Construction Andre Fourchy's recommendation, the work of relocating and
repairing the old buildings had been separated from the new construction
for economy reasons.(4) Jensen Brothers, a firm of Racine, Wisconsin,
was the successful bidder out of four candidates. The Jensen Brothers

2. Inspection Report of December 17, 1901. NA, RG 26. Copy in
CAHA folder, "Sixth District Inspection Reports"; Kimball to
Superintendent of Construction, March 28, 1903. NA, RG 26. Copy in
CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Construction."

3. Kimball to Abbey, Daniels, and Bausch, April 22, 1903. NA, RG 26.
Copy in CAHA file, "Little Kinnakeet; Title, Deeds"; Abbey, Daniels, and
Bausch to Kimball May 12, 1903. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA file.
"Little Kinnakeet Construction."

4. Announcement of request for sealed proposals, January 20, 1904.
NA, RG 26. Ibid., Fourchy to Kimball, January 27, 1904. Ibid.

35




agoyseas [euotjeN sezayqeH dep

“(480961 *29) UMOUAUN ayep ‘oyxeuUTY ofI!T ye woes POST PUL

"2 ‘ON UOTeISNIII

240


Lampwick, flat, woven, No. 3 (14-inch) per dozen
Lampwick, woven, No. 2, for B and H lamps per dozen
Lampwick yarn per pound

Lanterns, beach, japanned, with wings and staves and
12 extra lights of glass, per sample each

Lanterns, tubular, "Dietz" No. 0, lift-wire, with guards,
per sample each

Lanterns, patrol, tubular, "Dietz," No. 0, reflector, with
hoods, per sample each

Oil tanks, 60 gallon capacity, No. 26 galvanized iron,
with pump, front of hood to slide around, lettered
U.S.L.S.S. and having a 4 piece mitered joint,

round, wood bottom, let in flush with rim each
Lumber
Lumber, white pine, clear, dressed, board measure per M
Lumber, white pine, clear, undressed, board measure per M
Lumber, yellow pine, seconds, dressed, board measure per M
Lumber, yellow pine, seconds, undressed, board measure per M
Lumber, hemlock, dressed, board measure per M
Lumber, hemlock, undressed, board measure per M
Lumber, spruce, dressed, board measure per M
Lumber, spruce, undressed, board measure per M
Laths per M
Shingles, cypress, No. 1, rived per M
Shingles, cedar, No. 1, rived per M
Shingles, white pine, No. 1, rived per M

160



1940s. Preparatory to reactivating the Little Kinnakeet Station, a
plot plan was prepared in January, 1943, that showed a projected mess
room addition built on the south end of the cook house. The old building
was apparently to be used solely as a kitchen, or "galley."(16) Less
than two years later formal drawings of proposed alterations and additions
showed a slight change in the planned addition to the cook house. As
projected, and shortly built, the south end of the building was extended
12 feet to form a "new mess hall." The window in the south end of the
cook house was relocated to the west side of the addition, while two more
windows were built in the new south wall. Another window and a door
were placed in the east wall. All but a few feet of the original cook
house south wall was demolished in making the extension; that which
remained framed a large passageway between the new area and the old.
Floors in both sections received new linoleum. The exterior of the
addition was covered with board and batten in a manner to replicate that
on the original structure. According to plan, the kitchen was to be
furnished with a hot water tank, a new sink, a cupboard and counter, oe
and a "South Coal Range." A refrigerator was to stand in the northwest
corner of the mess hall.(17) This was probably the way the building
existed when the Coast Guard decommissioned Little Kinnakeet a few years
later. By June, 1960, the old cook house was being used for
storage. (18)

16. "Little Kinnakeet Lifeboat Station Plot Plan," January 28, 1943.
Copy in the map file of CAHA.

17. "Little Kinnakeet L.B. Station, Proposed Alterations & Additions,"
March 19, 1945. Copy in the map file of CAHA; Photograph, "Little
Kinnakeet Lifeboat Sta. #171, Avon, N.C., 5th CG Dist.," November 11,
1951. Copy in the files of CAHA.

18. "Water Rights & Utility Plans, Little Kinnakeet," June 1, 1960. @
Copy in map file of CAHA.

60



Capron, Walter C. The U.S. Coast Guard. New York: Franklin Watts,
Inc., 1985. TO

Forbes, R.B. Life-Boats, Projectiles, and Other Means for Saving Life.
Boston: Wm. Parsons Lunt, 1872. Contains information relative to
furnishings for life-saving stations, as well as operational data.

. The Life Boat and Other Life-Saving Inventions. Boston: A.
Williams and Company, 1880. Contains data on equipment found at
life-saving stations.

o'connor, William D. Heroes of the Storm. Boston: Houghton Mifflin
and Company, 1904.

Otis, James. The Life Savers: A Story of the United States Life-Saving
Service. New York: E.P. Dutton and Company, 1899. Fictional,
but should be consulted for operational data.

Remarks of William A. Newell, of New Jersey on a Proposition to Devise

Means for the Preservation of Life and Property from Wrecks on the
New Jersey Coast. Delivered in the House of Representatives,

August 3, 1848. Washington: John T. Towers, 1848.

Smith, Darrell Hevenor, and Powell, Fred Wilbur. The Coast Guard: Its
History, Activities and Organization. Washington, D.C.: The
Brookings Institution, 1929.

199


Chisels, 2-inch

Clocks, (Ansonia, or Seth Thomas)
Coal tons

Coal-hods

Coffee pounds of
Comforters

Compasses, boat, dry
Compasses, boat, liquid
Compasses, carpenter's
Cordage, manila, inch
Cordage, manila, inch
Cordage, manila, inch
Cordage, manila, inch
Cordage, Russia hemp, inch
Cordage, Russia hemp, inch
Corn bushels of

Coston's signals, (patrol)
Cots, wooden

Cots, iron

Cotton, spun, for seams
Cross-pieces, for stoves, (extra)
Crotch, for hawser

Cups, tin

Cups, stone-china

Curtains and fixtures

Desks, writing
Dishes, baking, earthen
Dishes, vegetable, stone-china
Duck, linen

Elbows, stove-pipe, common black iron, size, (extra)
Elbows, stove-pipe, galvanized iron, size, (extra)
Elbows, stove-pipe, Russia iron, size, (extra)
Emery-cloth pieces of

Envelopes, Nos. 9 and 6

Envelopes, note size

Fenders, cork, for boats
Files, saw

Files, flat

Fire-backs, stove, (extra)
Fire-fronts, stove, (extra)
Forks, carbing

Forks, meat, large

Forks,

Forks, tormentor
Funnels, tin
Gimlets

Glass, 12 x 14 inches

Glass, 10 x 16 inches

Glass, 14 x 18 inches

Glasses, binocular

Glasses, marine

Glasses, spy

Globes, lantern, white, (extra)
Globes, lantern, ruby, (extra)
Globes, lantern, green, (extra)
Globes, lantern, shaded, (extra)
Grates, stove, (extra)

Griddles

Gridirons

Grindstones, mounted

144

Halyards, signal, length
Hammer, claw

Harness, single

Harness, double

Hatchets, (not boat-hatchets)
Hauling-lines, whip, length
Haversacks, rubber

Hawser, inch

Hawser, inch

Hay

Heads, Liverpool, for stove-pipe
Heaving-lines

Heaving-sticks

Hinges, butt, brass, size, (extra)
Hinges, butt, iron, size, (extra)
Hinges, strap, brass, size, (extra)
Hinges, strap, iron, size, (extra)
Hooks, clothes, (extra)

Hooks, harness, (extra)

Hooks. snap, (extra)

Horses
Hose, for force-pump, length

Ink

Inkstand

Inventories, (blank)
Inventories, (book)

Irons, branding, U.S.L.S.S.
Irons, calking

Irons, soldering

Journals

Kettles, tea, iron
Kettles, tea, tin
knives, butcher
Knives, carving
Knives, chopping
knives, drawing
knives, putty
Knives, shoemaker's

Ladders
Ladles
Lamp-black
Lamp-feeders
Lamps, gimbal
Lamps, hand, glass or metal
Lamps, mess-room
Lamp-wick, (yards or pieces)
Lanterns, globe
Lanterns, patrol
Lanterns, reflector, (living-room)
Lanterns, signal
Laths
Lead, black
; red
Lead, white
Leather, rigging
Library, (number of case, and number of volumes)
Lids, stove, (extra)
Life-belts, cork
Life-car
Life-raft, (whose make; when received)


had been removed, probably long before, and had been replaced by a
hinged double door, built of plank and brass frames, one leaf on either
side of the entrance. The shutter for the west upper front window above
the boat room entrance was also missing. (54)

1935. Work on the lean-to addition apparently began in March or
April. Raised on a concrete foundation with built-in pilasters along its
outside face, the new structure adjoined the east side of the old station
and its shingled roof consisted of a simple sloping prolongation of the old
station's roof. The areas extending over the eaves at either end of the
new structure did not project as far as they did on the original building.
Along the east wall were three windows of two sashes side by side, with
each sash comprising four lights side by side. The exterior of the
addition was finished in board and batten like the old station. The new
section measured 45 feet long by approximately 9 feet wide. Interior
construction involved removing the east wall of the old station, although
the decorative bracketing beneath the eaves of the station roof remained
intact. The bracketed scrollwork at the front (south end) of the station
was removed, however, during the construction. Other structural
changes necessitated by the addition included repositioning the boatroom
entrance about 2 feet west of where it originally stood. This process
involved restoring the eastern side of the entrance to match the board
and batten exterior. Also, a door with a six-light window was installed
east of the boatroom entrance near the juncture of the lean-to addition,
and another large entrance, approximately 7 feet wide by 8 feet high,
was built into the south side of the addition. Presumably, double leaf
doors were built on this entrance. Finally, the wooden gangplank or
incline that formerly led into the boatroom/garage was replaced by one of

54. Seventh District Commander to Inspector in Chief, January 12, 1934.
Ibid.; McCabe to Inspector, Eastern Area, May 15, 1934. Ibid.; Officer
In Charge, Clarence P. Brady, Little Kinnakeet Station, to Inspector in
Chief, May 28, 1934. Ibid.; McCabe to Inspector, Eastern Area,
November 30, 1934. Ibid.; Log entry for September 27, 1934. NA,
RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1933-1936";
Photographs, March 9, 1934, in collection of the Fifth Coast Guard

District. Copies in the files of CAHA.

31


near the gable. Pipes leading from the gutters of the station ran into
the building and likely into a tank within.

Maintenance of the various outbuildings continued through the
decade. The well often required repairs and cleaning. In April, 1891,
the surfmen whitewashed the outhouse, and in September, 1892, they
installed new blocks beneath the oil house.(5) In April, 1893, the crew
whitewashed "the Oil House and Provision House," the latter perhaps only
recently erected. A few days later the crew painted the water tank, and
whitewashed the oil house and provision house. In October they
scattered shells between the station and the cook house and laid a walk
between the buildings.(6) Early the next year rising waters forced the
removal of the tank house, privy, and flagstaff, along with the station, a
short distance inland. The move ultimately required that the well be
relocated and rebuilt, which was done in August, 1895. Fifteen months
later the crew assisted Keeper Hooper in shingling his nearby house.
Early in February, 1899, the flagstaff was relocated along the sandy
beach on a hill 147 feet south of the station. Other changes to the
outbuildings involved the reshingling of the oilhouse; rebuilding a landing
house that had been destroyed by an August, 1899, storm; and removing
a surfman's dwelling house 200 yards inland from the station. The
above-mentioned storm also carried off the privy, described as a "water
closet," and lifted the oil house and store room (provision house?) from
their foundations. A board walk was washed away, too, while the newly
installed flagstaff was listed 30 degrees by the gale force wind.(7)

5. Log entries for February 11 and April 23, 1891, and September 1,
1892. NA, RG 26. Copies in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs,
1890-1893."

6. Log entries for April 16 and October 2, 1893. NA, RG 26. Copies
in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1890-1893."

7. "Proposal for Station &c. for the U.S. Life-Saving Service,"
February 4, 1894. NA, :G 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet
Repairs"; Log entries for August 2, 1895; November 17, 1894;
February 2, April 26, November 2 and 23, 1899. Copies in CAHA folder,
"Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1894-1899"; Hooper to P.H. Morgan,
Superintendent, Sixth District, February 4, 1899. NA, RG 26. Copy in
(Continued)

63


Chisels, socket firmer, solid cast steel, 14-inch, with
handles leather tipped, 6 to 6% inch blade, Buck
Bros.' each

Chisels, cold, solid cast steel, octagon, 1-inch, regular
length, Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co.'s each

Compasses, carpenter's, best steel, 6-inch each

Files, saw, slim, tapered, double cut, 5-inch, handled,
Kearney & Foot's or Disston's per dozen

Files, saw, tapered, 7-inch, handled, Kearney & Foot's
or Disston's per dozen

Files, flat, smooth, 8-inch, Kearney & Foot's or Disston's per dozen

Files, flat, bastard, 12-inch, Kearney & Foot's or
Disston's per dozen

Ganges, marking, Russell & Erwin Mfg. Co.'s No. 61 each

Gimlets, nail, steel, double cut, wood handles,
Shepardson's or C.E. Jennings & Co.'s, No. 1 per dozen

Gimlets, nail, steel, double cut, wood handles
Shepardson's or C.E. Jennings & Co.'s, No. 2 per dozen

Gimlets, nail, steel, double cut, wood handles,
Shepardson's or C.E. Jennings & Co.'s, No. 3 per dozen

Gonges, socket firmer, solid cast steel, 4-inch, with
handles leather tipped, 6 inch blade, Buck Bros.' each

Gonges, socket firmer, solid cast steel, l-inch, with
handles leather tipped, 6 inch blade, Buck Bros.' each

Gonges, socket firmer, solid cast steel 15-inch, with
handles leather tipped, 6 inch blade, Buck Bros.' each

Grindstones, No. 2 "Ohio," 20 inches diameter, 2%-inches
thick, mounted, complete, with crank and treadle each

Hammers, claw, adz eye, solid cast steel, weight 1 pound,

handled, Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co.'s, Plumb's, Clark's,

or C.E. Jennings & Co.'s each
Handles, beech, for %-inch shouldered brad awls, per dozen

Handles, for claw hammers, extra hickory, all white,
polished each

186



APPENDIX K

Specific Furnishings Data for Little Kinnakeet

The following named items have been extracted from various log book
entries and correspondence pertaining to Little Kinnakeet. They
represent a few of the known specific furnishings of the life-saving
station as of the dates indicated.

Log entry, January 19, 1881:

Received--1 doz. emery cloth; 1 doz sandpaper; 2 tin wash basins; 6
burners, lanterns, size 7/8; 1 doz. lamp wicks, #1; 1 doz. lamp #2;
1 lb. black paint; 6 brooms, corn; 1 brush, dust #4; 4 scrubbing
brushes; 6 yds canvas, cotton #8; 30 fathoms halyards, signal; 1
gross matches; 5 lbs rotten-stone; 1 doz. slate pencils; 50 lbs soap,
freshwater; 2 doz. stove polish; % doz. saw files, 7 inches; 1 pair
pliers, 8 inches; 1 thermometer; 1 doz. mustard plasters; 2
haversacks, 2 lanterns, tubular.

Log entry, February 11, 1885:

Stove received for keeper's room. Boat received.

Log entry, March 1, 1886:

Received--1 boat fender; 6 ax helves; 3 straw brooms; 3 joints,
stove pipe; 1 elbow, stove pipe; 100 friction primers, short; 50 lbs
of soap; % gross matches; 6 knives and 6 forks; 1 molasses pitcher;
5 soft brick; 1 coffee pot; 12 teaspoons; 1 awl; 2 gimlets; 1
vegetable dish; 1 dipper; 2 table cloths; 4 measures--1 gallon, 1
quart, 1 pint, 1 half pint; 6 sheets emery paper; 12 sheets
sandpaper.

Letter, March 12, 1886:

"The caboose [oven] at Little Kinnakeet, in its present condition
endangers the safety of the station, the bottom and back of the
stove is broken, and is secured with wire to hold these parts
together, and a new cook stove should be furnished to this station
at once. The ‘Farmer Girl' pattern is preferable, it being
constructed to burn wood."

Log entry, May 7, 1887:

"The Telephone was erected in this Station toDay."

Log entry, January 23, 1890:

Received--1 copy index to the Bible; 1 words to Christian teachers;
1 Christ's testimony to the Scriptures; 2 copies Children's bread; 5
People's Hymn Books; 3 copies Sermons of Dwight L. Moody; 2
copies of The Bible; 10 lbs. burnt turkey umber.

192



water, on the bluff of the bank, if possible, and opens it wide, span on
the left, the legs forming a straight line parallel with the beach, and
then carries the breeches buoy and end of hawser to a point in front of
the crotch, and as near the water as possible. If the wooden buoy block
is used, he reeves the end of the hawser through it and attaches the
tally board.

Nos. 3 and 4 stretch the tackle from the sand anchor toward the
crotch (3 at outer block, 4 at inner or white block), remove the straps,
leaving it clear and ready to be placed upon the hawser.

If a threefold tackle is used, No. 4 hooks the inner (white) block
into the sand-anchor pennant.

Communication being made with the wreck, No. 1 takes a round turn
and two half hitches with the shot line around both parts of the whip
immediately behind the block, while No. 2 makes a half hitch over the end
of the tail of whip block with the bight of the shot line. (See fig. 5.)

Fig. 5.--Manner in which shot line is bent to whip and tail.

Fig. 6 shows the position of the men and apparatus at this stage.

The keeper makes a signal to the wreck to haul on board; No. 1
tends to the left and No. 2 the right part of the whip, separating them a
distance of 50 or more yards; Nos. 3 and 4 haul the whip from the reel
as fast as it is needed, No. 3 standing on the left, No. 4 on the right.
(See fig. 7.)

When the tail block has been made fast on board the wreck, the lee
man (No. 1 or No. 2) bends the bight of the lee part of the whip to the
hawser just inside the tally board, with a round turn around the hawser
and a half hitch around the standing part of the whip, the end of the

100



Lead, white, in oil,

Color Works'

Lead, white, in oil,

Lead, white, in oil,

Lead, white, in oil,

Lead, white, in oil,

Lead, white, in oil,

Lead, white, in oil,

Ocher, yellow, dry

oil,
Oil,
Oil,
oil,
Oil,
Oil,
Oil,

Oil,

Oil,
Oil,
Oil,

Oil,

oil,

Oil,

Oil,

boiled linseed,
boiled linseed,
boiled linseed,

boiled linseed,

strictly pure, Acme White Lead and

strictly pure, Harrison Bros. & Co.'s
strictly pure, Wetherill & Bros.'
strictly pure, "Capitol,"

strictly pure, "Pioneer,"

strictly pure, Toch Bros.

strictly pure, F.O. Pierce Co.'s

strictly pure, in 1-gallon cans
strictly pure, in 2-gallon cans
strictly pure, in 3-gallon cans

strictly pure, in 5-gallon cans

raw linseed, strictly pure, in 1-gallon cans

raw linseed, strictly pure, in 2-gallon cans

raw linseed, strictly pure, in 3-gallon cans

hard finish, dark,

in 1-gallon cans

hard finish, dark, Berry Bros.', in 1-gallon cans

hard finish, dark, "Excelsior," in 1-gallon cans

hard finish, dark, Harrison Bros. & Co.'s, in

1 gallon cans

hard finish, dark, John Lucas & Co.'s, in 1-gallon

cans

hard finish, dark, Pratt & Lambert's, in 1-gallon

cans

hard finish, dark, Toch Bros.', in 1-gallon cans

hard finish, dark, American White Lead and Color
Works', in 1-gallon cans

163

Acme White Lead and Color Works',

per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per

per

per
per

per

per

per

per

per

per

pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
gallon
gallon
gallon
gallon
gallon
gallon

gallon

gallon
gallon

gallon
gallon
gallon

gallon

gallon

gallon


especially to Captain D.M. Pugh and crew of Gull Shoal Station, Sixth
District, for their prompt and speedy response to my appeal for
assistance in getting the schooner Dauntless afloat, she having dragged
her anchors and gone on the marsh about a half mile northwest of Gull
Shoal Station in such a manner that, without the assistance of the
life-saving force, it is impossible for me to say when I could have floated
her. With many thanks, I am,

Yours, with respect, DAILY O'NEAL
Master of Schooner Dauntless, of Edenton, North Carolina.

GENERAL SUPERINTENDENT LIFE-SAVING SERVICE,
Washington, D.C.(6)

1895

AVON, NORTH CAROLINA, February 14, 1895.

SIR: On February 14, I was logged up with ice off Hatteras Banks,
about 3 miles from land and without assistance, and being in a dangerous
position I hoisted my flag at 8 A.M. At 9.30 A.M. the keeper and crew
of Little Kinnakeet Life-Saving Station were discovered beating their way
through the ice, coming to my assistance. They reached me at 11
o'clock, almost exhausted, wet, and cold. They took me in their boat
and proceeded to shore, which we safely but narrowly reached at 1 P.M.

To the keeper and crew of Little Kinnakeet I owe my life, knowing
that had it not been for their heroic labor and risk in endeavoring to
take me ashore, I surely must have perished in consequence of the cold
and dangerous position in which I was placed.

In conclusion, allow me to congratulate them for their kindness.

I am, your obedient servant,
H.C. MILLER,
Master and Owner Sloope Inez, of Avon, North Carolina.
GENERAL SUPERINTENDENT UNITED STATES LIFE-SAVING SERVICE.(7)

6. Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving
Service for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1895 (Washington:
Government Printing Office, 1896), p. 234.

7. Ibid., p. 239.

122



part of the newly organized Coast Guard. New regulations required that
the stations and boats be painted in accordance with designs specified by
the Coast Guard, and on September 4, 1916, this was accomplished at
Station 181, Little Kinnakeet.(18) During 1917 light maintenance was
performed on the station; in August the crew spent one day oiling the
floors. Late in the year the Elizabeth City Plumbing and Heating
Company received a contract for installing an enameled cast iron sink with
nickel plated trap to replace a worn unit in the station. The new sink
measured 30 inches by 20 inches and cost $10.50.(19)

1919. Evidently little or nothing of a construction or maintenance
nature took place in 1918. In May the crew spent a short time
overhauling the window cords in the station. Late that year an
inspection revealed that the condition of the building was "very good,"
but that the gutters had rusted through in places, necessitating their
replacement. (20)

1920. The new gutters and downspouts were placed on the station
in August, 1920, by the firm of Cahoon and Jackson of Elizabeth City at
a cost of $90.00. The following October proposals were accepted for
furnishing plaster for repairing the interior walls at several places. The
crew was to make any such repairs.(21) In November the problem had
not yet been corrected. As an inspector noted:

18. Log entry for September 4, 1916. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA
folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1916-1920."

19. Log entry for August 15, 1917. Ibid.; Superintendent, Seventh
District to Captain Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard, December 10, 1917.
NA, RG 26. Microfilm copy in the files of CAHA. See also work proposal
of November 22, 1917. Ibid.

20. Log entry for May 19, 1919. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder,
"Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1916-1920"; Inspection report, December 8, 1919.
NA, RG 26. Microfilm copy in the files of CAHA.

21. Log entry for August 12, 1920. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder,
"Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1916-1920"; Superintendent, Seventh District, to
Commandant, February 13, 1920. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder,
"Little Kinnakeet Repairs"; Superintendent, Seventh District to
Commandant, October 19, 1920. Ibid.; Inspection report, November 16,
1920. NA, RG 26. Microfilm copy in the files of CAHA.

41


brass joint pins, secured with drops and pins and turn-buckles. All iron
to be galvanized.

Trimmings. The doors and windows of the lean-to will have 4% inch
beaded casings, the windows to have 1-3/8 inch molded nosings, and 7/8
inch aprons.

Closets: The west side of the pantry will be fitted up with shelving
1-378 inches thick by 16 inches wide, dressed boards, the lower shelf to
be placed 3 feet from the floor and the others about 16 inches apart all
the way up. Extra strong harness hooks will be secured to the side
walls of the pantry which are not shelved. The storm clothes-room to
have similar hooks on all side walls and a 1-3/8 by 12 inch shelf secured
8 inches above the hooks. The new closet in keepers room to be made of
tongued and grooved yellow pine beaded and dressed on both sides. 1
by 3 inches, the door of the same material with cross battens screwed on
the inside and hung with narrow wrought iron 3 inch butt hinges and
furnished with brass closet lock and knob, closet to be shelved and have
clothes-hooks as directed by the superintending officer.

A closet is to be formed by shelving 15 inches apart between the
supports of the chimney, with a door on the front constructed of the
same material as for closet in Keepers room.

Chimneys.

The chimneys to be located as shown on plans, and built of good hard
brick and mortar; the flue to be 8 by 8 inches and plastered inside with
mortar. Two earthen thimbles full 6 inches in diameter in openings to be
properly set in chimney; one in messroom and one in keepers room. The
brick work to start in the mess-room 4 feet below the ceiling on a two
inch shelf, supported by 2 by 20 inch uprights, resting on 2 inch plank
secured to the floor, the timber to be of yellow pine, and thoroughly
secured to the wall. The chimney to extend through the keepers room and
be finished 4 feet above the ridge of roof. When cutting the openings
through floor and roof proper headers must be framed in, and the
stovepipe hole now through the upper floor must be closed and the
flooring replaced.

Platforms.

The lookout platforms to be removed and replaced and flashed in such
manner under the direction of the superintending officer as shall make
them water tight. The hatchway in the roof under the platform to have
new coamings of yellow pine, 4 inches thick by 6 inches high, rabbeted
on the outside to receive the frame of the hatch cover, and to be flashed

83


chief of the Revenue Cutter Service. General Superintendent Kimball was
to administer twelve districts composed of the conterminous coastline of
the United States along the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and the Gulf of
Mexico, besides that of the Great Lakes. A trained and knowledgeable
district superintendent managed each district, which included a varying
number of stations, while an experienced keeper and crew of six surfmen
operated each station.

Superintendent Kimball essentially overhauled the system. Between
1871 and 1878 the Life-Saving Service expanded with authorization of new
stations in New England, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida (where houses
of refuge were created), the Great Lakes, and the Pacific coast. New
procedures, controlled by strict regulation, were instituted along with
improved equipment and realignment of personnel at existing stations. A
system of inspection was inaugurated, along with provisions for awarding
life-saving medals. Following an 1878 congressional investigation of two
sea tragedies, the Life-Saving Service became an independent bureau
within the Treasury Department. Under the new arrangement Sumner
Kimball continued as General Superintendent, an assistant was appointed,
and seasonal periods of station operation were fixed to run from
September 1 to May 1 along the Atlantic seaboard (changed in 1894 to run
from August 1 to June 1). Appointed keepers were required to reside
near their respective stations at all times, while regularly compensated
crews of surfmen lived at the stations only during the active season. As
of 1889 there were 173 stations located on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, 44
along the shores of the Great Lakes, 7 on the Pacific coast, and 1 along
the Ohio River at Louisville--a total of 225. Between 1871 and 1889 the
Service was credited with saving 42,359 lives as against only 505 lost,
and with saving more than $60,000,000 worth of property.

The Life-Saving Service remained closely affiliated with its parent
Revenue Cutter Service even after it attained independent status, and
officers of that bureau participated in supervising the erection of new
stations as well as in conducting regular inspections of the stations.
Under Kimball's stewardship the Life-Saving Service prospered until


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I wish to thank several persons for their assistance in the completion
of this study. Superintendent Thomas L. Hartman and Assistant
Superintendent Doyle Kline of Cape Hatteras National Seashore provided
initial orientation to the area. Park Cultural Resources Specialist Bebe
B. Woody was extremely helpful in locating information in the park files
and in answering my requests for data. My colleague, Historical
Architect Anthony S. Donald, of the Denver Service Center Eastern
Team, Falls Church Office, provided me with insights into the technical
aspects of the architectural design and construction of the Little
Kinnakeet Life-Saving Station. Also, Ruth Larison, National Park Service
Rocky Mountain Regional Office Librarian, acquired for me numerous
books and articles on inter-library loan. Institutions that yielded
pertinent materials were: Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Manteo, North
Carolina; National Archives, Washington, D.C.; Library of Congress,
Washington, D.C.; University of Colorado Libraries, Boulder; and the
Denver Public Library.

In the interest of economy, copies of National Archives documents
available at Cape Hatteras National Seashore were utilized to expedite the
research phase of this project. Further, to accomodate park needs for
operational and furnishings data, specific material relating thereto has
been appended to the study with the hope that this information will prove
beneficial in interpreting the story of the Little Kinnakeet Life-Saving and
Coast Guard Station to the public.

Jerome A. Greene
October, 1987

iii


Rubber repairing cloth
Rubber suits

Salt, common pounds of
Sand-paper sheets of
Saucers, stone-china
Saw-horse

Saws, hand, cross-cut

Saws, hand, rip

Saws, large, cross-cut
Saws, whip

Saws, wood, with frame
Screw-drivers

Screws, brass, assorted
Screws, iron, assorted
Screws, iron, bench, carpenter's
Screws, wood, bench, carpenter's
Sewing-palms

Shears

Sheaves, lignumvitae, plain
Sheaves, lignumvitae, bushed
Sheeting

Shingles

Shovels, long, round point

Shovels, short, (common hand-shovel)

Shovels, scoop
Schovels, stove

Shot-hooks

Shot-lines, braided, large, length
Shot-lines, braided, small, length
Shot-lines, laid, large, length
Shot-lines, laid, small, length
Skids, boat

Sieves, coal

Sieves, flour

Signal-book, international code
Signal-flags, international
Signal-flags, Life-Saving Service
Signal-holders, (Coston's)
Slate-pencils

Slates, log

Sledges, blacksmith's

Soap, fresh-water pounds of
Soap, salt-water pounds of
Soapstone, (for Merriman suits)
Solder pounds of

Spades

Speaking-trumpets

Spikes, assorted pounds of
Spittoons

Spoke-shaves

Sponges, boat

Spoons, bread

Spoons, large, iron

Spoons, table

Spoons, tea

Spun yarn pounds of

Squares, steel, carpenter's
Stain, walnut

Stove-drums

Stove-lifters

Stove-polish papers of
Stoves, coal, cooking, and pipe; size, name, when received
Stoves, wood, cooking, and pipe; size, name, when received
Stoves, coal, heating and pipe; size, name, when received
Stoves, wood, heating, and pipe; size, name, when received
Strops, selvagee

Sugar ' pounds of

Table-cloths
Tables, extension

Tables, kitchen

Tacks, copper pounds of

Tacks, galvanized pounds of
Tacks, iron, plain

Tally-boards, No. 1

Tally-boards, No. 2

Tarpaulins

Telescopes

Tent-pegs

Thermometers

Time-detecters, with cases and keys
Towelling, crash

Treasury Register

Tripods

Tumblers, glass

Turpentine gallons

Twine, cotton pounds of

Twine, hemp pounds of

Umber, burnt pounds of
Umber, raw pounds of

Varnish, copal gallons

Varnish, Japan gallons
Varnish, shellac gallons e@

Varnish, white gallons
Varnish, wood-filling gallons
Varnish, dry pounds

Webbing, linen
Weekly transcripts, Form 1809
Wheelbarrows

Wood, fire cords of

Wreck reports, Form 1806

Wreck reports, preliminary, Form 1805
Wrenches, boat-carriage

Wrenches, monkey

Zinc, sheets, size
BUILDINGS, ETC.

Boat-house, size; when built,

Dock, size; when built

Flag-poles, (not on station building; distance from station)
Launchway, when built, ; length

Stable, size; when built,

Stove-pipe, common black iron, joints, size, (extra)
Stove-pipe, galvanized-iron, joints, size, (extra)
Stove-pipe, Russia iron, joints, size, (extra)

146



Work on the station proceeded close to schedule. In June the
superintendents of construction recommended and received authority to

have "a partition with a 4-panel door . . . placed in the Little Kinnakeet
Life-Saving Station, now building, to separate the spare room [on the
second level] from the large open loft. . . ."(9) Also, a composition

pipe was approved for use in the connecting pipe of the cistern. In July
the Treasury Department approved an exchange of cypress shingles for
those of cedar previously specified at a savings of $75.00. By
September 30, one and one-half months beyond the deadline for
completing the station, Lieutenant Daniels reported that the building
would "soon be ready for occupancy." Six days later Assistant
Superintendent of Construction P. Julian Latham formally inspected the
finished station, apparently approving the work. On December 8, 1904,
Keeper Hooper and his crew moved into the new facility.(10) Soon after,
the long history of maintenance of the structure began when Hooper
described glass breakage in a storm door, complaining that "I never Saw
thinner Glass use[d] for Glass in Doors," and requesting a replacement
pane 3 feet 2% inches long by 1 foot 11 inches wide.(11)

8. (Cont.) Station Wiring Layout," January 13, 1950. Copy in the
map files of CAHA; Photographs, March, 1934, in the collections of
CAHA. Presumably the building was erected at the site where it stands
today, although a plat of the Little Kinnakeet tract dated 1905 shows an
outline of the station with the tower placed at the southeast, rather than
southwest, corner. "Plot of L-S.S. Lot at Little Kinnakeet.

March 9, 1905. NA, RG 26. Cartographic Archives Division, L.S.S.
181; Inspection report, October 5, 1912. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA
folder, "7th District Inspection Reports, 1908-1912."

9. Assistant Treasury Secretary R.B. Armstrong to Superintendents of
Construction, June 11, 1904. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little
Kinnakeet Construction."

10. Acting Treasury Secretary H.A. Taylor to Superintendents of
Construction, July 9, 1904. Ibid.; Daniels to Inspector of Life-Saving
Stations, September 30, 1904. Ibid.; Log entries for October 5 and
December 8, 1904. NA, RG 26. Copies in CAHA folder, "Little
Kinnakeet Logs, 1900-1904."

11. Hooper to Kimball, December 28, 1904. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA
folder, "Little Kinnakeet Repairs."

38



Screws, iron, flat heads, gimlet points, 14-inch, No. 12
Screws, iron, flat heads, gimlet points, 14-inch, No. 12

Screws, iron, flat heads, gimlet points, 1-3/4-inch,
No. 14

Screws, iron, flat heads, gimlet points, 2-inch, No. 15

Soap dishes, hanging galvanized, Central Stamping Co.'s,
No. 100, 4-3/8 inches

Solder, best half and half

Spanners, brass, for 14-inch hose
Spanners, brass, for 2-inch hose
Spanners, brass, for 24-inch hose

Spring balances, improved, 24 pounds by % pound with
rings and hooks attached

Spikes, cut, black iron, 6-inch

Spikes, cut, black iron, 6%-inch

Spikes, cut galvanized, 6-inch

Spikes, cut, galvanized, 64-inch

Spittoons, indurated fiber, No. 2

Spittoons, iron, porcelain lined, loaded, 8% x 6 inches

Spoons, bread, forged iron, tinned, 18-inch

Spoons, table, pure white German silver, not less than
18 percent nickel, perfectly plain in style, highly
polished and finished, and shall measure 8-1/16
inches, and weigh 20 ounces avoirdupois to the
dozen

Spoons, tea, pure white German silver, not less than
18 percent nickel, perfectly plain in style, highly
polished and finished, and shall measure 5-11/16
inches, and weight 9-5/32 ounces avoirdupois to the
dozen

Tacks, copper, in papers, size 4-inch, full weight

157

per gross

per gross

per gross

per gross

each
per pound
each
each

each

each
per pound
per pound
per pound
per pound
each
each

each

per dozen

per dozen

per pound


completed on August 7 of that year to replace that of posts and hog wire,
however, was of pickets and enclosed the station and cook house. In
September it was painted white. On October 17, the crew engaged in
building a coal bin, evidently for use in conjunction with the station's
heating stoves.(22) In November, Inspector McCabe reported that the
privy had once more blown down and that "the men are now using the
privy belonging to a house adjoining the Government property." "A new
toilet is to be built . . . in the near future."(23) Instead, however,
indoor water closets were installed in the station building. The inspector
also observed that the boathouse "is still set on the beach and in the
same condition as previously reported."(24) The boathouse remained on
the beach until December, 1936, when the crew dismantled it. In
January, 1937, the men utilized "motor truck No. 1215" in hauling the
lumber from the beach to the station, although apparently the boathouse
was not reconstituted before the station was decommissioned. Later that
year the crew put in a cesspool for the kitchen sink, and during the
first part of 1938 they planted shrubbery, painted the picket fence
surrounding the station, and touched up the paint on the drill pole
before departing Little Kinnakeet in July.(25)

1940s. A plot plan drawn for Little Kinnakeet in March, 1943,
evidently when reactivation of the station had been decided upon, showed

22. Inspection report, January 1, 1934. Ibid.; Log entries for
August 7, September 14, and October 17, 1934. NA, RG 26. Copies in
CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1933-1934"; photographs taken
May 2, 1935 in the files of CAHA.

23. Inspection report, November 20, 1934. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA
folder, "Little Kinnakeet Inspection Reports."

24. Ibid.

25. Log entry for December 28, 1936. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA
folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1933-1936"; Log entries for January 18,
February 4, and September 8, 1937. NA, RG 26. Copies in CAHA folder,
"Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1937-1938"; Division Civil Engineer Philip Levine
to Commandant, November 8, 1937. NA, RG 26. Microfilm copy in the
files of CAHA; Log entries for February 9, May 2 and 10, 1938. NA,
RG 26. Copies in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1937-1938."

69


Inside.

All the wood work of the inside to be oiled with one coat and then
treated with two coats of shellac; all holes and checks to be puttied.

Finally.

All the work is to be done in the most thorough workmanlike
manner, and in accordance with the true intent and meaning of the plans
and specifications, and anything omitted of mention in one that is shown
in the other, or vice versa, shall be done as though shown and set forth
in each, and the whole is to be done to the entire satisfaction of the
Superintendent.

78


historic structure report 9-43
historical data component

september 1987

ON MICROFILM

sCAPE HATTERAS

LITTLE KINNAKEET LIFE-SAVING
AND COAST GUARD STATION”
NATIONAL SEASHORE/NORTH CAROLINA

TECHNICAL FCRMATION CENTER
B&W Scans DENVER SERVI NTER
S// ofroos NATIONAL PARK SERVICE


Fig. 11.--Manner of adjusting strap to hawser.

The hawser is then hauled moderately taut by the keeper and Nos.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. No. 5 takes a turn with the fall, while Nos. 3
and 1 at the heel of the left leg of the crotch, and Nos. 2 and 4 at the
heel of the right leg, with the keeper and Nos. 6 and 7 in the center,
raise the crotch by raising the center, bringing the heels as near
together as necessary, No. 3 passing and securing the span. (See
fig. 12.)

The crotch is inclined outward sufficiently to allow the hawser to be
hauled well taut upon its gaining a perpendicular position.

Fig. 12.--Raising the crotch.

104


Pans, roast, iron, seamless, 11 x 16 inches, handled
Pans, roast, iron, seamless, 17 x 17 inches, handled

Pans, sauce, cast iron, inside enameled, with covers,
6-quart

Pans, stew, tin, stamped, retinned, shallow, plain,
5 quart, 11-5/8 x 2-5/8 inches

Pipe, stove, No. 18 galvanized iron, 5-inch, in 2-foot
lengths

Pipe, stove No. 18 galvanized iron, 6 inch, in 2 foot
lengths

Pipe, stove, No. 18 galvanized, iron, 6-inch, in 2 foot
lengths, collar joint, sizes as required

Pipe, stove, No. 11 Russia from, 5-inch, in 2 foot
lengths

Pipe stove, No. 11 Russia iron, 6-inch, in 2 foot lengths

Pipe stove, No. 11 Russia iron, 6 inch in 2 foot lengths,
collar joint, sizes as required

Plates, pie, tin, 10-inch, stamped, 14 inches deep

Pokers, stove, 26 inch, %-inch iron, with rings and
hooks

Pots, coffee, 3 gallon, 4X tin, flat copper bottoms
handled, bail handles

Pots, coffee, 1 gallon, 1X tin, flat copper bottoms,
handled, bail handles

Pots, tea, 2 gallon, 4X tin, flat copper bottoms,
handled, bail handles

Pots, tea, 1 gallon, 4X tin, flat copper bottoms, handled,
bail handles

Saddles, No. 18 galvanized iron, for roof, to fit Liverpool
heads

Shovels, stove, wrought iron, japanned, "U.S." No. 65,
5 x 8% x 23 inches

Steamers, 1XXX tin, raised cover in one piece, new style,
6-inch

178

each

each

each

each

per pound

per pound

per pound

per pound

per pound

per pound

per dozen

each

each

each

each

each

per pound

each

each


got clear and swam ashore; I do not know what became of the
rest. I was washed back several times but finally got ashore
abreast of the lay house and crawled up there very much
exhausted. I stayed in the lay house until daylight. I saw the
lights of the lifesavers on the beach and heard them fire the
wreck gun, but was too weak to make my presence known. At
daylight I found I was able to walk, and went up abreast of the
Saxon where the life-savers were. They looked out for me and
sent me to the station.

About 9 o'clock on the night of the disaster, when Surfman W.B.
Miller, of the Little Kinnakeet life-saving station, was covering the north
patrol, he saw a white light seaward which he took to be the masthead
light of a steamer standing in toward the beach, heading about WSW. No
other lights were visible. He continued to watch the light as he went
along, and when he neared the halfway house, marking the northern limit
of his beat, he saw from the light that the vessel had come to and headed
about NNE. and, as he thought, stood off at slow speed. The surfman
says, in his testimony given at the official investigation of the case, that
he thought the vessel acted "very queer," but that he did not think she
was in any danger of coming ashore, as he had often seen steamers haul
up that way in bad weather such as prevailed that night. After finishing
his patrol he reported what he had seen to his relief, but neither
surfman considered the matter of sufficient importance to mention it to the
keeper.

Surfman A.V. Midgett, of the Little Kinnakeet station, who covered
the north patrol from midnight to 3 a.m. also saw the masthead light of
the steamer offshore standing about northeast as he was starting out
along the beach. When he had gone about half a mile on the trip outward
he saw the two side lights of another vessel in the same general
direction, and from the range he thought this last vessel must be ashore.
He was making his patrol mounted, and he urged his horse forward that
he might verify or disprove his suspicion. When he reached the halfway
house he found that the vessel was some distance farther north.
Continuing, he discovered her in the breakers some 250 yards from the
beach. This was about 12.30 a.m. As he stood watching the vessel he
saw a rocket go up in the direction of Gull Shoal, and knew that the
crew of the station at that place had also discovered the wreck. As the
scene of the stranding was nearer Gull Shoal than his own station,
Surfman Midgett rode on northward with the intention of assisting the
Gull Shoal crew in getting out their wreck apparatus and bringing it
down the beach, they having no team available for that purpose. Before
reaching the Gull Shoal station he met three surfmen on their way to the
wreck, who informed him that their keeper, Capt. Zera G. Burrus, of
Gull Shoal, had telephoned for the team at the Chicamacomico station,
several miles above Gull Shoal. Midgett therefore turned back with the
surfmen, and on coming again to the wreck found Capt. Edward O.
Hooper, of Little Kinnakeet, on the scene with his crew, he having been
apprised of the disaster by telephone from Gull Shoal. When Captain
Hooper reached the vessel he had a fire made to show anyone aboard the
wreck that help was at hand, and sent some of the surfmen down along

127


Nails,
Nails,
Nails,
Nails,
Nails,
Nails,
Nails,
Nails,
Nails,
Nails,
Nails,
Nails,
Nails,
Nails,
Nails,
Nails,
Nails,
Nails,

Nails,

Nails wrought, galvanized, 6d

Nails, wrought, galvanized, 8d

Nails, wrought, galvanized, 10d

Nozzles, brass, C.L.E., for 3/4-inch discharge hose
Nozzles, brass, for 14-inch discharge hose

Nozzles, brass, for 2-inch discharge hose

cut 6d

cut 8d

cut 10d

cut 20d

cut, galvanized, 6d
cut, galvanized, 8d
cut, galvanized, 10d
cut galvanized, 20d
cut, galvanized, 2d
wire, common, 2d
wire, common, 4d
wire, common, 6d
wire, common, 8d
wire, common, 10d
wire, common, 16d
wire, common, 20d
wrought, 6d
wrought, 8d
wrought, 10d

155

per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
each
each

each

pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound

pound




Handles, for hatchets (ax pattern), extra hickory, all
white polished each

Handles, for boat hatchets, extra hickory, all white,
polished each

Handles, for pickaxes, extra hickory, all white, polished each

Handles, for 8 pound blacksmith's sledges, extra hickory,
all white, polished each

Hatchets, ax pattern (boat), 3? inch cut, handled,
Collins & Co.'s, No. 2 each

Hatchets, broad (boat), 4%-inch cut, handled, Beatty's,
No. 2 each

Hatchets, claw (boat), 4-inch cut, handled, Collins &
Co.'s, No. 3 each

Knives, drawing, extra quality, cast steel, 8-inch cut,
handles ferruled and capped, Douglass Manufacturing
Co.'s each

Mallets, round, lignum vitae, 4-inches diameter, mortised

handles each
Mallets, square, maple, 3 x 4 inches, mortised handles each
Nail sets, cast steel, No. 1 each

Nippers, end cutting, 7-inch, good American, warranted each

Oilers, zinc, "Paragon," No. 3, brass bottoms, double

walled cups each
Pickaxes, railroad pattern, adz eye, steel points, 6 pound,

handled, average length 24% inches, "Trenton" each
Pineers, steel, 7 inch good American, warranted each

Planes, jack, best beech, "Sandusky," 16 inches long,
Butcher's double iron, 24-inch each

Planes, jointer, best beech, "Sandusky," 28 inches long,
Butcher's double iron, 24-inch each

Planes, smoothing, best beech, "Sandusky," 8 inches long,
Butcher's double iron, 24-inch each

Pliers, steel, flat nosed, 8-inch, good American
warranted each

187




The tackle is again manned and the hawser hauled taut, when the
fall is belayed by No. 5 around the neck of the inner block or pennant
cleat (being careful not to choke the luff), and the whip is manned. If
it becomes necessary to fleet the threefold tackle when the pennant block
is not used, No. 5 takes a turn with the hawser around the sand-anchor
pennant or pennant cleat, No. 3 fleets the strap, and No. 4, with the
necessary assistance, overhauls and hooks the outer block of the tackle.

To fleet tackle when pennant block is used, the keeper, with a strap
and heaver, racks both parts of hawser together near pennant block, and
the tackle is then overhauled and hooked by the men assigned to those
duties.

When a twofold purchase and a pennant block are used, No. 6, as
soon as the hawser is attached to the wreck, snatches the bight into the
pennant block and locks it, and the men on the weather part of the whip
haul in the slack of the hawser, when Nos. 3, 4, 5, and 6 put the tackle
on, Nos. 3 and 4 at the outer block, No. 3 with the strap, Nos. 5 and 6
at the inner block, No. 6 making a cat's-paw in the hauling part of the
hawser, into which Nos. 5 and 6 hook the inner block.

"Man Lee Whip--Haul Off."

Nos. 1 and 2 have charge of the left and right side of the whip,
respectively. Nos. 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 are shifting men, man the lee part,
and haul the buoy off to the wreck. (See fig. 13.)

Fig. 13.--Man lee whip--haul off.

105


1904. Efforts proceeded toward moving the station to the site
designated to receive a new structure some distance to the south and
west. The actual move began in mid-May, with the contractors readying
the building for the brief but delicate journey. By May 20 the structure
had been lifted off its foundation onto rails and rollers, and the next day
workers moved it 280 feet down the shoreline. Two days later the old
station traveled 285 feet farther, and on May 24 it rolled 414 feet closer
to the new site. On receipt of more rollers, the contractors resumed the
move on the 26th and directed the station forward another 262 feet. On
May 27 the station reached its appointed location, having traveled in
excess of 1240 feet, or slightly less than one-quarter mile. Work then
began to raise the structure onto blocks, a process that was not
completed until the middle of July. (41)

1905. Immediately following its move to the location of the new
station, the old station was pressed into service as a boathouse. It
apparently was placed in the position it occupies presently, some 135 feet
west and north of the station erected in 1904 and situated in a more or
less north-south alignment with the original boatroom doors facing south.
In the spring of 1905 some landscaping around the old building took
place, including the planting of bushes around the foundation blocks. (42)
Thereafter the station functioned in a subordinate capacity to the new
facility, serving variously as boat house, garage, and storage building.
Therefore, the subsequent history of the structure under the
administration of the Life-Saving Service and the Coast Guard reflects the
maintenance as well as the architectural changes deemed proper in
fulfilling the varied statuses of the structure.

41. Log entries for May 18, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and July 19,
1904. NA, RG 26. Copies in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs,
1900-1904."

42. Log entry for April 1, 1905. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder,
"Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1905-1909."

26




APPENDIX C
Organization
of the
United States Life-Saving Service 1880

(In conformity to act of Congress approved June 18, 1878.)

[From Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving
Service for e Fiscal” Year Ending June 30, 1880 (Washington:
Government Printing Office, 1880) ]

SUMNER I. KIMBALL, General Superintendent.

WILLIAM D. O'CONNOR, Assistant General Superintendent.

CAPT. JAMES H. MERRYMAN, United States Revenue Marine, Inspector
of Life-Saving Stations.

CAPT. JOHN MCGOWAN, United States Revenue Marine,

CAPT. JAMES H. MERRYMAN, United States Revenue Marine,
Superintendents of Construction of Life-Saving Stations.

Assistant Inspectors.

First District.--CAPT. EDWARD L. DEANE, United States Revenue
Marine, Eastport, Maine.

Second District.--CAPT. DANIEL B. HODGSDON, United States Revenue
Marine, Boston, Massachusetts.

Third District.--LIEUT. CHARLES H. MCLELLAN, United States Revenue
Marine, Bay Shore, New York.

Fourth District.--LIEUT. WILLIAM J. HERRING, United States Revenue
Marine, Tom's River, New Jersey.

Fifth District.--LIEUT. WILLIAM J. HERRING, United States Revenue
Marine, Chincoteague, Virginia.

Sixth District.--LIEUT. FRANK H. NEWCOMB, United States Revenue
Marine, Manteo, North Carolina.

Seventh District.--CAPT. CHARLES M. SCAMMON, United States Revenue
Marine, Key West, Florida

Eighth District.--CAPT. LEONARD G. SHEPARD, United States Revenue
Marine, Key West, Florida

Ninth District.--CAPT. JOHN G. BAKER, United States Revenue Marine,
Oswego, New York.

Tenth District.--Capt. George R. Slicer, United States Revenue Marine,
Detroit, Michigan.

Eleventh District.--LIEUT. WALTER WALTON, United States Revenue Marine,
Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Twelfth District.--CAPT. JOHN W. WHITE, United States Revenue Marine,
East Oakland, California.

85


BIBLIOGRAPHY

Manuscript Materials

Bearss, Edwin C. "Chicamacomico Study." Unpublished report dated
September, 1965, in the library of Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

Henry, Irene Jackson, and Henry William. "Little Kinnakeet Life Saving
Station: An Analysis and Program for Restoration." Unpublished,
undated manuscript in the library of Cape Hatteras National
Seashore.

Manteo, North Carolina. Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Maps, plats,
and plans in the map file.

New London, Connecticut. U.S. Coast Guard Academy Library. Records
and documents pertaining to Little Kinnakeet. Microfilm copies in
the files of Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

Washington, D.C. National Archives. Cartographic Archives Division.

Washington, D.C. National Archives. Record Group 26. Records of the
U.S. Coast Guard. Copies in the files of Cape Hatteras National
Seashore.

Washington, D.C. National Archives. Record Group 79. Records of the
National Park Service.

Washington, D.C. National Park Service. History Division. Records
pertaining to Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

York, Eugene V. "The Architecture of the United States Life-Saving
Stations." Unpublished master's thesis dated 1983, Boston
University.

Government Documents
Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving Service

for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1878. Washington: Government
Printing Office, 1878.

Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving Service
for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1880. Washington: Government
Printing Office, 1880.

Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving Service
for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1882. Washington: Government
Printing Office, 1883.

195


Secretary of the Treasury for that purpose and will consist of the
following

First floor.

East outside door, steps, etc., removed and a window substituted;
addition of a lean-to with doors, windows etc., over the west mess room
door. All doors and windows put in order. Outside weather-boarding
repaired. New brick chimney, and a new arrangement of outside
shutters.

Second floor.

Collar beams floored over; doors and windows put in order; closet in the
keepers room.

Roof.

Shingles renewed in main roofs; lookout platform and hatchway removed
and replaced; flagstaff removed and a flagstaff erected on the ground.

Foundations.

The foundation of the lean-to will consist of sound red cedar on locust
posts, not less than 8 inches in diameter placed not more than five feet
from centers, on 3 by 10 inch yellow pine mud-sills. These sills will be
placed in carefully leveled trenches, 4 feet deep below the grade line,
cross braces 4 by 4 inches of yellow pine will be placed diagonally
between the upper and lower ends of the adjoining posts and secured by
spikes. The posts will be fastened both to the mud and upper sills with
spikes and by ¥% by 1% inch strap irons spiked on; they will also be faced
on the outside for the attachment of mill planed and matched yellow pine
flooring 14% by not more than 6 inches, to extend from the bottom of the
water table down 6 inches into the ground. After the completion of the
foundation the trenches will be filled up to the proper grade.

80



Ill. The Little Kinnakeet Station
A. The 1874 Station--Construction and Maintenance

The construction of the life-saving station at Little Kinnakeet in
1874 came as part of a plan by General Superintendent Kimball to increase
the number of stations on the Atlantic coast. The first new stations went
up after 1871 along the shores of New Jersey and Long Island, followed
by others built in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. All designs adhered
to standardized architectural drawings that allowed for the erection of
structures larger than previously built stations. All were shingled and
painted a customary red color. Each 1%-story station measured 18 feet
wide by 42 feet long and contained living space for the keeper and crew
plus sufficient area for the storage of a wagon, boats, and related
equipment.

This basic design underwent certain modification with Kimball's
successful expansion of the Life-Saving Service during the 1870s.
Principally, the stations erected after 1873, including that at Little
Kinnakeet, were more stylistic in ornamental detail than those built
previously. Essentially, the architectural design fused elements of a
style called Carpenter Gothic with one known as Stick Style. Carpenter
Gothic reflected a building style formerly popular in stone structures in
the United States and England. Transferred to wooden structures, the
style was highlighted by frequent usage of carefully fashioned decorative
ornamentation facilitated by the technological development of the scroll
saw. Board and batten siding commonly augmented the style. The Stick
Style, intended to reflect the inner structure of a building, utilized
wooden eave and gable bracketing along with diagonally placed siding
boards and such features as side buttresses to somewhat mirror the
interior. Combined with elements of Carpenter Gothic, which by the
1870s was declining in popularity, the Stick Style brought an infusion of
architectural originality that caught on immediately. The newly designed
life-saving stations were larger than their predecessors, running 43 feet
long by 19 feet wide. Each of the 1%-story stations was richly
ornamented, especially with scrollwork and bracketing under the eaves.
Individual differences in the structures erected in 1874 were likely based


ATIONS

LEUSTR

*



fixed some window screens. On June 2 they painted the roof gutters
around the station, and on September 8 they moved spare beds and
bedding into storage in the second floor loft area. In March, 1937, the
men occupied a few hours repairing the plaster in the crew sleeping
quarters. During the summer of that year the officer-in-charge noted
that the station had become infested by termites, a notice he repeated in
ensuing reports without specifying the damage they had caused. That
autumn the crewmen were employed painting all engines in the station on
aluminum color. (39)

1938. Under a storm damage appropriation of the Coast Guard,
early in the year two pairs of large doors, formerly used on the Nag's
Head Station, were removed for use at Little Kinnakeet. In May the
Norfolk Division commander notified the commandant that the cistern water
at Little Kinnakeet was being spoiled by salt water seepage. He
recommended that two wooden tanks be installed at the station. Other
work called for painting the interior and exterior of the building "in
strict accordance" with Coast Guard guidelines. In June efforts were
made to deal with the termite problem by spraying the inside of the
station with creosote with the hope that the insects would be killed.
Repairs completed on the structure involved replastering some of the walls
and installing hardware of unspecified nature at a cost of $652.58. A
short time after this work was accomplished, however, the Little
Kinnakeet Station was closed. "All men and activities" were transferred
to the Big Kinnakeet Station. (40)

39. Log entires for April 28, 29, June 2, and September 8, 1936. NA,
RG 26. Copies in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1933-1936"; Log
entries for March 11, August 7, and October 26, 1937. NA, RG 26.
Copies in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1937-1938."

40. Hite to Commander, Seventh District, January 12, 1938. NA,
RG 26. Microfilm copy in the files of CAHA; Log entires for February 9
and June 23, 1938. NA, RG 26. Copies in CAHA folder, "Little
Kinnakeet Logs, 1937-1938"; | Commander, Norfolk Division, to
Commandant, May 3, 1938. NA, RG 26. Microfilm copy in the files of
CAHA; Commander, Seventh District, to Commandant, May 6, 1938.
Ibid.; Commander, Norfolk Division, to Commandant, July 8, 1938.
Bid; Commandant to Officer in Charge, Little Kinnakeet, July 18, 1938.
Ibid.

50


Prussian blue, best, strictly pure, ground in oil,
American White Lead and Color Works', in 1-pound

cans per pound
Prussian blue, best, strictly pure, ground in oil, Toch

Bros.', in 1-pound cans per pound
Prussian blue, best, strictly pure, ground in oil, F.O.

Pierce Co.'s, in 1-pound cans per pound
Prussian blue, best, strictly pure, ground in oil, C.A.

Woolsey Paint and Color Co.'s, in 1-pound cans per pound
Prussian blue, best, strictly pure, ground in oil, The

Sherwin Williams Co.'s in 1-pound cans per pound
Putty, in 5-pound tins per pound
Pumice stone, lumped per pound
Turpentine, best, in '-gallon cans per gallon
Turpentine, best, in 1-gallon cans per gallon
Turpentine, best, in 2-gallon cans per gallon
Varnish, grain alcohol, shellac, best, in 4-gallon cans per gallon
Varnish, grain alcohol, shellac, best, in 1-gallon cans . per gallon
Varinish, grain alcohol, shellac, best, in 2-gallon cans per gallon
Vermilion, in oil, best English, in 1-pound cans per pound
Vermilion, in oil, best, "Peninsular," in 1-pound cans per pound

Vermilion, in oil, unfacing, Harrison Bros. & Co.'s in
1-pound cans per pound

Ship Chandlery.

Anchors, boat, galvanized iron, weight 16 pounds per pound
Anchors, boat, galvanized iron, weight 26 pounds per pound
Anchors, boat, galvanized iron, weight 35 pounds per pound

167


In many instances two men can be landed in the breeches buoy at
the same time, by each putting a leg through a leg of the breeches and
holding on to the lifts of the buoy.

Children, when brought ashore by the buoy, should be in the arms
of elder persons or securely lashed to the buoy. Women and children
should be landed first.

In signaling, as directed in the foregoing instructions, if in the
daytime, let one man separate himself from the rest and swing his hat, a
handkershief, or his hand; if at night the showing of a light, and
concealing it once or twice, will be understood; and like signals will be
made from the shore.

Circumstances may arise, owing to the strength or set of the
longshore current, or the danger of the wreck breaking up immediately,
when it would be impossible to send off the hawser. In such a case a
breeches buoy or life car will be hauled off instead by the whip, or sent
off °° you by the shot line, and you will be hauled ashore through the
surf.

If your vessel is stranded during the night and discovered by the
patrolman, which you will know by his burning a brilliant red light, keep
a bright lookout for signs of the arrival of the life-saving crew abreast of
your vessel.

From one to four hours may intervene between the burning of the
light and their arrival, as the patrolman may have to return to his
station, perhaps three or four miles distant, and the life-saving crew
draw the apparatus or surfboat through the sand or over bad roads to
the place where your vessel is stranded.

Lights on the beach will indicate their arrival, and the sound of
cannon firing from the shore may be taken as evidence that a line has
been fired across your vessel. Therefore, upon hearing the cannon,
make strict search aloft, fore and aft, for the shot line, for it is almost
certain to be there. Though the movements of the life-saving crew may
not be perceptible to you, owing to the darkness, your ship will be a
good mark for the men experienced in the use of the wreck gun, and the
first shot seldom fails.

Recapitulation .

Remain by the wreck until assistance arrives from the shore, unless
your vessel shows signs of immediately breaking up.

If not discovered immediately by the patrol, burn rockets, flare-up
or other lights, or, if the weather be foggy, fire guns.

92


Stoves, cooking, "Prize Jewel" range, Style 13, No. 87 18,

wood, as required, single oven, reservoir, T-shelf,

with furniture complete, including 1 wash boiler, 1

iron pot and cover, 1 iron kettle and cover, 1

teakettle, 2 bake pans, 1 wire broiler, 1 tin dipper,

1 iron spider, 1 griddle, 1 poker, 1 shovel, 2 bread
pans, 1 collar joint, 6 inch, No. 18 galvanized iron,

to connect with 6-inch galvanized iron stovepipe each

Stoves, cooking, "Prize Jewell" range, Style B, No. 87

18, hard coal, soft coal, or wood, as required,

single oven, reservoir, T shelf, 1 collar joint, 6 inch,
No. 18 galvanized iron, to connect with 6-inch
galvanized-iron stovepipe, without furniture each

Stoves, cooking, "New Elmwood" plain range No. 8, single

oven 20 x 20 inches, for coal or wood, as required,

with furniture complete, including 1 wash boiler, 1

coffee pot, 1 steamer, 2 round tin pans, 1 shaker,

2 pot covers, 1 square drip pan, 1 flat-iron heater,

iron kettle, 1 cake griddle, 1 shovel, 1 lifter,

ladle, 1 cook's fork, 1 cake turner, 1 teakettle,

dipper, 2 square tin pans, 4 pie plates, 1 scraper,
oblong drip pan, 1 iron pot, 1 cast broiler, 1 spider,
poker, 1 skimmer, 1 cook's sppon, 1 tea strainer,

joints stovepipe each

NER RRR

Stoves, cooking, "New Elmwood" plain range No. 8, single

oven 20 x 20 inches, for coal or wood, as required,
2 joints stovepipe, without furniture each

Stoves, cooking, "New Medallion" plain range No. 8, single

oven 20 x 20 inches, for coal or wood, as required,

with furniture complete, including 1 wash boiler, 1

coffee pot, 1 steamer, 2 round tin pans, 1 shaker,

2 pot covers, 1 square drip pan, 1 flat iron heater,

1 iron kettle, 1 cake griddle, 1 shovel, 1 lifter,

1 ladle, 1 cook's fork, 1 cake turner, 1 teakettle,

1 dipper, 2 square tin pans, 3 pie plates, 1 scraper,

1 oblong drip pan, 1 iron pot, 1 cast broiler, 1 spider,

1 poker, 1 skimmer, 1 cook's spoon, 1 tea strainer,

2 joints stovepipe each

Stoves, cooking, "New Medallion" plain range No. 8, single

oven 20 x 20 inches, for coal or wood, as required,
2 joints stovepipe, without furniture each

181


Paint, drop black, best, in 1-pound cans, Acme White

Lead and Color Works' per pound
Paint, drop black, C.P., in 1-pound cans, John Lucas

& Co.'s per pound
Paint, drop black, best, in 1-pound cans, Harrison Bros.

& Co.'s per pound
Paint, drop black, best, in 1-pound cans, "Peninsular" per pound
Paint, drop black, best, in 1-pound cans, Toch Bros.' per pound

Paint, drop black, best, in 1-pound cans, American White
Lead and Color Works' per pound

Paint, drop black, best, in 1-pound cans, F.O. Pierce
Co.'s per pound

Paint, drop black, best, in 1-pound cans, C.A. Woolsey
Paint and Color Co.'s per pound

Paint, drop black, best, in 1-pound cans, The Sherwin
Williams Co.'s per pound

Prussian blue, best, strictly pure, ground in oil,
Tieman's, in 1-pound cans per pound

Prussian blue, best, strictly pure, ground in oil, Acme
White Lead and Color Works', in 1-pound cans per pound

Prussian blue, best, strictly pure, ground in oil,
Musury's, in 1-pound cans per pound

Prussian blue, best, strictly pure, ground in oil,
Harrison Bros. & Co.'s, in 1-pound cans per pound

Prussian blue, best, strictly pure, ground in oil,
Whittier, Fuller & Co.'s, in 1-pound cans per pound

Prussian blue, best, strictly pure, ground in oil, Whittier,
Fuller & Co.'s, in 1-pound cans per pound

Prussian blue, best, strictly pure, ground in oil, Yates &
Co.'s, in 1-pound cans per pound

Prussian blue, best, C.P. ground in oil, John Lucas &
Co.'s, in 1-pound cans per pound

Prussian blue, best, strictly pure, ground in oil,
"Peninsular," in 1-pound cans per pound

166





ea)
"ee
Q
pe
g
«





Illustration No. 6.

Two views of boathouse at Little Kinnakeet, ca. 1920s. This
structure stood on the beach until it was dismantled late in
1936.

U.S. Coast Guard

212



concrete that extended for most of the width of the building. During
August the crew completed some work on the inside of the building,
although specifics are unknown. (55)

1936, 1937, and 1938. Late in April, 1936, the station crew touched
up the paint on the doors of the old building. During the following year
the men occasionally labored on the inside of the structure, completing
short term work of undescribed purpose on February 2 and July 28,
1937. Less than a year later, on July 18, 1938, the Little Kinnakeet
Station was formally decommissioned by the Coast Guard. Orders from
headquarters transferred all personnel to the neighboring Big Kinnakeet
Station effective that date.(56)

1940s. Late in World War II the Little Kinnakeet complex was
reactivated as a lifeboat station. The reinstatement as part of the Coast
Guard required a number of alterations and structural additions, primarily
to the 1904 station house and the cook house. Few, if any, changes seem
to have been made to the 1874 building and it continued to be used only
in a garage and storage capacity.(57) In 1949 or early 1950 a wiring
layout diagram of the building showed that there were ten 40-watt lights
on the lower floor and four 40-watt lights on the upper floor. (58)

55. Photographs, May 2, 1935, in ibid.; Log entry for August 13, 1935.
NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, “Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1933-1936."

56. Log entry for April 29, 1936. Ibid.; Log entries for February 2 and
July 28, 1937. NA, RG 26. Copies in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet
Logs, 1937-1938"; Clarence F. Brady to Commandant, July 18, 1938. NA,
RG 26. Microfilm copy in the library of CAHA.

57. "Little Kinnakeet Lifeboat Station, Plot Plan," July 12, 1943. NA,
RG 26. Copy in map files of CAHA; "Little Kinnakeet L.B. Station,
Proposed Alterations & Additions," March 12, 1945. Ibid.

58. Photograph of inactive Little Kinnakeet Station, December 5, 1944.

Copy in the files of CAHA; "Little Kinnakeet Lifeboat Station Wiring
Layout," January 13, 1950. Copy in the map file of CAHA.

32



Pans, bake, round, wrought iron, polished, 4 quarts,
10-3/4 x 2-5/8 inches

Pans, bake, round, wrought iron, polished, 6 quarts,
11-5/8 x 2-5/8 inches

Pans, bake, oblong, for bread, flaring pattern, pieced,
best heavy tin, 9% x 5-3/8 x 3 inches

Pans, bake, oblong, for bread, flaring pattern, pieced,
best heavy tin 11-3/4 x 6-7/8 x 3% inches

Pans, bread raisers, stamped, retinned, with ventilated
covers, 17-quart, 18% x 6% inches

Pans, cake, round, stamped, retinned, shallow, tubed,
8 inches diameter, 24 inches deep

Pans, cake, round, stamped, retinned, deep, tubed,
11% inches diameter, 3-3/4 inches deep

Pans, dish, round, best heavy tin, stamped, retinned,
with handles, 17 quarts, 18 x 6 inches

Pans, dripping, smooth iron, best charcoal, 10 x 15
inches, weight per dozen 19 pounds

Pans, dripping, smooth iron, best charcoal, 12 x 20
inches, weight per dozen 20 pounds

Pans, fry, wrought iron, polished, lipped, 10 x 2 inches

Pans, fry, wrought iron, polished, lipped, 14-1/8 x 24
inches

Pans, fry, wrought iron, "Central," polished, holloow
handles, improved lips, 9-inch

Pans, fry, wrought iron, "Central," polished, hollow
handles, improved lips, 11-inch

Pans, mixing, stamped, retinned, round bottom, 10 quart,
154 x 5% inches

Pans, pudding, tin, stamped, retinned, beaded edge,
extra deep, 6-quart

Pans, pudding, tin, stamped, retinned, beaded edge,
extra deep, 10-quart

177

each

each

each

each

each

each

each

each

each

each

each

each

each

each

each

each

each


Illustration No. 7.

The 1874-pattern station at Little Kinnakeet employed as a
garage, March 9, 1934. Note frame structures in background.
Top, view to north; bottom, view to southwest.

U.S. Coast Guard

214


during the following month the crew spent two and one-half hours
scraping paint from the inside of the building. (27)

1929 and 1930. In March, 1929, the crew completed more repairs to
the gutters and downspouts of the station. On June 10, 1930, they again
cleaned the cistern and on the 27th completed painting the outside of the
station. Nearly two months later, on August 21, the men painted the
interior. (28)

1931. General maintenance continued. On April 24 the crew
engaged in touching up with paint the woodwork inside the station.
During the following month an inspection disclosed the need for replacing
the floors in the lavatory and day room (former “assembly room," or
"sitting room"). The Seventh District Commander also recommended that
"modern heating and lighting plants be installed at this station," to
replace the wood stoves and kerosene lamps then in use. The new floor
was laid in the building on August 17, and in November the crew painted
floor rugs for use in the station.(29)

1932. On two occasions--March 2 and May 11--the crew engaged in
performing unspecified work on the inside of the station. A bad storm
struck the outer banks on March 6 and flooded the Little Kinnakeet
Station area so that the buildings were surrounded by water. Apparently

27. Log entries for May 14, 1926, May 2, 1927, and April 16, 1928. NA,
RG 26. Copies in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1925-1929";
Commander, Seventh District, to Commandant, February 12, 1927. NA,
RG 26. Microfilm copy in the files of CAHA.

28. Log entry for March 21, 1929. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder,
"Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1925-1929; Log entries for June 10, 27, and
August 21, 1930. NA, RG 26. Copies in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet
Logs, 1930-1932."

29. Log entries for April 24, August 17, and November 10, 1931. Ibid.;
Inspection report, May 14, 1931. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder,
"Little Kinnakeet Inspection Reports"; Commander, Seventh District, to
Commandant, May 18, 1931. Ibid.

44


APPENDIX F

Rescue Operations Involving the Little Kinnakeet
Life-Saving Station, 1881-1911

The following descriptions of operations in which the crew of the
Little Kinnakeet Station took an active part are drawn from accounts and
testimonials published in the applicable annual reports of the Life-Saving
Service, as cited below.

1881

October 5.--At 11 A.M., during the prevalence of a heavy gale from
the north-northeast, the weather being squally and thick, the lookout at
Station No. 20, Sixth District (Little Kinnakeet, North Carolina), sighted
a small schooner under close-reefed foresail and jib scudding down the
coast before the wind. When nearly abreast of the station she was
observed to haul in towards the land, as though it was intended to beach
her. The life-saving crew at once started out with their apparatus to
her assistance. When near the surf another schooner was seen coming
from the northward and also apparently edging in towards the beach. The
first schooner, which proved to be the Charles, 33 tons register, of
Beaufort, North Carolina, struck about a mile south of the station soon
after the life-saving crew got out. She went head on with the seas
sweeping her deck from one end to the other, and did not fetch up until
almost high and dry. The surfmen pushed forward with all the haste
possible, and in a few minutes were abreast of the vessel. She was so
well up that one of the surfmen waded out with the whip-line until he was
waist-deep in the surf, and then grasping the gear of the martingale
managed to climb on board and make the tail-block fast to the foremast,
for the purpose of aiding the landing of her crew. Three persons were
on board--two men and a boy. They refused to leave the vessel until
their effects could be gathered together, the captain descending to the
cabin and locking himself in. There was no time for parleying, as the
other schooner was fast nearing the breakers and the life-saving crew
must proceed to her as quickly as possible. The captain was therefore
informed that if he desired the assistance of the station crew it must be
accepted at once. This brought him to reason, and he and his crew were
soon transferred to the shore and conducted to the station. The Charles
was from Broad Creek, Neuse River, North Carolina, bound to Baltimore,
Maryland, with a cargo of lumber. The captain reported encountering the
first of the gale the night previous when to the northward, abreast of
Currituck Beach light, and that he had lost his yawl and most of the
deck-load, besides springing the fore-gaff. By the time the latter was
repaired so as to carry sail on it the storm had increased to such
severity that he was compelled to run before it and ultimately to beach
the vessel to save himself and crew. The hull of the schooner being
uninjured the captain subsequently contracted with a party to haul her

113


When completed, the septic tank was located southwest of the
station, and a drain field, approximately 500 feet long, beyond that.
Two lavatories and two toilets were connected to the sewer; the building
lacked bathtubs and showers. Gutters along the roof of the structure
continued to collect potable water, which was stored in the brick cistern
beneath the building. Water for purposes other than drinking was
obtained from well points in the ground underneath the station and was
conveyed by force pump to the forty-gallon tank on the second floor. A
fire pump stood along the north side of the station. (37)

Another major task fulfilled in 1935 consisted of changing the
location of the stairway leading to the watch tower from the room directly
below. This room was well lighted and had a flue so that a stove might
be readily installed. It could serve as a "spare room for visiting
officers, etc., and at other times for CPO [Chief Petty Officer]." The
stairs, however, ran from the northwest corner directly into the center of
the room in making their ascent, thereby making the room practically
useless. The sum of $35.00 was allocated by the commandant for
relocating and enclosing the stairway along the north wall of the room,
thus freeing the interior space for occupancy. The contractor, who was
probably W.H. Bartlett, also provided a new door for the entrance to the
room. (38)

1936 and 1937. Minor maintenance occurred in 1936. Toward the
end of April the crew members touched up the paint in the office and

36. (Cont.) agritile, laid with tar paper protecting each joint.
Connect the present washroom lavatory to the new tank and sewer."
Ibid.

37. Plat, "Water rights & utility plans, Little Kinnakeet," June 1, 1960.
Copy in the map files of CAHA; "Little Kinnakeet Station Site Plan,"
March, 1935. Copy in the map files of CAHA.

38. Hite to Commandant, April 20, 1935, with enclosed "Sketch of Tower
room, second floor." NA, RG 26. Microfilm copy in the files of CAHA;
Commandant to Hite, April 24, 1935. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder,
"Little Kinnakeet Repairs."

49




Feb.

Feb.

. 27

Place.

Three miles of north-northwest
of Mashes Light, N.C.

Two and one-half miles south
of Gull Shoal Station.

Three-quarters of a mile south
of station.

One mile south-southeast of
Big Kinnakeet Station.

One-half mile south-southeast
of Gull Shoal Station.

‘One mile west-southwest of
station.

Two and one-half miles south
of Gull Shoal Station.

Three miles west-northwest
of station.

One mile northeast of Big
Kinnakeet station.

Name of station.

Little Kinnakeet

Gull Shoal, Chicamacomico
and Little Kinnakeet.
Little Kinnakeet.

Big Kinnakeet and Little

Kinnakeet.

Gull Shoal, Chicamicomico
and Little Kinnakeet.

Little Kinnakeet

Gull Shoal, Chicamacomico and
Little Kinnakeet.

Little Kinnakeet.

Big Kinnakeet, Little

Kinnakeet, and Cape Hatteras.

APPENDIX G

Table of Wrecks Involving Assistance by the Little Kinnakeet Crew, 1883-1902
Compiled from the annual reports of the United States Life-Saving Service, 1883-1903.

Name of vessel/Where owned.

Master.

Sc. H.P. Brown/Edenton, N.C.

Sc. Aaron Reppard/Philadelphia, Pa.

Sc. Robert W. Dasey/Philadelphia,
Pa

Sc. Roger Moore/Wilmington, Del.

Sc. Genl. S.£. Merwin/New Haven,

Conn.

Sailboat Relief/Salvo, N.C.

Str. Daggry/Tvedgstrand, Norway

Sc. Zeovia/Edenton, N.C.

Str. Garlands/West Hartlepool,
England.

Gray

Wessel

Olsen

Dix

Rutledge

‘Simonson

Scarborough.

Doherty

459

356

354

789

1,206

10

2,084

Where from/Where bound.

Elizabeth City/Little Kinnakeet,
N.C.

Philadelphia, Pa./Savannah, Ga.

Philadelphia, Pa./Jacksonville, Fla.

Boston, Mass. /Brunswick, Ga.

Boxton, Mass./Norfolk,Va

Buxton/Salvo, N.C.
New York City/Mexico
Elizabeth City/Avon, N.C.

New London, Conn. /Wilmington,,
N.C.

E

General

Coal

Coal

Copper ore

General

General

1,000
16,000
8,000
7,000

17,000

250,000

500

75,000

350

2,500

1,000

25,000

50,000

1,500

1,350
18,500
9,000
7,000

42,000

100

300,000

2,000

75,000

1,345 5
18,500
9,000
7,000
42,000
100

294,500 5,500

2,000

70,000 5,000

7

18

37

a

72



the water subsided quickly. In May the crew was again at work painting
the floor and beds of their sleeping room. (30)

1933. In April a new telephone and cables were installed in the
building. Maintenance during the year consisted almost entirely of
unspecified work on the steps and floors inside the station accomplished
on June 26. A strong gale of September 15 and 16 caused damage to the
windows, necessitating the replacement of glass.(31) On October 24 the
station received a thorough inspection from Lieutenant Commander G.E.
McCabe, who gave a fairly detailed accounting of its condition:

Main building is of bungalow type with lookout tower on top.
Foundation of this building sets on cedar piling. Sills were
found good where examination was possible but sheathing is
carried from skirting to ground. Guttering on East side was
blown away in storm. Building presented a good appearance
from outside. Main water supply was a brick cistern under the
house. This cistern was very inaccessible for cleaning. Fire
pump had suction hose leading into it. There was no water in
cistern at the time of inspection and therefore no protection in
case of fire. . .

Office was clean and neat; lockers were good.
Recreation room was good but bare except for chairs.

Crew's washroom contained but one bowl with pitcher pump.
This room was large enough for the installation of more
washbowls, at least two toilets and a shower.

Crew's sleeping quarters downstairs were good but crowded for
a shore station. Each man has a good locker.

Attic was unfinished but was fairly neatly stowed. Each man
has hook here for rain clothes. Rack was installed for signal
flags. Should be partitioned off and three excellent storerooms
made.

30. Log entries for March 2, 6, and May 10, 11, 1932. NA, RG 26.
Copies in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1930-1932."

31. Log entries for April 5, June 26, and September 18, 1933. NA,
RG 26. Copies in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1933-1936";
McCabe to Inspector, Eastern Area, December 7, 1933. NA, RG 26.
Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Inspection Reports."

45


“SNOILVLS ONIAVS -3317'S'N NAL 49° NW Id

209




juaumuoW [eUOTIeN seseqeH edeD

“UOTIIPPe O}-Uk] Sgt paq9eford Bulmoys suoneys useqed-pLgT 10J suejd s00[4

“g ‘ON UOT}eIISNIIT

210


Enclosing.

The building is to be boarded with 44-inch tongued and grooved
pine boards one inch thick, beaded and placed face side in, securely
nailed to every girt, brace, post, stud, and tie on an angle of forty-five
degrees. The outside of these boards to be covered with two thicknesses
rosin-sized fire-proof sheathing paper held in place by a strip of pine,
two inches wide and half inch thick, nailed over each nailing girt, tie,
and plate. The outside to be boarded with 44-inch-beaded pine boards
one inch thick, of good sound knotted quality, tongued and grooved and
placed "up and down," and thoroughly nailed through into every strip,
and all the joints to be white-leaded before nailing up.

Roofing.

The rafters to be covered with 44-inch wide, tongued and grooved
beaded pine ceiling boards, laid face side down, and the outside of these
boards with one thickness of "Johns's asbestos roofing felt," and over the
felt 1% by 2-inch shingling laths to be nailed. The roof to be shingled
with best sawed cedar or cypress shingles, laid full three lap and
double-nailed with galvanized nails. A solid pine ridge pole, of four
inches diameter, to be placed on the ridge, thus

Construct on the roof a look-out deck, as indicated on the plans,
with a hatchway two feet wide and four feet long, covered in the best
manner with zinc; and use painted zone flashing all round the platform
and hatchway, in the best possible manner and to the entire satisfaction
of the Superintendent.

A flagstaff of hard pine is to be furnished and placed as indicated
on the plans, securely footed on the loft floor, and fastened to the floor
of the look-out deck in a thorough manner.

Galvanized-iron chimney caps will be furnished by the Department to
the contractor, and by him put in place between second and third
rafters, from rear end. He will be required to make a thoroughly
weather-tight fit.

Frames for windows and doors.

All the frames are to be formed by planting on the outer boards
14-inch pine casings, as indicated on the plans and shown in detail. The
sills are to be of oak, placed to pitch two inches, and joined into the
studs each end, and plowed 5/8 inch deep to receive the outer
weather-boards. The frames inside to be trimmed with a beaded apron in
a neat manner.

74


against when shingling. Flashing to be secured on the top edge of the
coamings. All flashings to be of 4 pound sheet lead.

The platform and steps of the lean-to will have foundation posts of cedar
or locust, 6 inches in diameter, to extend below the grade 3 feet the
framing timbers to be of yellow pine 4 by 6 inches; stringers, steps and
top covering to be of yellow pine 1% inches thick; risers 7/8 inches thick.

The inclined platform in front of the boat room doors to be repaired by
substituting sound material of yellow pine for any portion that may be
decayed.

The platform, steps, door and trimmings must be removed from the east

side, and all defects caused by substituting a window for the door must
be remedied.

Hardware.

The hardware and hardware trimmings must be of the best quality and
satisfactory to the superintendents of construction. All nails, screws,
spikes and hinges must be galvanized where exposed.

Painters Work.

Glazing. All new sash to be glazed with the best quality of American
double strength glass, free from waves, blisters and other defects, and
to be properly bedded, sprigged and puttied.

Painting. All nail holes, joints, cracks etc., to be neatly puttied after
the first coat of paint.

All new outside work, except roofs to receive two coats of silica paint to
correspond in colors with those now on the stations.

The roofs to be painted two coats of red.

All new interior wood-work to receive two coats of best oil finishes. .

84



1900s. In March, 1905, the crew engaged in laying pebbles and turf
around the station. On May 29 they repaired the plaster around the
thimble flue opening in the wall of the new station. In October, 1906, a
project involved raising the filter of the cistern beneath the building "so
the water will run out at the Wast [sic] pipe before it goes in to the
filther [sic]." Nearly three years later, in late April, 1909, the crew
completed hand oiling the woodwork inside the station. (12)

1910, 1911, and 1912. In the early hours of January, 1910, "a wind
with a Hurricane force" hit the station and knocked out one window light.
The window was probably repaired, although evidence for such is
unavailable. To help minimize the heat and humidity for the comfort of
the crew during the summer of 1911, the acting general superintendent
authorized purchase of door and window screen frames for the station.
The three window screen frames measured 2 feet 9% inches by 2 feet by 9
inches, while the two screen door frames were 2 feet 8 inches by 6 feet 9
inches. In May, 1912, the crew completed hand oiling of the wash room
and the lockers in the crew sleeping room. That October an inspecting
officer recommended that a flue be cut in the chimney to serve the
keeper's room. He further urged that the second floor loft be ceiled and
used for the crew sleeping room during the winter. Finally, he
suggested that paint was needed for painting exterior trim, the porch
railing, and the ceiling.(13)

1913. These recommendations were repeated in January, 1913. Some
repairs got underway in March after the district superintendent
requisitioned and received 100 lbs. of galvanized wire nails for use at

12. Log entries for March 8, 10, and May 29, 1905, October 12, 1906,
and April 27, 1909. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet
Logs, 1905-1909."

13. Log entries for January 13, 1910, and April 3, 1912. NA, RG 26.
Copies in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1910-1915"; Acting
General Superintendent to Superintendent, Seventh Life-Saving District.
NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA Folder, "Sixth District--Repairs &
Construction"; Inspection Report, October 5, 1912. NA, RG 26. Copy in
CAHA folder, "7th District-Inspection Reports, 1908-1912."

39


and aided us in every possible way to save our effects so far as we could
find them on board our vessel.

We also wish to say that these noble, gallant, and heroic life-savers
do most dreadfully suffer the hardships of life to save, protect, and take
care of sailors who may be cast into their care. There was nothing left
undone by the acting keeper and crew of the above-named station. They
performed their duties most nobly.

Respectfully submitted.

JULIUS OLSEN, Master
GEORGE W. LAYFIELD, Mate.
ADOLPH SCHICK, Cook.
GEORGE WILKINS,
CONRAD PRESCOD,
H.P. RUSSELL,
GEORGE BUSBY,

Seamen. (10)

1900

LITTLE KINNAKEET LIFE-SAVING STATION, NORTH CAROLINA,
May 28,1900.

GENTLEMEN: Please accept thanks of myself and crew for your
kindness in taking care of us and feeding us in our destitute condition,
and for taking care of our schooner and cargo, which drifted ashore near
your station May 6, 1900, until I arrived at Cape Hatteras Station, where
I had been carried by the crew of that station, who rescued us from a
small yawl on May 5, our vessel having been sunk off Cape Hatteras. I
am glad, as a seaman, to be able from personal experience to recommend
this crew for doing their whole duty. In conclusion, I wish to
congratulate the general superintendent for having such good and
accommodating men in his service as I have found during my stay here.

Very truly, yours, J.W. SABISTON,

Master of Schooner Hettie J. Dorman.

KEEPER AND CREW OF THE LITTLE KINNAKEET LIFE-SAVING
STATION.(11)

10. Annual Report of the United States Life-Saving Service for the Fiscal

Year Ending June 30, 1900 (Washington: Government Printing Office,
1901), p. 204.

11. Ibid., p. 211.

125


The gun is to be placed athwart the hawser, immediately over the
axle, muzzle to the right. Stops, 3 feet long, are spliced into the top of
the sides of the cart body, and are made fast through the front and rear
handles of the right side of the gun carriage.

Shot-line box, A, containing No. 9 line, is to be placed across the
cart in the rear of the gun, filling the space between the gun and the
tailboard. Stops, 3 feet in length, are spliced into the top of the sides
of the cart body, and are made fast into the handles of the shot-line
box, and No. 7 and No. 4 lines in their respective boxes are secured on
top of all.

The shot lines must be faked, as shown in the diagram (fig. 15),
and hauled as closely around the pins as can be done without springing
them.

Fig. 15.--Method of faking the shot line.

The rammer is to be placed between the gun and the shot-line box.

The tailboard is cut away sufficiently on the top under the rails to
admit of its being raised to drive under the tailboard and hawser two
pieces of wood, one-half inch thick, 2 inches wide, and 3 feet long, one
on each side, leaving 4 inches projecting. The sand anchor is to be
placed across the rear end of the cart, upon its edge, resting upon these
projecting pieces, the pennant hooked into it and moused.

The stops spliced into the eyes of the tailboard rods are to be
passed down outside of the anchor, around the horns of the cross frame
of the cart body, back, up outside the anchor, and made fast in the eye
again.

The pennant is to be kept up in place by the same stops. The
sharp point of the pickax is to be struck between the sand anchor and
the tailboard, on the left side, the handle to the right, the point of the
pick resting upon the sand-anchor support.

The loops of the shovel handles are to be placed over the upper
horn of the pick, blades of the shovels to the right, and kept in place

109


"I am, gentlemen, yours, respectfully,

"JOSEPH S. HARLOW,
"Master of Schooner Edward Stewart, of Bangor, Maine,"(2)

1885

December 12.--The small schooner H.P. Brown, of Hatteras, North
Carolina, during a strong northeast wind with hazy weather, at about 8
o'clock in the morning of this date, ran on a reef in Pamlico Sound, three
miles to the westward of the Little Kinnakeet Station, (Sixth District,)
coast of North Carolina. She was bound from Elizabeth City to Big
Kinnakeet, in the before-mentioned State, with a cargo of fish and wood,
and had a crew of five persons. The heavy seas were breaking over the
vessel when the life saving crew reached her, thirty minutes after she
struck. It was found that the oakum had worked out of some of her
seams and that she was in a sinking condition. The surfmen proffered
their services, which were gladly accepted by the captain, and at once
busied themselves in cutting away part of the ceiling in the hold and
stopping the leaks. They then ran out an anchor, and, at the third
attempt, succeeded in floating her in smooth water. The station men
labored unceasingly for seven hours before the desired result was
attained, and the captain of the craft was heartfelt in his thanks for the
aid rendered him. (3)

1887

February 5.--Shortly after 10 o'clock in the morning the crew of the
Little Kinnakeet Station, (Sixth District,) coast of North Carolina, manned
a small boat and put off to the assistance of a schooner with a signal of
distress flying, which was discovered ashore in Pamlico Sound about two
miles and a half west-northwest of the station. She proved to be the
Avoset, of Hatteras, bound light to Big Kinnakeet from Edenton, and had
grounded at low tide the previous evening. The surfmen ran her anchor
out to windward and took the crew of two men, who were without means
of getting ashore, into their boat.

2. Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving
Service for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1884 (Washington:
Government Printing Office, 1885), pp. 144-45.

3. Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving
Service for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1886 (Washington:
Government Printing Office, 1887), p. 188.

118



“UOLIppe O}-ueeT Sggt Burmoys ‘sQ6sT

AzoisIH [eanjeN JO wnesny o7e1S eUT[oueD YON

-gadooy sedeay Atqeqoud st iJey ye UeW
‘eo ‘uonjeys Huraes-a}tT pLel yeoxeuury 9fV!T

‘Z ‘ON UONeSNIII

204


1897

LITTLE KINNAKEET LIFE-SAVING STATION, April 1, 1897.

MY DEAR SIR: As a press correspondent in stress of weather, and
having undergone the novel experience of a night on Kinnakeet Reef, and
as now enjoying the hospitality of yourself and crew in the kindly shelter
of this station, let me thank you for the hearty display of those
attentions which mark the members of your noble band of life-savers,
whose faithful aid and many kindnesses will always be remembered.

Very truly yours,
FRED A. OLDS.
Captain HOOPER.

ON BOARD THE SHARPIE BRACEBRIDGE HALL,
Off Little Kinnakeet Life-Saving Station, April 1, 1897.

DEAR SIR: I desire to express my most sincere appreciation of the
services of yourself and crew in coming off this morning in response to
my signal of distress. This was displayed at 9.40, and answered in a
few minutes. My boat went on the shoals at 5 o'clock yesterday, and in
not over 6 inches of water. I put out two anchors and this morning
hoped to get her off, but all the efforts of yourself and crew to aid me
in securing this result failed.

I wish to thank you for your kind notice that you would come to my
aid the moment I might need you. Colonel Fred. A. Olds, press
correspondent, whom you took with you to your station, joins heartily
with me in commendation of the promptness and kindness of yourself and
crew.

Very truly, yours,

ED. PINNER, Captain.
Captain HOOPER. (8)

1898

LITTLE KINNAKEET, NORTH CAROLINA, August 12, 1898.

SIR: I desire to express my thanks for the prompt service rendered
to me by the keeper of the Little Kinnakeet Life-Saving Station at the

8. Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving
Service for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1897 (Washington:
Government Printing Office, 1898), p. 267.

123




Illustration No. 8.

South and north faces of 1904 station at Little Kinnakeet,
March 9, 1934. Note frame buildings northeast of station.

U.S. Coast Guard

216


Appendix J

Furnishings Data for Life-saving Stations, ca. 1901.
(Adapted from Cornelia Wyma and John Albright,
Historic Structure Report. Glen Haven Coast Guard Station.
Architectural and Historical Data.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Frankfort, Michigan.
[Denver: National Park Service, 1980, pp. 86-127].

A more comprehensive listing is in Katherine B. Menz,
Historic Furnishings Report. Sleeping Bear Point Life-Saving Station,
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
[Harpers Ferry: National Park Service, 1983]).

Beds and Bedding.

Beds, iron, single, with best quality woven wire
mattresses combined, per sample each

Blankets, 8 pounds per pair, gray, persample, per pair

Blankets, all woold, gray, 8 pounds, per pair,
4 points, U.S.L.S.S. woven in fabric, "Oregon
City Woolen Mills," per sample per pair

Blankets, all pure new woold stock, gray, 8 pounds
per pair, U.S.L.S.S. woven in fabric, Bandon
Woolen Mills Co.'s, per sample per pair

Mattresses, stuffed with fine fiber rattan, heavy
cotton tops, square edges, bound, weight
27 pounds, 6 feet 2 inches by 2 feet 6 inches,

A.C.A. ticking each
Mattress covers, Park check, No. 90, to fit mattresses,

item No. 5 each
Pillows, feather, first quality, new live geese, 20 x 30

inches, weight 3 pounds. A.C.A. ticking each
Pillowcases, 23 x 35 inches, 1-inch hem, "Utica Mills" each

Pillow covers, Park check, No. 90, to fit pillows, item
No 7 each

Sheets, brown, two yards to weight 4 pound. 76 wool,
72 warp, 7-4, 2% yards long, hemmed and made each

147


@ Crockery.

Bowls, mixing, yellow, 6-quart each

Bowls, sugar, without handles, with covers, best
ironstone china

each
Cups, coffee, without handles, with sauncers, best
ironstone china (set to consist of 6 cups and 6
saucers) per set
Cups, coffee, without handles, best ironstone china each
Dishes, baking, yellow, 10-inch each
Dishes, butter, with covers and drainers, best ironstone
china, 5-inch each
Dishes, vegetable, 10-inch, with covers, best ironstone
china each
Jugs, stone, 1-gallon each
@ Jugs, stone, 2-gallon each
Jugs, stone, 3-gallon each
Pitchers, milk, 1-quart, best ironstone china each
Pitchers, molasses, 1-pint, heavy glass, white metal
covers each
Pitchers, water, best ironstone china, 6's each
Plates, dinner, 10-inch, best ironstone china per dozen
Plates, soup, 10-inch, best ironstone china per dozen
Platters, meat, oval, 14-inch, best ironstone china each
Saltcellars, pressed glass, plain, heavy, largest size each
Tumblers, table, pressed glass, plain, extra heavy,
largest size per dozen

151


HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT
HISTORICAL DATA COMPONENT

LITTLE KINNAKEET LIFE-SAVING
AND COAST GUARD STATION

CAPE HATTERAS NATIONAL SEASHORE
North Carolina

by

Jerome A. Greene

U.S. Department of the Interior / National Park Service


As the nation's principal conservation agency, the Department of the
Interior has basic responsibilities to protect and conserve our land and
water, energy and minerals, fish and wildlife, parks and recreation
areas, and to ensure the wise use of all these resources. The
department also has major responsibility for American Indian reservation
communities and for people who live in island territories under U.S.
administration.

Publication services were provided by the graphics staff of the Denver
Service Center. NPS D43 September 1987


Date Name and nationality of vessel
Jan. 26 Am. sc. Dauntless

Jan. 29° Am. sc. Maud

Mar. 4 Skiff Dodge

May 16 Am. sc. Dauntless

Oct. 6 Sip. Silver Spray

Oct, 12

Jan. 7

Station and locality

1905

Little Kinnakeet, North
Carolina.

Little Kinnakeet, North
Carolina.

Little KInnakeet, North
Carolina.

Little Kinnakeet, North
Carolina.

Little Kinnakeet, North
Carolina.

Little Kinnakeet, North
Carolina.

1906

Little Kinnakeet, North
Carolina.

141

Nature of casualty and service rendered

Stranded during a heavy NW. storm and
carried by an unusually high tide well up
onto the beach. By the united efforts of the
station crews from Big Kinnakeet, Gulf Shoal,
Chicamacomico, and Little Kinnakeet for three
days, she was finally launched on temporary
ways and hove out into deep water.

At 10 a.m. the lookout sighted a vessel in
Pamlico Sound flying signals of distress.

The life-saving crew went to her assistance
and found that she had stranded in shoal
water. The crew, consisting of two men and
a woman, were taken off the schooner and
brought ashore in the surfboat to await high
water before attempting to float her.

Capsized during a fresh SW. squall 4 mile
SW. of the station. The life-saving crew
went to the rescue and aided in transferring
the two men clinging to the sides of the
skiff to a fishing vessel near by, after which
the capsized boat was towed into shallow
water, righted, and bailed out.

Stranded January 26, 1905, and floated by
the station crew May 16. in getting her off,
rollers were utilized and an anchor ran out
ahead. The sails were also used to advantage.
Much work preparatory to floating the vessel
had been done by the crews of the Big
Kinnakeet, Chicamacomico, and Gull Shoals
stations.

At 12.30 p.m. a stoop was sighted aground
aground on a reef in the channel; the life-
saving crew boarded her and succeeded in
working her into deep water, when she
proceeded to her destination’

Assistance at fire . . . At 5.50 p.m. a
dwelling in the neighborhood of the station
was discovered on fire. In response to the
alarm the station crew hastened to the scene
with their fire buckets and quickly extin-
guished the flames.

The master of the schooner Marblehead re-
questing to be landed on shore the surfboat
went alongside and conveyed him to the
beach.


hawser hanging loose. Figure 8 shows the method of bending the lee
part of the whip to the hawser.

Fig. 8.--Manner in which bight of whip is bent to hawser.

The men man the weather part of the whip, excepting the lee man
(No. 1 or No. 2), who tends the lee part of the whip, keeping it clear of
the hawser, which will drift to leeward of it, and the lee man (No. 3 or
No. 4), who hauls the whip from the reel. The keeper hauls the hawser
from the cart and lights it to the surf. (See fig. 9.)

The hawser having reached the wreck the lee man (No. 1 or No. 2)
holds the breeches-buoy block while the keeper throws over it a clove
hitch with the bight of the weather part of the whip, and hauls it snug
around the neck. The block is then snapped on the hawser by the
holder, and the keeper bends the buoy bridle into the whip, inshore of
the buoy, with a bowline knot.

If the wooden buoy block is used, the buoy is passed down through
the loops of the clove hitch and the hitch hauled very snug around the
neck of the block. (See fig. 10.)

When a threefold purchase is used, the pennant block is dispensed
with, and as soon as the hawser is made fast to the wreck the men who
have been manning the weather part of the whip haul in the slack of the
hawser, No. 5 holding the turn around the sand-anchor pennant or
pennant cleat, No. 3 adjusting the strap or chain tail around the hawser,
and No. 4 hooking the outer block of the tackle into the strap. The
proper manner of adjusting the strap is shown in figure 11.

102



By 1887 several dwelling houses stood at Little Kinnakeet not far
from the station. In the early morning of August 20 a hurricane struck
the outer banks, knocking down miles of telegraph poles as well as
"blowing about (1/3) one third of the dwellings of Little Kinnakeet of[f]
the blocks and to pieces. . . ." The storm also tossed canoes and
damaged boats before it subsided, all in all necessitating many repairs to
property.(2) Other outbuildings noted as standing near the station in
the late 1880s consisted of an outhouse, around which the crew placed
shells in April, 1888, and an oil house erected during that month. In
May an inspector recommended replacing the wooden tank cisterns at
Little Kinnakeet with ones of brick.(3)

1890s. Besides the cisterns, the crew also obtained water from a
well, which, because of the frequently blowing sand, seems to have
required cleaning somewhat regularly. The daily logs contain mention of
the crew having "engaged in heaving sand away from around the oile
[sic] house and well." On November 12, 1890, the Superintendent of
Construction reached the station with five carpenters and began erecting
a water tank house. Six days later the crew painted the finished
structure, a procedure that consumed two gallons of linseed oil.(4) A
photograph of the station apparently taken in the 1890s shows what
appears to be the tank house immediately adjacent to the rear of the
building. The structure seems to have had dimensions of approximately
10 feet square and 12 or 13 feet high. It was of wood frame construction
with shingled gable roof and vertical board siding and stood on wooden
piers. The sole visible opening in the building was a louvered ventilator

2. Log entries for August 20, and November 1, 1887. NA, RG 26.
Copies in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1887-1889."

3. Log entries for April 18, 19, and 24, 1888. Ibid.; Assistant
Inspector, Sixth District, to Kimball, May 31, 1888. NA, RG 26. Copy
in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet-Miscellaneous."

4. Log entries for April 10, October 1, and November 12, 18, and 24,

1890. NA, RG 26. Copies in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs,
1890-1893."

62


for the second time) and for making some unspecified repairs to the
structure. (34)

1935. Substantial changes were made to the station during the year.
Between January and June the crew completed scraping all the floors and
sandpapering the office floor preparatory to re-oiling them all. The men
also finished touch-up work on the varnish on the screen doors.(35) The
major work, however, was under contract. Early in the year a contract
was secured with W.H. Bartlett of Elizabeth City to construct a new privy
at the station. In February the contract was modified to omit the privy
construction and to instead install a forty-gallon galvanized range boiler
on the second floor of the building. In addition, a Myers cog gear force
pump R288 ("or equal") was to be emplaced in the wash room; two water
closet (toilet) combinations ("Standard Sanitary Co., Modernus, F2186, or
equal") were to be installed, one each, in the washroom and in the office
closet; and one septic tank, composed of two units, each with a capacity
of 2 feet by 2 feet by 3 feet 6 inches and made of concrete 3 inches
thick, was to be located and installed on the premises. Each unit of the
septic tank was to have "two 4" terra cotta tees placed in an approved
manner," and the entire system was to "be connected . . . with all
pipes, fittings, and connections furnished for a complete job."(36)

34. Log entries for June 27 and September 11, 1934. Ibid.; McCabe to
Inspector, Eastern Area, November 20, 1934. NA, RG 26. Copy in
CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Inspection Reports."

35. Log entries for February 13, 28, and May 24, 27, 1935. NA,
RG 26. Copies in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1933-1936."

36. Associate Engineer M.P. Hite to Commandant, February 18, 1935.
NA, RG 26. Microfilm copy in the files of CAHA; Commandant to W.H.
Bartlett, March 9, 1935. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little
Kinnakeet Repairs." Specifications for materials and work composed the
following: "All water or vent pipe except where cast iron is required,
shall be genuine wrought iron galvanized. Soil, waste and vents shall be
standard cast iron, except that vents above fixtures may be one inch iron
pipe. Sewers, wastes, etc., shall have adequate cleanouts. Each
fixture, pump tank, etc., shall be provided with separate cutoff valve
and unions so that it may be removed without effect on balance of
system. Sewer will be of best terra cotta 4" salt glazed pipe, and will
extend from base of stack to septic tank. Irrigation field will be of 4"
(Continued)

48


Brushes, horse, 5 x 8% inches, all white bristles,
exposed length of bristles not less than 1% inches,
russet leather backs, with strap handles each

Brushes, scrubbing, white tampico center, gray wings,
11-inch block, per sample each

Brushes, stove, all black bristles, very full, dauber
extension, with handles, per sample each

Buckets, rubber, black, No. 2, 3-gallons, metal parts
of galvanized iron each

Bunting, American, standard, colors as required, 18-inch per yard

Canvas, cotton, No. 8 22-inch per yard
Canvas, cotton, No. 10, 22-inch per yard
Chains, sling, close-linked, 3 feet long, %4-inch iron with

large link in each end each
Combs, curry, open back, 8 bars, tinned iron each
Cotton, calking, for seams per pound
Duck, linen, No. 6, 24 inches wide per yard

Glue, broken, Peter Cooper's, No. 1% or "Buffalo" No. 1 per pound

Hand grapnels, galvanized, 2% pounds each
Hand grapnels, galvanized, 4 pounds each
Lacing eyes, No. 2, 5/8-inch eye, galvanized per dozen
Lacing eyes, No. 2 3/8-inch eye, brass per dozen
Leather, rigging per pound
Lime, fresh burnt per barrel
Marline spikes, 12-inch each
Mops, cotton, 1-pound each
Mopsticks, Taylor's patent each
Needles, sail, Smith's, No. 11 per
hundred

169


(10) If the crew consists of a keeper and eight men, No. 8, at
drill, will go to the wreck pole instead of No. 7; in service his duties will
be the same as those of No. 7.

"Forward."

The beach cart will be hauled from the station to the wreck. When
going down the skids or any steep declivity Nos. 1 and 2 will guide the
cart, while Nos. 3, 4, 5, and 6 hold back on the drag ropes. (See
fig. 2.)

Fig. 2.--Holding back.

"Halt."

The keeper will direct the cart to be placed between the surf and
the spot he selects for the sand anchor and a few yards to windward
(current), the cart facing the surf. (See fig. 3.)

97


1895. On March 9, Keeper Hooper reported that his surfmen @
scoured the floor of the "Station Seting [sic] Room & Cook house floor,"
as well as cleaned the windows of the station. In May the crew painted
the keeper's room and sitting room. They also painted the boat room as
well as the lookout deck, utilizing twenty-five pounds of white lead mixed
with two gallons of linseed oil.(30)

In October, Keeper Hooper sent a letter to the district
superintendent informing him of some basic. structural problems
encountered with the Little Kinnakeet Station. For one thing, he
reported, the southeast corner of the station had settled so badly that
runoff water to the tank was instead running off the gutter at that
corner. Moreover, said Hooper, the settling action was "also changing
the shape of the station."(31) On November 30 the crew bolstered the
sinking corner, yet the settlement continued to such an extent that
William W. Latham, an Assistant to the Superintendent of Construction for
the Life-Saving Service, was sent to investigate. His report follows: e

I find that the side sills, and side foundation posts, are, as far
as can be seen, sound. The end sill under the boat-room
doors I have found to be decayed and will require a new sill.
Also the ends of boat-room door posts are rotten and _ will
require splicing. The foundation posts under the end sill are
somewhat rotten at the head and will require to be replaced
with new posts. I would state that this decayed sill appeared
sound on the outside. The inside I should judge was about two
thirds rotten. In regard to the corner of the station settling I
can see but little difference now, and I first visited the station
in March 1894. I have instructed the keeper, to avoid further
settling, to pack the corner with blocks until such time as the
repairs can be made. In relation to the repairs to the station
under authority of letter from your [Superintendent of
Construction] office dated Jan. 28th 1895, I would say that no
expense was included on the foundation for the reason that

30. Log entries for March 9, May 24, 1895. NA, RG 26. Copies in
CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1894-1899."

31. Hooper to P.H. Morgan, October 23, 1895. NA, RG 26. Copy in

CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Repairs"; Log entry for November 30, @
1895. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs,
1894-1899."

22



Illustration No. 11.
Two views of the 1904 station.

Top: View showing veranda on north and west sides,
taken May 2, 1935.

Bottom: Little Kinnakeet Station from the southwest, taken
June 24, 1936. Note frame structures in background.

U.S. Coast Guard

222



pueny 3se0D “S'N
“PSE ‘bP JeqojDO ‘UOTIeIS pueNy yseoD JeoxeuUTy eT

“ST ‘ON UoTJeIISNYI]

230


in front of it." The officer recommended that the window be entirely
closed and "one placed on either side of the chimney.(19) Evidently the
corbeled, brick chimney was installed at Little Kinnakeet as planned and
the windows remained as they were.

1885. During the year a number of changes occurred to the station,
including a major renovation that saw new construction for the structure.
On March 12 the keeper noted that he and the crew had "“ingaged [sic] in
work on the station and finished puting [sic] in the windows." In April
the mess room in the rear of the first story was painted, along with the
exterior of the building.

On May 1 Captain Merryman forwarded to General Superintendent
Kimball the plans and specifications "for repairs, etc., to ten (10)
stations in the 6th L.S. District." The most important change comprised
the erection of a pantry addition built on the east sides of the stations.
According to the building plans, the addition measured 19 feet 2 inches
long by 6 feet wide and was raised on cedar or locust posts toward the
rear of the station. The forward half of the lean-to construction
consisted of a shelved pantry measuring 9 feet 6 inches long by 5 feet 3
inches wide, while in the rear of the addition was a "Dry Room for wet
clothes," 3 feet 10 inches long by 5 feet 3 inches wide. Between these
rooms was an entry way, 4 feet 6 inches long by 5 feet 3 inches wide.
The door on the side of the original building now led into the entryway,
while another door in the side of the addition led outside. Meantime, the
door on the opposite side of the mess room was converted into a window.
The roofs of the affected stations were entirely reshingled. Other
substantive changes at Little Kinnakeet included the installation of a new
brick chimney in the station and the consequent "new arrangement of
outside shutters"; construction of a closet, 5 feet by 3 feet, in the
keeper's room; repair of outside weather boarding; the flooring of collar

19. Lieutenant E.C. Chayton to Merryman, December 4, 1884. Ibid.
See early photographs of the station showing the chimney in place and
the subject windows in use.

18


Fig. 6.--Positions when shot line is bent to whip.

Fig. 7.--Hauling off whip.

101


Tacks, copper, in papers, size 5/8-inch, full weight
Tacks, copper, in papers, size 3/4-inch, full weight

Tacks, galvanized iron, in papers, size 4-ounce, full
weight

Tacks, galvanized iron, in papers, size 6-ounce, full
weight

Tacks, galvanized iron, in papers, size 8-ounce, full
weight

Tacks, galvanized iron, in papers, size 10-ounce, full
weight

Tacks, galvanized iron, in papers, size 12-ounce, full
weight

Tacks, black iron, in papers, size 8-ounce, full weight

Wire gauze, copper, No. 16 mesh, No. 28 wire, for door
and window screens

Washbowls, IXXX, deep, tinned, flat bottom, retinned,
with rings, 13 inches diameter

Yellow sheet metal, 18-ounce

Lamps, Lanterns, Etc.

Burners, lamp, kerosene, No. 1, "Queen Anne,"
Burners, lamp, kerosene, No. 2, "Queen Anne,"

Burners, lamp, kerosene, No. 0, central draft, per
sample

Burners, lamp, kerosene, No. 2, central draft, per
sample

Burners, lantern, kerosene, No. 1, styles as required
Burners, lantern, kerosene, No. 2, styles as required

Burners, lantern, No. 2, tubular (for No. 0 tubular lift
wire lantern)

158

per

per

per

per

per

per

per

per

per

each

per

each

each

each

each
each

each

per

pound

pound

pound

pound

pound

pound

pound
pound

square foot

pound

dozen



Medicines, Etc.

Lint, surgeon's, in 1-pound packages
Medicine chests, with medicines, per sample

Plasters, adhesive, "S. & J.," in tin boxes, in yard
roles

Plasters, mustard, "Rigolott" or "S. & J.," in tin boxes,
19 in box

Water bottles, rubber, 2-quart, with covers

Whisky, pure rye (for medicial purposes), in quart
bottles, packed singly in wooden boxes,

Paints, Oils, Etc.
(No extra charge will be allowed for cans)

Brushes, dust, best quality, all bristles, black, 9%-inch
solid hard-wood blocks, per sample

Brushes, paint, flat, leather bound, all white Russia
bristles, for ordinary painting, size 34-inch

Brushes, paint, flat, leather bound, all white Russia
bristles, for ordinary painting, size 4%-inch

Brushes, paint, round, No. 30, all white bristles,
Clinton's extra, or Whiting's extra Russia

Brushes, paint, round, No. 40, all white bristles,
Clinton's extra, or Whiting's extra Russia

Brushes, paint, round, No. 50 all white bristles,
Clinton's extra, or Whiting's extra Russia

Brushes, painter's dusters, No. 50, all bristles,
black outside

Brushes, sash tool, No. 2, "Atlantic," wire bound,
extra French bristles

Brushes, sash tool, No. 3, "Atlantic," wire bound,
extra French bristles

161

per pound

each

per box

per box

each

per quart

each

each

each

each

each

each

each

each

each


Paint, mixed, best, colors as required, Averill's per gallon
Paint, mixed, best, colors as required, "Atlas" per gallon

Paint, mixed, best, colors as required, C.A. Woolsey
Paint and Color Co.'s per gallon

Paint, mixed, best, colors as required, Cleveland Oil
and Paint Mfg. Co.'s per gallon

Paint, mixed, best, colors as required, F.O. Pierce Co.'s per gallon

Paint, mixed, best, colors as required, Harrison Bros. &

Co.'s per gallon
Paint, mixed, best, colors as required, Masonry's per gallon
Paint, mixed, best, colors as required, Charles M. Childs

& Co.'s per gallon
Paint, mixed, best, colors as required, Chilton's per gallon
Paint, mixed, best, colors as required, Toch Bros.' per gallon
Paint, mixed, best, colors as required, American White

Lead and Color Works' per gallon
Paint, mixed, pure prepared, colors as required, Whittier,

Fuller & Co.'s per gallon
Paint, mixed, "City and Village," strictly pure colors as

required, Yates & Co.'s per gallon
Paints, mixed, best, colors as required, "Peninsular" per gallon
Paint, mixed, best, colors as required, The Sherwin

Williams Co.'s per gallon
Paint, asbestine, fire and water proof, mixed, best,

colors as required per gallon
Paint, asbestos, fire and water proof, mixed best, colors

as required, 11 W. Johns Mfg. Co's. per gallon
Paint, mineral asphalt, mixed, best, colors as required,

The Standard Paint Co.'s per gallon
Paint, pure rubber, mixed, colors as required per gallon
Paint, drop black, best, in 1-pound cans, Masonry's per pound

165


period the stable was done away with and the building served as a
garage. In December, 1933, an inspector reported the following on the
deteriorating condition of the structure:

{The building] was later converted into [a] stable and now is
being used as a garage. Outside knees for eaves and
decorations rotted. Pillars rotted. Sills are evidently new.
Vertical weather boarding is rotted. Flooring inside where
tractor is housed is oil soaked. Room on first floor for food
locker is good. One room upstairs is used as storeroom. This
storeroom was provided with shelves and stores are neatly
stowed. Attic is untidy and needs cleaning out. Appearance
and condition of this building detract from station and it should
be removed. (52)

1934. By 1934 the old station was clearly becoming increasingly
unstable and was viewed as an eyesore to the Coast Guard complex. In
January an inspecting official, Lieutenant Commander G.E. McCabe,
observed that the attic had been cleaned and "properly stowed," but
remained “unfit to be used for a garage." He urged that a new garage
be erected and the old station "be moved away a distance from the main
building to add to the appearance of the station. . . ."(53) Following
this recommendation, the commander of the Seventh District advised that
the building be declared obsolete and torn down. And in May inspecting
officer McCabe recommended the same treatment. Nonetheless, the crew
occasionally worked at repairing and maintaining the structure, as it did
on September 27 for an unspecified purpose. By November the prevailing
view had changed to one of keeping the old station and improving it by
laying a concrete floor and building a lean-to style gear house on its east
side. Photographs of the building in 1934 indicate that the eastern lower
rear window had been boarded over, perhaps to replace missing shutters.
They also reveal that by then the old sliding boat room (garage) doors

52. Inspection report (Lieutenant Commander G.E. McCabe to Inspector,
Eastern Area), December 7, 1933. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder,
"Little Kinnakeet Inspection Reports."

53. Inspection report of January 1, 1934. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA
folder, "Little Kinnakeet Inspection Reports."

30



Pails, fire, No. 22, galvanized iron, cane bottom,
14-quart

Palms, sewing, full hide, mounted, No. 2
Paste, metal polish, Hoffman's, 1-pound boxes
Paste, polishing, Univesal, in 1-pound cans
Rotten stone, lumped

Sal soda

Sapolio (3-1/4 x 2-3/8 x 1 inches)

Slates, double, 9 x 13 inches, brass hinges, without
panel backs, per sample

Slate pencils, soapstone

Soap, fresh water, good quality, not less than 2 months
old, in 40 and 80 pound boxes

Soap, salt-water, good quality
Soap, Bell's Star Cleaner, 10-ounce cakes
Sponges, large, coarse, for boat use, per sample

Tarpaulins, 8 x 8 feet, No. 6 cotton canvas, tabled,
unpainted, brass eyelets 12 inches apart all around

Tarpaulins, 10 x 10 feet. No. 6 cotton canvas, tabled,
unpainted, brass eyelets 12 inches apart all around

Thole pins, locust, 3/4-inch, 9 inches long, per dozen
Thole pins, locust, 1-inch, 10 inches long per dozen
Trays, chopping, oval, No. 4

Twine, best Andover flax, 3 ply

Twine, cotton, sewing, %-pound balls

Waste, cotton, machinery, white, picked. No. 1

Webbing, linen, 14-inch (in 12 yard pieces), ties for life
belts

171

each
each
per pound
per pound
per pound
per pound

per cake

each

per dozen

per pound
per pound
per cake

per pound

each

each

each
per pound
per pound

per pound

per yard


U.S. COAST GuaRD
LITTLE RINNAKEET STATION
SITE PLAY

OFFICE Cr assce cm EwGa. MP HATE
Eiratets cor wc Mage
Deawe br ets teats ty

Sautagr ance
Feow wees Pens

Dean, Toate

wae

—f, Besteoom
Ee On,

Stoutvorse, Dane tou’

cap me

Sat: 1:50

225


buoy is first removed, and then, facing the wreck, and standing on the
left of the hawser, the cutter is placed upon it by grasping it, as shown
in figure 16, the white end of the cutter being inshore, the eyes of the
knives inclined toward the wreck. The cutter is then closed and the
clasp secured.

Fig. 16.--Applying hawser cutter.

The becket in the outer end of the cutter should have two eyes
formed in the bight by passing a seizing around both parts, 2 inches
from the bight, and a second seizing 2 inches from the first. The
method of bending the whip to the hawser cutter is as follows (see
fig. 17):

Bend a bight of the weather part of the whip into the outer eye of
the becket, leading from the outer end of the cutter, with a sheet bend,
as at A, and the tail of the knife lanyards into another bight of the same
part of the whip, with a bowline knot, B, allowing sufficient slack line, C
(say 2 fathoms), to permit the knives to work.

About 2 feet inshore of the last knot, take up another bight, D, of

the whip, and pass it up through the second eye in the outer becket,
toggling it with another bight, E. This transfers the weight of the whip

111


Fenders, cork, for boats 5 inches diameter at center,
tapered to 2% inches at end, covered with No. 4
cotton canvas, with fixtures complete, viz. 18
fathoms 6 thread steam-tarred manila, and 4 dozen
composition lacing eyes, 3/8-inch eye, lengths as

required

Flannel, red, all wool, 27 inches wide

Flasks, powder, heavy copper, 16-ounce capacity, screw

tops, outside springs, per sample

Glasses, binocular marine, Bardon & Son's, No. 2711, 26',

with extra heavy leather cases, including straps,
complete, per sample

Glasses, binocular, 26" field glass, short body, oxidized

slides, movable shades, heavy sole leather cases, with
strap for hanging; "U.S.L.S.S." to be engraved upon
slides and stamped or gilded upon the inner side of

case covers,

per sample

Handcarts, beach apparatus, per sample

Heaving sticks, per sample

Key safes, iron, "Abbey" pattern, with two keys,

per sample

Keys, for "Abbey" pattern key safes, per sample

Keys, for Imhauser's time detectors, per sample

Launching carriages, iron, Wood's improved, for lifeboats

Launching carriages, iron, Wood's improved, for surfboats

Life belts, cork,
sample

Life belts, cork,
sample

Life belts, cork,
sample

Life belts, cork,
sample

Life caps

"Abbey" pattern, size 38 inches, per

"Abbey" pattern, size 40 inches, per

"Abbey" pattern, size 44 inches, per

"Ward" pattern, sizes as required, per

190

per foot

per yard

each

each

each
each

each

each
each
each
each

each

each

each

each

each

each


Y
i

E |
,

iL

co



whereabouts during the prevalence of the gale that drove him ashore and
unable to control the movements of his ship. The opinion was also
advanced that the vessel was a derelict when she struck, and that her
crew may have been taken off by some passing vessel. As no survivors
were ever reported, this theory seems no more susceptible of proof than
the others. (13)

1911

December 31.--About noon the three-masted schooner Mary S.
Eskridge, of Seaford, Del., from Baltimore, Md. to Wilmington, N.C.,
with a cargo of acid fertilizer, anchored 1-3/4 miles southeast of the big
Kinnakeet (N.C.) Life-Saving Station and a mile offshore in a waterlogged
condition and hoisted a signal for assistance. The signal was observed
from the Big Kinnakeet station and also from the Cape Hatteras station, 7
miles to the southward from the vessel. The crews of the two stations
named and of the Little Kinnakeet station assembled as quickly as possible
on the beach abreast of the schooner, and a boat's crew in command of
the station keeper from Cape Hatteras put off to her in a surfboat under
oars. After a hard struggle through heavy seas and against a strong
current they arrived alongside and found her in a sinking condition. As
the weather was bad and rapidly growing worse, and there was a
likelihood that she would go down at any moment, no time was lost in
getting her crew of six into the surfboat. The rescued persons were
taken to the Big Kinnakeet station, where they were given succor until
January 5. The schooner being still afloat on the morning of January 1,
the life-saving crew carried her master out to ascertain her condition.
They manned her pumps while aboard, but found them choked with
fertilizer. On the morning of January 3 she sank in 5 fathoms. Both
vessel and cargo, valued at $35,000, were totally lost.(14)

13. Annual Report of the United States Life-Saving Service for the Fiscal
Year Ended June 30, 1910 (Washington: Government Printing Office,
1911), pp. 65-67.

14. Annual Report of the Life-Saving Service for the Fiscal Year Ended
June 30, 1912 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1913),
pp. 77-78.

132


Castings for "Atlantic" caboose No. 3
Castings for "Atlantic" range No. 7
Castings for "Atlantic" range No. 8
Castings for "Beaver" range No. 8-21
Castings for "Buck" No. 7
Castings for "Buck" No. 9
Castings for Buck's "Royal" No. 15
Castings for Buck's "Gem" No. 25
Castings for Buck's "Regal" range No. 83B
Castings for "Bright Diamond" No. 150
Castings for "Brilliant Diamond" No. 250
Castings for Clad's steel plate portable French ranage
No. 8 x 20

Castings for 1885 "Crawford" range No. 8
Castings for "Crown Jewel" No. 9
Castings for "DeKalb" No. 14
Castings for "DeKalb" No. 16
Castings for "Diamond" No. 20
Castings for "Diamond Oak" No. 17
Castings for "F. & W. Oak" No. 190
Castings for "Elon" 21 inch
Castings for "Price Jewel" range

(Style B, No. 87-18.)
Castings for "Favorite Argand" No. 9-22
Castings for "Garland" No. 9
Castings for "Hub Heater" No. 30

173

per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per

per

per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per
per

per

per
per

per

pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound

pound

pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound
pound

pound

pound
pound

pound


and March, 1963, the building served as an emergency school during the
time Ash Wednesday Inlet was open. During the latter month members of
the Cape Hatteras National Seashore staff helped the children with a
conservation project involving the planting of trees in the area.
Meantime, with minimal maintenance being performed on the station
building, its fabric continued to deteriorate.(46) A 1967 memorandum
alluded to the deteriorating interior of the 1904 building, although in
later years certain preservation measures were underway. In 1977, for
example, the roof of the structure was reshingled. Soon after, the Little
Kinnakeet complex was surrounded by a 7-foot-high chain link fence.
And in 1982 the Park Service installed new piering beneath the 1904
structure. Further, in 1983 the building was tented and fumigated
against infestation.(47) Two years later safety concerns dictated the
removal of the two large water tanks from their crumbling concrete
platform.

46. Superintendent's Monthly Narrative Report, November, 1955. NA,
RG 79. Accession No. 66A231/15 16/07:26-1-1. Box 15, Folder A2823,
Part 2, CAHA; Superintendent's Monthly Narrative Report, March, 1963.
NA, RG 79. Accession No. 68A0359. Box 4; Photograph by C.L.
Gifford, February 20, 1963. Copy in the files of CAHA. A search of
National Park Service records in the National Archives (Accession Nos.
66A0231,  66A9061,  68A0359, and 69A7614), particularly the
Superintendent's Monthly Narrative Reports for the period 1954 through
1967 revealed negligible information regarding park service maintenance of
the Little Kinnakeet complex.

47. Granville B. Liles to Director, National Park Service, August 24,
1967. National Park Service Records in the History Division, WASO.
"Cape Hatteras National Seashore," Box 1; Verbal recollections of former
superintendent William A. Harris to the writer, December, 1986.

54



practice at a drill should include the hauling of the car back and forth
through the water as follows:

The shot line having fallen over the wreck pole, bend the whip line
into the rings at the ends of the life car in the same manner as described
above, except that the line between the rings should be left sufficiently
slack not to obstruct the hatch of the car. The car should then be
hauled back and forth over the water. This maneuver should be repeated
two or three times. Where this can not be done on account of the
absence of water at the drill ground, two men will go out in the surfboat
and anchor it at the usual practice distance from shore. The line will
then be fired across the boat, and the drill will be carried out as last
above directed.

To Load the Beach Cart.

The crews are not to be exercised in loading the carts expeditiously,
but rather in compactly stowing the apparatus, following the instructions
herein contained.

The apparatus must be placed upon the cart in the following order:

The reel is to be unshipped. One man lights along the hawser while
four men, one at each corner of the cart, proceed to coil it down,
right-handed and from the outside toward the center, in a Flemish coil.
Having completed the first layer, carry the bight to the outside of the
coil and coil toward the center again. This is done in order that the
hawser, when in use, may run from the center of the coil.

Tally board No. 2 is to be spliced or bent on the top end of the
hawser and stowed away in the center of the coil.

Ship the reel, reeve the whip through the tail block, make each end
of the whip fast with a slight stop at each side of the reel, and reel up,
working toward the middle of the spindle; when both parts meet, work
back to the end, and so on until the whip is on the reel, when the tail
block will hang in the middle of the whip over the front of the reel.

Tally board No. 1 is to be spliced permanently into the tail of the
whip block just above the splice.

The inner block, or that next the sand anchor, should be painted
white, the outer one left bright. The tackle is to be overhauled its full
length, and a strap placed around all parts of the fall, under each block.
The outer block is to be placed under the reel, on the left side, and all
parts of the fall, coiled right-handed around upon the hawser, laying
them down flat, leaving off with the inner block under the reel, opposite
the first.

108




The dearth of maintenance activity suggests that the attitude of
concerned personnel had changed from one of repair and restoration of
the station to one of advocacy for its replacement. Sometime during 1899
the Little Kinnakeet station was formally condemned by the Life-Saving
Service. In September an inspector allowed that the building was in "bad
condition, & a new one is needed." Although the roof leaked badly, he
believed that because a new station would likely be erected shortly, "it
would not be advisable to put on a new roof now, or to do any extensive
repairs." He did recommend, however, that new gutters and conveying
pipe be provided "so that the men can get water, the old gutters being
rusty & partly blown down."(36)

1900. On March 22 Andre Fourchy, Assistant District
Superintendent of Construction, reached Little Kinnakeet and, assisted by
Keeper Hooper and the six surfmen, began work of an unspecified nature
on the front of the building. Shortly thereafter an inspecting officer
announced that the site for a new station had been chosen one-quarter
mile south of the old one. On May 19, on direction of Fourchey, the
crewmen commenced work on improving or repairing the lookout deck atop
the structure. Three days later they began assisting Mr. A.W. Steaker
in replacing the rain gutters around the building as had earlier been
recommended. Soon after, the crew painted the lookout and began taking
out broken lights from the windows of the station. The replacement of
the gutters was finished on May 24. The purpose of all this work was to
keep the station in commission until the imminent new building was
constructed. In August a new boat incline leading from the boat room
was completed, while flashing was laid around the base of the
lookout. (37)

36. Inspection report, September 15, 1899. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA
folder, "6th District Inspection Reports, 1890-1902."

37. Log entries for March 22, 26, May 7, 19, 22, 23, 24, and 30, 1900.
NA, RG 26. Copies in CAHA folders, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1900-1904";

"Report of Inspection, Little Kinnakeet. . . , March 29th, 1900." NA,
RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Inspection Reports";
"Report of Inspection, Little Kinnakeet. . . , August 7, 1900." Ibid.

24


The above instructions being complied with, the result will be as
shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1.

As soon as your signal is seen a three-inch hawser will be sent on
to the whip and hauled off to your ship by the life-saving crew.

If circumstances will admit you can assist the life-saving crew by
manning that part of the whip to which the hawser is bent and hauling
with them.

When the end of the hawser is got on board a tally board will be
found attached, bearing the following directions in English on one side
and French on the other:

"Make this hawser fast about two feet above the tail block; see all
clear, and that the rope in the block runs free, and show signal to the
shore."

These instructions being obeyed, the result will be as shown in
Figure 2.

Take particular care that there are no turns of the whip line round
the hawser; to prevent this, take the end of the hawser UP BETWEEN the
parts of the wh ip before making it fast.

When the hawser is made fast, the whip cast off from the hawser,
and your signal seen by the life-saving crew, they will haul the hawser
taut and by means of the whip will haul off to your ship a breeches buoy
suspended from a traveler block, or a life car from rings, running on the
hawser.

90



January 28, 1915, when, in an economy move, consolidation of the
Revenue Cutter Service and the Life-Saving Service into the U.S. Coast
Guard was implemented by act of Congress. Principal organizational
changes that affected the former lifesaving stations included the
appointment of warrant officers as keepers and the enlistment of surfmen
with rank similarly accorded the Revenue Cutter Service. District
superintendents were commissioned in the Coast Guard. Benefits included
uniform allowances and a retirement system. Overall command fell to the
Coast Guard Commandant after the abolishment of the positions of general
superintendent and assistant general superintendent. Personnel stationed
at the former life-saving stations, however, were still charged with the
major task of rescuing sufferers of coastal maritime disasters.

The function of the life-saving stations was, of course, to save
lives. During the years of the Service, each station was manned by a
keeper and a crew of six or seven surfmen, the latter present only
during the active season. It was a compulsory task of the keeper to
maintain a daily journal in which was recorded the weather, particularly
periodic wind conditions, the number of vessels passing the station, the
names of all surfmen on duty, and any activity of the crew during the
day. In addition, the keeper carefully logged each beach patrol leaving
and returning to the station. The keeper remained at the station
throughout the year, although during the inactive season he was obliged
to stay on duty only between sunrise and sunset. After the beginning of
the active season the keeper was permitted one day off each week, if the
weather so permitted.

Under the direction of the keeper, the surfmen performed in a
trained, professional manner. Each man received a number and performed
specific tasks during drills and rescue emergencies. The Number One
surfman was deemed of such experience that he could take the place of
the keeper in the event of his absence or incapacity. The major and
regular routine task of the surfmen was patrol and watch duty. Stations
on the Atlantic coast stood between four and eight miles apart. Each
night at an appointed hour two surfmen began a lonely trek in opposite


APPENDIX A

Specifications of Labor and Materials Required to Erect
And Complete a Life-Saving Station [ca. 1873]
(NA, RG 26. Copy in the files of CAHA.)

CARPENTER'S WORK

Dimensions.

All measurements are to be strictly as figured on the plans; but
should the figured measurements be found to differ from the measurement
per scale, the same shall be referred to the Superintendent for
correction.

Timber.

All the timber for the foundation floor is to be of good sound pine.
The sills are to be six by eight (6 by 8) inches, laid on the flat. The
summer through the centre to be four by eight (4 by 8) inches, laid on
the flat. The beams are to be three by eight (3 by 8) inches, placed
twenty inches from centres and halved on to the sills, and well spiked to
the sills and to all studs where possible. All the timber above the first
story floor is to be of good sound pine, free from every objectionable
imperfection. The corner and centre posts are to be four by eight (4 by
8) inches; all window and door studs four by four (4 by 4) inches. The
ties and wall plates four by four (4 by 4) inches. The beams for the
second floor are to be three by eight (3 by 8) inches, placed twenty
inches from centres. Two lines of nailing girts are to be cut in between
the studding for the first story, and one line on the second story; these
girts to be three by three (3 by 3) inches pine. Three by six (3 by 6)
inch braces are to be framed or dovetailed into all angles that will admit.
The rafters are three by six (3 by 6) inches, placed two feet from
centres, with a two by six (2 by 6) inch collar beam, dovetailed each end
to all the rafters, eight feet above the floor of the loft. All the above
timber is to be planed all round and chamfered on all exposed corners;
and short sills placed to foot the braces upon, as shown on the plans.

Framing.

The whole is to be thoroughly framed, pinned, and spiked together
in the most workmanlike manner; the joints all cut square and drawn tight
on the inside.

73


APPENDIX B

Stations of 1874

Specifications
for
Repairs and Improvements to
ten Life-saving Stations in the
6th District [1885]

First Division: one at Cape Henry, Va.; one at Dam Neck Mills, Va.;
one at False Cape, Va.; and one at Whale's Head, N.C.

Second Division: one at Caffey's Inlet N.C.; one at Kitty Hawk, N.C.;
and one at Nags Head, N.C.

Third Division: one at Oregon Inlet, N.C.; one at Chicamicomico, N.C.;
and one at Little Kinnakeet, N.C.

General remarks.

The Contractor is to provide, at his own cost, all materials and labor
necessary to the full construction and completion of the entire work as
embraced in these specifications and the accompanying drawings.
Everything shown on the drawings or herein mentioned to form part of
the contract, the same as if it were particularly described or mentioned in
both plans and specifications.

All workmanship and material used must be of the best quality and
suitable for the respective places, and of white pine unless otherwise
particularly specified.

The Contractor must give due and satisfactory attention to the work at all
times during its progress, and see that the repairs and improvements are
constructed in the most careful manner, and according to the true intent
and meaning of the drawings and these specifications.

The dotted lines denote the old work the improvements are shown in full
lines.

The drawings are to be accurately followed according to their scale, but
figured dimensions are always to be preferred to scale dimensions. All
lumber and timber used to be free from sap, well seasoned, and of the
qualities mentioned.

The repairs and improvements are to be under the supervision and to the
entire satisfaction of such person or persons as may be designated by the

79




I. Significance

The Little Kinnakeet Life-Saving/Coast Guard Station is on Hatteras
Island within Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The station functioned
between 1874 and 1954, a period of eighty years, first as a component
unit of the United States Life-Saving Service (1874-1915), then as a
facility of the United States Coast Guard (1915-1954). Today, as part of
the National Seashore, the surviving structures of the Little Kinnakeet
complex exist on a 17.5-acre tract administered by the National Park
Service. The buildings number three and comprise the original station
erected in 1874, the station raised in 1904, and a kitchen/mess structure
originally built in 1892 but modified substantially in subsequent years.
The complex represents one of the few largely intact vestiges of this
historically important government service along the North Carolina Outer
Banks. The site has been deemed of sufficient value and integrity to
warrant its preservation and interpretation to the public. The complex is
further significant as representing the architecture of life-saving stations
of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Notably, the 1874
structure is one of only a few of that pattern extant, while the 1904
structure is one of four surviving of the bungalow style.

Under criteria of the regionwide cultural resources profile developed
by the Southeast Regional Office, the applicable categories of significance
pertaining to the Little Kinnakeet Life-Saving Station, based on primary
themes established in History and Prehistory in the National Park System
and the National Historic Landmarks Program (1982), are as follows:

Theme Number and Category of Significance Level of Significance
4. Major American Wars

4. The Home Front Local
7. America at Work

B. Commerce and Industry Regional

D. Transportation and Communication Regional

E. Architecture

6. Other Specialized National

9. Society and Social Conscience
B. Social and Humanitarian Movements
2. Humanitarian Movements National


When the individuals of the crew have become expert in the
performance of their several special duties, they are, in drill, to be
successively transferred, temporarily, to the performance of the duties of
each of the other members, until every man becomes proficient in the
particular duties of every position. This change is effected by making
each man, except the keeper, shift his station at the beach cart one
place, proceeding in the same direction as the hands of a watch move.
Thus, in the first change, No. 7 acts as No. 1, No. 1 as No. 3, No. 3
as No. 5, No. 5 as No. 6, No. 6 as No. 4, No. 4 as No. 2, and No. 2 as
No. 7. (See fig. 1.)

In many instances, after communication is made with a wreck, as
many as two or three hundred yards of shot line will be left in the box.
The keeper must be governed by circumstances as to the best method of
handling the surplus line. If there is no danger of the wreck going to
pieces, the spare line may be hauled on board the wreck, the shore end
being bent around the whip; but where great haste is necessary it must

e cut.

In service at a wreck the bight of the shot line should not be bent
around the whip, as the portion inshore is liable to foul the whip.

Instances may occur when a wreck is breaking up rapidly, and there
is not sufficient time to send off the whip and hawser, or the crew are
too much exhausted to haul the gear off. In such cases, after
communication is made by means of the shot line, that line should be cut,
and the shore end bent to a single part of the whip; when the end of the
whip has reached the wreck, the bight of the whip should be bent into
the slings of the buoy (block removed) so that the buoy may be pulled
off through the surf by the people on the wreck.

Work can be facilitated if, after the gear is set up and in working
order, a good man from one of the adjacent crews be sent off to the
wreck in the breeches buoy to superintend the work at the end, assist
the people into the buoy, etc.

When more than one crew are present, the adjacent crews will assist
in hauling off and setting up the hawser, hauling the buoy off and on,
and assisting the people from it.

Keepers are particularly directed to allow no interference in the
management of the apparatus from outside parties, but may accept their
assistance in hauling on ropes, etc.

When the life car is to be used in drill, where the drill ground is
over water, it should be substituted for the breeches buoy and be hauled
to and from the wreck pole upon the hawser in the same manner as the
buoy, the hawser being rove through the eye of each bail and the whip
line made fast to the bails as follows: Take two half hitches with a bight
of the whip around the outer bail under the eye, carry the whip to the
inner bail and make it fast with at as before, having the bail upright,
and the whip between them taut, for a span. In addition to this, the

107


narrow pine flooring boards one and a quarter inches thick, and planed
and beaded both sides, nailed horizontally to three by four (3 by 4) inch
studs, placed four feet from centres.

Closets.

A closet under the stairs that leads to the loft and a door to the
same to be constructed; also, two other closets with ceiling boards, one
of which is to have three drawers and two shelves, the other, five
portable shelves.

Stairs.

A flight of pine steps to the loft to be made as shown on the plans,
and enclosed with pine beaded ceiling, tongued and grooved boards. The
treads and strings are to be one and a quarter inches thick and the
risers one inch. A step-ladder to the lookout to be constructed of hard
pine, in the best manner.

Table.

A table of pine to be constructed, the top one inch thick and 3 by 5
feet in size, and to be fitted with a drawer in each end.

Four cedar skids to lead from the double doors, the same to be
planked with 2-inch plank; all other doors to have steps provided.

Hardware.

All the hardware not otherwise specified shall be of the best quality
for the place and purpose used and in all cases to be galvanized. All the
locks for the outside doors are to be 9-inch rim locks made of wood and
brass, and the keys at least 6 inches long and 2 inches broad; and one
dozen heavy galvanized harness hooks are to be placed in the boatroom,
and T-iron holdfasts are to be placed to all timbers when so directed by
the Superintendent.

77


Stoves, heating, "Trojan" No. 25 (wood), with 1 collar
joint, 6-inch, No. 18 galvanized iron, to connect
with 6-inch galvanized iron stovepipe

Stoves, heating, "Universal Radiator" No. 3 (hard or soft
coal), with 1 collar joint, 6-inch, No. 18 galvanized
iron, to connect with 6-inch galvanized iron
stovepipe

Stoves, heating, "World's Leader" No. 114 (hard coal),
with 1 collar joint, 6-inch, No. 18, galvanized iron,
to connect with 6-inch galvanized iron stovepipe

Zinc, sheet, 9 gauge

(Size 36 x 42 inches, average weight about 7 lbs.
Size 36 x 84 inches, average weight about 14 lbs.)

Zinc boards, No. 9 zinc, square, 36 x 80 inches (for
heating stoves)

Zinc boards, No. 9 zinc, oblong, 32 x 42 inches (for
cooking stoves)

Tools.
Augers, carpenter, best steel, %-inch, handled, with nut,
Russell Jenning's or Pugh's

Augers, carpenter, best steel, 1 inch, handled, with
nut. Russell Jennings's or Pugh's

Augers, carpenter, best steel, 14-inch, handled, with
nut, Russell Jennings's or Pugh's

Augers, carpenter, best steel, 2-inch, handled, with
nut, Russell Jennings's or Pugh's

Awls, brad, best steel, shouldered, 1/8-inch, without
handles

Axes, broad, Collins & Co.'s or Beatty's, best steel
faced, 8% to 94 inch cut, handled

Axes, felling, 5-pound, handled, Ogden's "Yankee"
Ax handles (broadax), extra hickory, all white, polished

Ax handles (felling ax), extra hickory, all white,
polished, 32-inch

184

each

each

each

per pound

each

each

each

each

each

each

per dozen

each
each

each

each



Fig. 10.--Manner in which whip is attached to breeches buoy.

103


a steam tug or revenue cutter will, if requested, be telegraphed for to
the nearest port, where facilities for telegraphing exist.

All services are performed by the life-saving crews without other
compensation than their wages from the Government, and they are strictly
forbidden to solicit or receive rewards.

Destitute seafarers are provided with food and lodgings at the
nearest station by the Government as long as necessarily detained by the
circumstances of shipwreck.

The station crews patrol the beach from two to four miles each side
of their stations four times between sunset and sunrise, and if the
weather is foggy the patrol is continued through the day.

Each patrolman carries Coston signals. Upon discovering a vessel
standing into danger he ignites one of them, which emits a brilliant red
flame of about two minutes' duration, to warn her off, or, should the
vessel be ashore, to let the crew know that they are discovered and
assistance is at hand.

If the vessel is not discovered by the patrol, immediately after
striking, rockets or flare-up lights should be burned, or, if the weather
be foggy, guns should be fired to attract attention, as the patrolman may
be some distance away on the other part of his beat.

Masters are particularly cautioned, if they should be driven ashore
anywhere in the neighborhood of the stations, especially on any of the
sandy coasts, where there is not much danger of vessels breaking up
immediately, to remain on board until assistance arrives, and under no
circumstances should they attempt to land through the surf in their own
boats until the Tast hope of assistance from the shore has vanished.
Often when comparatively smooth at sea a dangerous surf is running,
which is not perceptible four hundred yards offshore, and the surf, when
viewed from a vessel, never appears so dangerous as it is. Many lives
have unnecessarily been lost by the crews of stranded vessels being thus
deceived and attempting to land in the ship's boats.

The difficulties of rescue by operations from the shore are greatly
increased in cases where the anchors are let go after entering the
breakers, as is frequently done, and the chances of saving life
correspondingly lessened.

88



Fire bricks for 1885 "Prize Jewel" range
(Style B, No. 87-18)

Fire bricks for "Garland" No. 9

Fire bricks for "F & W Oak" No. 190

Fire bricks for "Hallett" caboose No. 3

Fire bricks for "Hub Heater" No. 30

Fire bricks for "Irving" No. 4

Fire bricks for "Jewett" range No. 93

Fire bricks for $.S. Jewett & Co.'s range No. 90
Fire bricks for "Granite Peninsular" range No. 8 21
Fire bricks for "Model Grand" range No. 8 20

Fire bricks for "Peerless Universal" range No. 8 20
Fire bricks for "New Sterling" range No. 81

Grates for Chad's steel plate portable French range
No. 8 x 20

Griddles, oblong or round, bailed or handled 18-inch

Heads, Liverpool, No. 18 galvanized iron, sizes as
required, with saddle for roof, and 30 feet No. 16
galvanized iron wire

Heads, Liverpool, No. 18 galvanized iron, sizes as
required, without saddle for roof, with 30 feet
No. 16 galvanized iron wire

Kettles, tea, iron, galvanized, 7-inch, pit bottom

Kettles, tea, iron, galvanized, 8-inch, pit bottom

Kettles, tea, iron, galvanized, 9-inch, pit bottom

Ladles, deep, solid, tinned iron, retinned, 3-3/4-inch,
14-inch flat handles with hooks

Mica, for stoves, clear, sizes as required

Pans, bake, round, wrought iron, polished 2 quarts,
8% x 2% inches

176

per set

per set
per set
per set
per set
per set
per set
per set
per set
per set
per set

per set

each

each

per pound

per pound
each
each

each

each

per ounce

each



Steamers, IXXX tin, raised cover in one piece, new style,
9-inch each

Stove polish, Dixon's, "Rising Sun," or "Phoenix," per dozen papers
Stove copper lifters, cast iron, japanned, 10-inch each

Stoves, cooking, "Beaver" range No. 8 21, for coal or
wood as required, single oven, reservoir, with
furniture complete, including 1 wash boiler, 1 iron
pot and cover, 1 iron kettle, 1 iron teakettle, 1
dipper, 1 square tin pan for bread, 1 drip pan,
1 spider, 1 shovel, 1 poker, 1 griddle, 1 round
tin pan for pudding, 1 collar joint, 6-inch. No. 18
galvanized iron, to connect with 6-inch galvanized
iron stovepipe each

Stoves, cooking, "Beaver" range No. 8 21, for coal or
wood as required, single oven, reservoir, 1 collar
joint, 6-inch No. 18 galvanized iron to connect with
6-inch galvanized iron stovepipe without furniture each

Stoves, cooking. Buck's "Regal" range No. 82 B, for
coal or wood as required, single oven, heavy inside
white enameled reservoir attached, with furniture
complete, including 1 iron pot, ground; 1 iron kettle,
ground; 1 iron teakettle, ground; 1 iron spider,
ground; 1 iron cake griddle, ground; 2 tin pot
covers; 1 granite dipper; 1 granite bread pan,
10 x 16 inches; 1 drip pan. 12 x 17 inches; 1 iron
shovel; 1 iron poker; 1 granite pudding pan, round,
8 quart; 1 copper-bottom wash boiler; 1 collar joint,
6 inch, No. 18 galvanized iron, to connect with 6-inch
galvanized-iron stovepipe each

Stoves, cooking, Buck's "Regal" range No. 83 B, for coal
or wood as required, single oven, heavy inside white
enameled reservoir attached, 1 collar joint, 6-inch,
No. 18 galvanized iron, to connect with 6-inch
galvanized-iron stovepipe, without furniture each

Stoves, cooking, 1885 "Crawford" range No. 8, with lining
for coal or wood, as required, single oven, reservoir,
with furniture complete, including 1 wash boiler, 1
iron pot and cover, 1 iron kettle and cover, 1
teakettle, 2 bake pans, 1 wire broiler, 1 tin dipper,
1 iron spider, 1 griddle, 1 poker, 1 shovel, 2 bread
pans, 1 collar joint, 6 inch. No. 18 galvanized iron,
to connect with 6-inch galvanized iron stovepipe each

179


shingled gable roof and board and batten siding. It is not known if it
was adorned with ornamental scrollwork.(3) Probably the color of the
outside was the same as that of the station. Kimball denied a proposal to
purchase heating stoves for the former mess rooms now converted into
station sitting rooms, requiring that the cook stoves instead be removed
back to the station proper during the cold season. When District
Superintendent J.W. Etheridge urged that the cook houses be painted
inside and out “as early as possible" at a projected cost of $20 per
station, Kimball, citing limited appropriations, countered that only the
exterior of the structures be immediately painted.(4) Probably the cook
house was built a short distance away from the station. A ca. 1890s
photo shows a structure with a shingled gable roof standing several yards
beyond the 1885 lean-to addition. Although unidentified, it is possible
that this building was the new cook house.

In April, 1893, the crew at Little Kinnakeet painted the window
frames of the new cook house. Early the next year rising waters forced
relocation of the cook house, along with the station and outbuildings, a
short distance inland. In April, 1897, plans for painting the interior of
the cook house failed when Hooper discovered that he lacked enough
white lead for the job. In September, 1898, however, Hooper succeeded
in building new steps for the entrance to the structure.(5)

1900s. In April, 1900, on the direction of Assistant Superintendent
of Construction Andre Fourchey, the crew placed new lights in the

3. "Little Kinnakeet L.B. Station, Proposed Alterations & Additions,"
March 19, 1945. Copy in the map file of CAHA; Photograph, "Little
Kinnakeet Station," March 9, 1934. Fifth C. G. Dist. Copy in the files
of CAHA.

4. Kimball to Superintendent, Sixth District, December 29, 1892.
Ibid.; Etheridge to Kimball, December 20, 1892. Ibid.

5. Log entry for April 5, 1893. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder,
"Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1890-1893"; Hooper to Lieutenant J.C. Cantwell,
April 29, 1897. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet
Inspection Reports"; Log entry for September 28, 1898. NA, RG 26.
Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1894-1899."

56



In consequence of the plant facility, electric light fixtures were
placed throughout the building. At the same time as this construction
took place, other modifications were made to the station. With the
northward extension of the crew lavatory, a partition was shifted about 2
feet north from the former south end of the room. This change allowed
greater space for the toilet of the officer-in-charge, whose bedroom
adjoined to the south. On completion of the work, the crew lavatory
room contained two toilets, two showers, and two sinks, and a new
window was installed in the west wall. A new floor, covered with
linoleum, replaced that of the former porch. The toilet of the
officer-in-charge likewise contained a shower as well as a sink. His
bedroom had a closet, with door, built in the northwest corner, as well
as a new linoleum floor. In the crew sleeping room minor changes were
made, consisting of placement of linoleum flooring and removal of an
ordnance locker from the northeast corner of the room. _ Similarly,
linoleum was laid in the assembly room, now called the day room, and in
the office, where the ordnance locker was relocated in the northeast
corner. Changes in the pump room, located beneath the room of the
officer-in-charge, included replacement of a gasoline-powered pump with
two electric water pumps placed on a concrete base 2 feet high, and
installation of a 220-gallon pressure tank. (42)

Beyond the addition of electric light fixtures, few changes were
made to the second floor dormitory, despite earlier calls for its
partitioning into rooms. A new wood floor was proposed, and this,
perhaps, was completed. In the spare bedroom beneath the watch tower
room, two shower stalls previously installed were removed, while the
watch tower room floor received a new linoleum surface. Outside the
station near the northwest corner a new two-unit lidded septic tank was
placed, connected to the building via a 4-inch line. A drainage field
adjoined the tank running in a northwestwardly direction. (43)

42. Ibid.
43. Ibid.

52



a vermillion color known as James River red, was accomplished by William
T. Harding of Norfolk.(7)

The tract upon which the Little Kinnakeet Station stood was formally
acquired by the federal government only after the construction was
completed. Land acquisition occurred under provision of an Act of
Congress of March, 1875, authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to
obtain "by donation or purchase . . . the right to use and occupy sites"
for purposes of the Life-Saving Service. Two days after the legislation
passed Congress Captain Merryman transmitted to Secretary of the
Treasury Benjamin H. Bristow a lease acquired from Allen and Fanny
Gray of Dale County for the land on which the Little Kinnakeet Station
was located. Most likely the beachfront tract measured close to an acre
and was laid apart by cedar stakes at the corners.(8)

Maintenance and repairs to the Little Kinnakeet Station began soon
after construction finished. The location of the building on the sand
beach made the structure susceptible to the action of severities in the
weather of the outer banks. Blowing sand necessitated frequent
painting, for example, and windstorms and the effects of seasonal
hurricanes often took their toll on the building. From regular entries
logged in the keeper's journal at Little Kinnakeet, a fairly complete
record of all structural and cosmetic changes can be ascertained. For
ease of reference, these changes have been arranged below according to
year.

7. Specifications for 1874 life-saving stations; Photographs, ca. 1900, of
Little Kinnakeet Station. Copies in the files of CAHA; Irene Jackson
Henry and William Henry, "Little Kinnakeet Life Saving Station: An
Analysis and Program for Restoration" (unpublished, undated manuscript
in the library of CAHA), n.p.; Superintendent of Life-Saving Stations,
Sixth District, to Secretary of the Treasury, September 8, 1877. NA,
RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "6th District Repairs and Construction."

8. Merryman to Bristow, March 5, 1875. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA

folder, "Little Kinnakeet--Title, Deed; Undated indenture (post-March 3,
1875) from Little B. Midgette. NA, RG 26. Ibid.

14




the district superintendent reported on the need for seven panes of
window glass to replace those that were cracked or broken.(25)

1924. At the outset of the year the Coast Guard solicited proposals
for building a lavatory at the Little Kinnakeet Station. The successful
bidder was William W. Sawyer of Elizabeth City, who proposed to install
one for $25.00. Presumably, the construction followed shortly, although
the precise date of installation of the lavatory has not been determined.
It seems to have been placed in the room adjoining the crew bedroom on
the west.

The remainder of the year was spent in the performance of usual
maintenance requirements. The glass in the front door of the station had
to be replaced in May, and in July the crew repaired the plaster in the
sitting room (former assembly room). An inspection report dated in
September indicated that the general condition of the station was
"Excellent to good."(26)

1926, 1927, and 1928. No identifiable maintenance was performed on
the station in 1925. In May, 1926, the crew painted woodwork white on
the outside of the building. A year later the men repaired the gutters
around the station; requests were submitted for new downspouts. In
March, 1928, the brick cistern beneath the station was cleaned, and

25. Log entries for May 7, 10 and 11, 1923. Ibid.; Superintendent,
Seventh District, to Commandant, December 31, 1923. NA, RG 26.
Microfilm copy in the files of CAHA.

26. Commandant to Superintendent, Seventh District, January 11(?),
1924. Ibid.; Superintendent, Seventh District, to Commandant,
January 26, 1924. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet
Repairs"; Commandant to Superintendent, Seventh District, May 22, 1924.
NA, RG 26. Microfilm copy in the files of CAHA; Log entry for July 17,
1924. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs,
1921-1924"; Inspection report, September 20, 1924. NA, RG 26.
Microfilm copy in the files of CAHA.

43


corrected as far as possible by the crew," no major repairs had been
made. He further advised that the roof shingles were rotten and needed
replacement, and that the entire building be raised three feet, probably
to protect it against flooding. McCabe here mentioned raising the "floor
of cellar" by the "same amount." A pump room had been built beneath
the station, at least as early as 1917. (The pump room, as indicated on
a 1945 plat, measured approximately 14 feet square, had brick walls and a
concrete floor, and contained a pressure tank and a gasoline-operated
pump. , The room was 5 feet 4 inches in height and had a trap door
entrance on the inside. An exterior entrance on the south side was
added between 1936 and 1944. Windows were in the south and west
sides.) McCabe reiterated the need for a heating and lighting plant, and
further suggested converting the office space, along with a section of the
"dormitory" into another washroom. "Ceilings and sanitary places," said
McCabe, "are still painted spar color." On May 28, Brady reported that
the ceilings "will be painted white in accordance with instructions."
Indeed, this project may already have been underway, for on May 24 the
acting officer-in-charge noted that the crew had spent one and one-half
hours painting the inside of the station. (33)

Other maintenance performed on the Little Kinnakeet station included
repainting the porch floor late in June and tearing plaster from the walls
of the station in September. In November Inspector McCabe again visited
the station and reported that the ground floor ceilings had all been
painted white. He further stated that the building was to be reshingled
with "ready dipped" shingles "of the regulation red color." Plans were
also in progress for building a new privy (after the old one blew down

33. Log entry for April 23, 1934. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder,
"Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1933-1936"; McCabe to Inspector, Eastern Area,
May 15, 1934. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet
Inspection Reports"; Brady to Inspector in Chief, May 28, 1934. Ibid.;
Log entry for May 24, 1934. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little
Kinnakeet Logs, 1933-1936." For layout of the pump room, see "Little
Kinnakeet Station. Proposed Alterations & Additions," March 19, 1945.
Copy in the map file of CAHA.

47


Cornices.

The cornices all around the building to be constructed of good
merchantable pine, strictly as shown in detail, and likewise the lookout
platform on the roof.

Foundation.

Piers to be constructed not less than two feet square, of good
durable stone, laid up in clean, sharp sand and hydraulic cement mortar,
to rest the sills and summer upon. These piers are to be not more than
five feet from centres, and started three feet below the surface of the
ground (as it is to be graded) on a hard bottom, and to be topped out
on a level line, so that the shortest pier will be one foot above ground on
all sloping sites, and one foot and six inches above ground on all level
sites. Each corner and centre pier (six in all) is to have a 5/8 anchor
rod, not less than three feet long, built in the wall to bolt the sills to; a
large washer to be on the bottom and a nut and washer on the top. Or
on sand beaches, where the Superintendent so directs, the foundation
shall be as follows: The sills and summer are to rest on red-cedar posts
not less than six inches diameter, stripped of the bark and placed in the
ground four feet. They are not to be more than five feet from centres,
cut square and level one and a half feet above the surface of the ground.
The posts are to be flatted on the outside, and boarded with pine boards
placed horizontally. The sills are to be securely spiked, or otherwise
fastened to every foundation post in a manner satisfactory to the
Superintendent.

Floors.

The floor of the first story is to be of two thicknesses tongued and
grooved narrow yellow-pine boards, one inch thick, well and thoroughly
nailed to every beam with lap joints. The floor of the loft is to be
narrow pine, double-face tongued and grooved; flooring boards, beaded
on the under side, and well double-nailed. The lookout platform to be
floored same as described for the first story, with the joints
white-leaded.

Partitions.

The first story and the loft are each to be divided with one
partition, as shown on the plans, of good quality, tongued and grooved

76



Date

Name and nationality of vessel

Station and locality

Nature of casualty and service rendered

Jan. 10

May 20

Aug. 10

Sept. 2

July 26

Sailboat Southern Girl.

Am. sc. S.G. Hart

Am. sc. H.P. Brown

1898

Little Kinnakeet, North
Carolina.

Little Kinnakeet, North
Carolina.

Little Kinnakeet, North
Carolina.

Little Kinnakeet, North
Carolina.

1899

Little Kinnakeet, North
Carolina.

138

Shortly before sunrise the patrol burned his
red light to a schooner apparently aground;
she soon gathered headway and stood off to
sea.

Pivot pin to centerboard broke, and the boat
filled and sank in Pamlico Sound, about 2
miles NW. of the station. Surfmen pulled out
and took her cargo of lumber into their boat,
then freed her of water, fitted a new pin and
hung the centerboard. ‘The boat now being
tight, they put the lumber back on board and
she proceeded to Buxton.

Stranded about 3/4 mile NE. of station, on
outer reef. Patrolman, who discovered her
at 3 a.m., immediately burned a Coston
signal and reported the casualty to the
keeper. Life-savers at once launched surf-
boat and pulled out to stranded vessel. Her
master at first declined to leave her, as he
thought that she and the cargo might be
saved, but he soon found that she was
rapidly filling, and was glad to avail himself
of the chance to get on shore. Surfboat took
six seamen to the beach, with all their per-
sonal property; then returned to wreck and
took off captain and mate, with their belong-
ings and the ship's nautical instruments.

The crews from Big Kinnakeet and Gull Shoal
stations had now arrived, also the live-saving
team of horses, and were ready to give
assistance. Saved small boat from the wreck,
and carted all the property and the surfboat
to station with the team. On the following
day the surfmen helped the master land
stores from the wreck in the schooner's boat,
the surf having smoothed down. Sheltered
and fed crew from the wreck at the station
for six days before they were transported

to their homes.

Sunset patrol burned a Coston signal and
warned off a schooner that was heading in
dangerously close to the beach.

Bottom stove by striking a sunken obstruc-
tion in Croatan Sound. Keeper and crew
went to her assistance and aided in moving
her cargo ashore. Then took the schooner
to the marine railway for repairs


hull; “only confused wreckage in the boiling surf." The wreck stuff,
which consisted of some spars and other debris, did not drift away in the
tremendous southerly current then running, from which it would seem
that it was held fast by rigging to submerged parts of the vessel.

The surfmen were disposed up and down the beach in readiness to
take from the surf any survivors or bodies that might be cast up.
Nothing more could be done in the circumstances. Those in command on
the beach having satisfied themselves after a period of watching that
there was no hope of saving any of the ship's company, the service crews
separated and returned to their stations.

The officer who investigated this disaster was on the beach the day
following its occurrence. His report contains the following with respect
to the state of the sea and what he observed in the locality of the wreck:

The surf was still so high and powerful as far out as the outer
bar as to preclude any attempt to launch a boat, even under
the guidance of the most able crew. The tremendous combers
crashed on the beach with irresistible force, presenting, as
they broke, not the curling, concave front so familiar, but
simply dropping down in vertical walls.

All that remained of the vessel were two spars on the outer
bar, about 600 yards offshore, one, apparently a mast, lying
horizontally with some top hamper at one end, and the other, a
smaller timber like a broken lower boom, standing vertically.
Both timbers were moving, but were evidently attached to some
object under water, since they remained practically in one
position.

Continuing our progress southward we found one of the
quarter-boards of the vessel with her name upon it. A little
farther along a large portion of her half-breadth hull had been
washed up, and at a distance of probably a mile from the wreck
the entire breadth of her stern, with some 20 feet of the
forward frame attached to it, had come ashore. On this was
painted "Frances of New York." An _ examination of these
several groups of timbers showed that they were rotten at the
ends and near the fastenings.

As there were no survivors, what took place aboard the vessel
before she came ashore, or what circumstance, or combination of
circumstances, brought misfortune upon her can only be conjectured.
The investigating officer ventures the following hypotheses as within the
range of possibility: First, that the vessel may have become waterlogged
and in danger of sinking from previous stress of weather, and as a last
desperate hazard her master tried to beach her to save the crew; second,
that he might have thought he had passed the Diamond Shoals, and
consequently hauled more to the wind to come under the lee of the land
and lay his course to his destination, thus unknowingly getting too close
inshore; or, third, he may have been in entire ignorance of his

131


on local conditions and style preferences as well as on individual builder
preferences. (1)

Twenty-three life-saving stations were constructed in 1874 according
to specifications. The architectural drawings for the 1874 style stations
were probably prepared in the office of the Supervising Architect of the
Treasury Department. While the identity of the originator of the 1874
design has not been precisely determined, it is likely the architect was
Francis Ward Chandler, who served at that office and who prepared
subsequent plans for stations erected after 1874. Chandler, as a student
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, had worked for a Boston
architectural concern noted for its advocacy of the Victorian Gothic style.
Chandler later studied in Paris and taught at M.I.T. before joining the
Treasury Department office in 1871. Subsequently, Chandler returned to
Boston to join a partnership in 1875. Still later he became chairman of
the Department of Architecture at M.I.T., and in 1889 was appointed a
fellow of the American Institute of Architects. Chandler died in 1926.(2)

The process of establishing a life-saving station began with
Congressional appropriation of the requisite funding. This was followed
by a survey to locate an appropriate site for the proposed construction.
The site was either purchased or donated for government use, and
building activity followed. Most stations located along sandy stretches
were built sufficiently back from the shoreline to accommodate the shifting
sands and rising waters that could often threaten the structure.
Outbuildings associated with the station usually included a storage shed,
a wood or coal shed, a well house, a privy, and perhaps an additional

1. Eugene V. York, "The Architecture of the United States Life-Saving
Stations" (unpublished master's thesis dated 1983, Boston University),
pp. 13-17.

2. Ibid.; pp. 17-20.


Nov. 11

1887

Feb. 4

1891

Jan. 3
Feb. 5

Dec. 17

1892

Feb. 22
Feb. 26
June 28

Nov. 27

1893
Feb. 5

Feb. 20

1897
Aug. 31

May 20

Two and a half miles north
of Gull Shoal station.

One mile south-southwest of
station

Pamlico Sound, 3 miles west of
station.

Tour and a half miles south-
southwest of station.

Two and a half miles south-
southwest of station

Tour miles north of station.
Pamlico Sound, three-quarters

of a mile south-southwest of
station.

Pamlico Sound, 24 miles west-
northwest of station

Pamlico Sound, 24 miles west
of station.

Pamlico Sound, 24 miles west
of station.

Cross Shoals, three miles
north-northwest of station.

Three miles west of station.
Pamlico Sound, three and

one-half miles north-northwest
of station.

Two and one-quarter miles
south of Little Kinnakeet.

One-half mile south-southeast
of Gull Shoal Station.

Two miles west of station.

Two and one-half miles west-
southwest of station.

Pamlico Sound, three and
one-half miles north-northwest
of station.

Two and one-half miles north
of Little Kinnakeet Station.

Three miles west by south of
station

Two miles northwest of station.

Gull Shoal, Little Kinnakeet,
Chicamacomico, and New Inlet.

Little Kinnakeet

Little Kinnakeet

Little Kinnakeet

Little Kinnakeet

Little Kinnakeet

Little Kinnakeet

Little Kinnakeet

Little Kinnakeet

Little Kinnakeet

Little Kinnakeet

Little Kinnakeet

Little Kinnakeet

Little Kinnakeet, Gull Shoal,
and Big Kinnakeet.

Gull Shoal, Chicamacomico, and
Little Kinnakeet.

Little Kinnakeet

Little Kinnakeet

Little Kinnakeet

Little Kinnakeet, Gull Shoal,
and Big Kinnakeet.

Little Kinnakeet

Little Kinnakeet

APPENDIX G

Table of Wrecks Involving Assistance by the Little Kinnakeet Crew, 1883-1902
Compiled from the annual reports of the United States Life-Saving Service, 1883-1903.

Name of vessel/Where owned.

Sc. Edward Stuart/Bangor, Me.

Sc. Adamant/New Berne, N.C.

Sc. H.P. Brown/Cape Hatteras, N.C.

Sc. Vennor/New Berne, N.C.
Sc. Ella/New Berne, N.C.

Sc. Excellent/Hatteras, N.C.

Sc. Willie T./New Berne, N.C.

Sc. Avoset/Hatteras, N.C
Sch. Vennor/New Berne, N.C.

Sch. Fox/Elizabeth City, N.C.

Sl. Edith 8./Hatteras, N.C.
Sc. Willie T./Newbern, N.C.

Sc. Annie C. Thomas/Newbern, N.C.

Sc. Annie E. Pierce/Somers Point
N.J.
Sc. Freddie Hencken/New York City

Sc. Ospray/Newbern, N.C.

Sc. J.B. Atlett/Cape Hatteras, N.C.

Sc. Topaz/Hatteras, N.

Sc. Nathan Esterbrook, Jr./
New Haven, Conn.

Sc. Little Sampson/Newbern, N.C.

Sailboat Southern Girl/Edenton, N.C.

Master.

Harlow

Gray

Gray

Miller

Williams

Gray

Price

Gray

O'Neal

Price

Somers

Mills

Jennett

Kelsey

Miller

Tonnage.

378

93

345

n3

Where from/Where bound.

Turk's Island W.1./Baltimore, Md.

Elizabeth City, N.C./Big
Kinnakeet, N.C.

Elizabeth City, N.C./Big
Kinnakeet, N.C.

Edenton/Big Kinnakeet N.C.

Edenton/Big Kinnakeet N.C

Elizabeth City/Big Kinnakeet, N.

Elizabeth City/Hatteras, N.C.
Elizabeth City/Kinnakeet, N.C.

Elizabeth City to Big Kinnakeet,
N.C.

Bogue Inlet, N.C./New Bedford,
Mass.

New York City/James River, Va.

Roanoke/Cape Hatteras, N.C.

Elizabeth City/Little Kinnakeet,
N.C.

New York City/Savannah, Ga.

Elizabeth City/Hatteras, N.C.

Gourd Hills/Buxton, N.C.

Cargo.

Salt

Fish

Fish and wood.

Corn and
merchandise

Coal

Wood, corn and
meal.

Poles

Lumber

General

General

Guano

General

Lumber

25,000

500

700

150

165

4,000

15,000

250
250

450

20,000

400

150

1,200

170

38

25

175

325

35,000

15

Total.

26,200

670

1,050

1,100

150
700

150

500

9200
825

520

4,600
15,000

250
425

715

55,000

165

26,

100

670

900

150
700

150

550

500

825

520

255

175
425

165

50

200

4,345

15,000

15

55,000

148

141


1940s. The Little Kinnakeet Station lay dormant over the next few
years. During World War II the complex was reactivated for use as a
lifeboat station, and in January, 1943, an official "plat plan" was
prepared. But the station remained inactive as late as December, 1944,
and major renovation of the property did not occur until 1945, when many
of the recommendations proposed years earlier were implemented. Besides
the addition of two large wooden tanks, which were set upon a concrete
support raised adjacent to the north rear of the building, the principal
change comprised the installation of a lighting and heating plant facility
at the north side of the west end of the station. This construction
required the removal of the remainder of the west side porch. That part
of the veranda became enclosed as a prolongation of the crewmen's
lavatory and toilet, an alteration that required the relocation of a window
in the west end of the crew sleeping room to a new position at the north
end of the new toilet addition.

The plant facility, which partly adjoined the lavatory, measured 21
feet 6 inches long (east-west) by approximately 18 feet long
(north-south). In the southwest corner was a coal bin, 8 feet 2 inches
by about 10 feet. Across from the coal bin, in the southeast section,
was the heater, or furnace room, which also contained a hot water
heater, storage tank, and new chimney. The north half of the addition
contained the generator room, complete with generators and battery racks
for storing the charge. The plant facility had a concrete floor. Doors
were located on the north and south sides, and a hinged coal door was on
the west side near the southwest corner. The plant addition required a
new roof addition. This was built to conform to the building's existing
hip style and was covered with wood shingles. A 6-inch-wide galvanized
metal gutter encompassed the plant addition roof as it did that of the rest
of the building. A concrete cap topped the new chimney. (41)

41. "Little Kinnakeet Station. Proposed Alterations & Additions,"
March 19, 1945. 3 sheets. Copy in the map file of CAHA.

51




Needles, sail, Smith's, No. 14

hundred

Needles, sail, Smith's

hundred

Oars, best ash, ends
copper, 7-foot

Oars, best ash, ends
copper, 8-foot

Oars, best ash, ends
copper, 9-foot

Oars, best ash, ends
copper, 10-foot

Oars, best ash, ends
copper, 11-foot

Oars, best ash, ends
copper, 13-foot

Oars, best ash, ends
copper, 14-foot

Oars, best ash, ends
copper, 15-foot

Oars, best ash, ends
copper, 16-foot

Oars, sweeps, best ash, ends of blades strapped with 11
ounce yellow metal, 18-foot

Oars, sweeps, best ash, ends of blades strapped with 14

, No. 16

of blades

of blades

of blades

of blades

of blades

of blades

of blades

of blades

of blades

strapped with 12-ounce
strapped with 12-ounce
stapped with 12 ounce

strapped with 14 ounces
strapped with 14 ounce
strapped with 14 ounce
strapped with 14 ounce
strapped with 11

ounce

strapped with 11 ounce

ounces yellow metal, 20-foot

Oars, sweeps, best ash, ends of blades strapped with 14
ounce yellow metal, 22-foot

Oil polish, Bertram's, in 1-quart cans

Pails, "Star," indurated fiber, about 12 quarts

Pails, water, No. 22 galvanized iron, 14-quart

Pails, fire, No. 22, galvanized iron, cane bottom,

14-quart

170

per

per

per foot

per foot
per foot
per foot
per foot
per foot
per foot
per foot
per foot
per foot

per foot

per foot
per quart
each

each

each



Proceedings of Board of Survey, January 15, 1904:

1 axe, chopping; 2 tin basins; 1 beach light; 7 blankets, new
pattern; 2 brushes, dust; 1 brush, stove; 1 water bucket, cedar; 5
charts, coast; 2 dippers, tin; 1 grindstone; 1 haversack; 1 lamp
feeder, tin; 1 kettle, tea, galvanized; 1 padlock, brass; 10 mattress
covers; % gallon red paint; 1 bake pan, tin; 1 ham boiler; 10 pillow
covers.

Log entry, February 19, 1907:

Received--1 rake, garden; 6 lbs. paste polish; 1 box soap, white,
60 Ibs.; 50 lbs. lead, white in oil, 4 gallons oil, boiled; 10 lbs.
putty; 10 lbs. tints, 6 cans; 8 cans Indian red; 5 gallons
turpentine; 1 dozen stove polish; 1 dozen files, saw, 5-inch; 1
thermometer; 1 gross matches; 5 window shades, 4 x 8, 2 x 7; 16
window shades, 5 x 10-3-6.

Log entry, January 11, 1909:

Received--12 brooms, corn, 1 dish, vegetable, cover; 1 flour sieve,
tin; 1 table oil cloth; 24 B & H chimneys; 3 lbs. halyards, no. 7,
braided; 1 spoke shank; 24 boxes axle grease; 1 beach lantern; 1
gross matches; 250 lbs. lead, white, in oil; 16 lbs. paint, blind
green; 25 lbs. zinc, white, in oil; 2 lbs. paint, black; 15 gallons
oil, raw linseed; 4 brushes, paint, round.

Log entry, August 9, 1914:

Received--100 lbs. white lead; 6 brooms; 12 sheets emery cloth; 1
bar solder; 1 lb. tacks, copper; 1 food chopper; 1 gross safety
matches; 2 pans, dish, 17 quarts; 1 pan, roast; 1 pot, coffee, 2
gallons; 40 bars soap; 2 table oilcloths; 12 lamp wicks; 1 lb. glue; 6
dampers; 4 elbows, 6-inch; 12 boxes stove polish; 1 stove, heating,
Trojan no. 25; 2 sheets zinc; 6 files, saw, 7-inch; 1 plane, jack; 1
plane, smoothing; 1 saw, hand; 1 saw, rip; 1 saw, wood; 100
cartridge bags, red; 1 clock, time, 8-day; 2 flags, American ensign;
5 lbs. paint, Indian red; 24 lbs. blind green; 10 lbs. powder.

194




Burners, lantern, No. 1, tubular (long cone and long

shaft for No. 0 reflector lantern) per dozen
Chimneys, No. 0, for B & H, lamp, per sample per dozen
Chimneys, No. 2, for B & H, lamp per dozen

Chimneys, No. 0, "Pearl Top" or "Pearl Glass" per
sample per dozen

Chimneys,. No. 1, "Pearl Top" or "Pearl Glass" per
sample per dozen

Chimneys, No. 2, "Pearl Top" or "Pearl Glass" per
sample per dozen

Globes, green, for "Dietz" No. 0, lift-wire, tubular
lanterns, with guards per dozen

Globes, ruby, for "Dietz" No. 0, lift wire, tubular
lanterns, with guards per dozen

Globes, white, for "Dietz" No. 0, lift-wire, tubular
lanterns, with guards per dozen

Lamps, hand, metal, kerosene, central draft, No. 0
burner, complete, with chimney each

Lamps, hanging, brown or brass finish, length 29 inches,
with metal rings, 1 quart metal font, central draft,
with chimney, burner, smoke bell, tin shade, and
screw hook, iron, wire bossed, brown or brass finish,
3 inches from boss to point of screw, complete each

Lamps, table, metal, kerosene, central draft, No. 2
burner, with 10-inch tin reflector shade, complete,

with chimney each
Lamp fillers, quart, best heavy block tin, to close air

tight each
Lamp fillers, quart, best heavy block tin, to close air

tight each
Lamp trummors, Challenge, No. 40, polished blades each
Lampwick, flat, woven, No. 1 (5/8-inch) per dozen
Lampwick, flat, woven, No. 2 (1-inch) per dozen

159


included introducing more sand and turf to grade the yard in April,
1929. In November of the latter year the crew completed repairs to the
incline to the boat house.(17)

1930s. Customary maintenance procedures continued on the station's
outbuildings through the decade. Grading of the property proceeded in
April, 1931, when more sand was hauled into the station yard. Less than
a year later the crew occupied one afternoon planting trees in the yard.
In a storm that struck the area on Sunday, March 6, 1932, the drill pole
and outhouse were flooded out and the station was left surrounded by
water. More trees were planted in January, 1933, and during the
following March the crew worked on a wood rack, either repairing or
building one for the station. The following July they spent time touching
up paint on the boathouse, whose condition in December was described as
"good."(18) The outhouse privy "was blown to pieces" in a hurricane
that hit Little Kinnakeet in September, 1933. It "was pieced together and
placed at a great distance from station by reason of not being e
sanitary."(19) An inspector noted that the privy was “over 1500 yards
from station over drifted sand, a pieced together affair with no door, and
an eyesore to the station."(20) He further suggested that the boathouse
situated on the beach, be moved to the station. (21)

In January, 1934, the officer-in-charge at Little Kinnakeet reported
that a new wire fence had been requested for the station. The fence

17. Log entries for March 28, 1928, April 1 and November 14, 1929.
Ibid.

18. Log entires for June 10, 1930, April 9, 1931, and March 3, 6, 1932.

NA, RG 26. Copies in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1930-1932";

Log entry for July 5, 1933. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little

Kinnakeet Logs, 1933-1936"; Inspection report, December 7, 1933. NA,

RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Inspection Reports."

19. McCabe to Inspector, Eastern Area, May 15, 1934. Ibid.

20. Ibid. The estimate of distance is probably incorrect. t }

21. Ibid.

68



upon a close examination I found that the station had not
settled in a year's time, and to all appearances the sills and
posts were sound. (32)

Latham estimated the cost of materials and labor for repairing the "end
sill foundation posts, door posts, door sill and a portion of incline, and
securing foundation" at $85.00. (33)

1896. On January 3 General Superintendent Kimball authorized the
repairs at the projected cost, and by the end of the month the work had
evidently gotten underway with the squaring up of the foundation of the
station. The work involving the door sill and incline started on March 9
after lumber arrived. Two months later eight windows in the station
required puttying and painting around the lights, which was done. (34)

1898 and 1899. Little maintenance or other construction work
followed on the station over the next few years. Beyond scouring the
walls of the lean-to addition and the top and bottom floors, the only new
project apparently involved the hanging of two doors, 2 feet 6 inches by
6 feet 6 inches and 2 feet 8 inches by 6 feet 7 inches, respectively,
installation of two ventilators, and addition or replacement of 750 shingles
on the roof, all at a cost of $11.63.(35)

32. William W. Latham to Superintendent of Construction, U.S.
Life-Saving Stations Atlantic and Lake Coasts, December 16, 1895. NA,
RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Repairs."

33. Ibid. Funding in the amount of $4.60 was authorized in 1895 for
repairing the hatch to the lookout of the Little Kinnakeet Station. Ibid.

34. Kimball to Superintendent of Construction, January 3, 1896. Ibid.;
"Abstract of needs compiled from the Inspection Reports. . . , for the
quarter ended January 31, 1896." NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder,
"6th District Inspection Reports, 1890-1902"; Log entry for March 9,
1896. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs,
1894-1899"; "Abstract of needs, inspection report, 6th District, 2d
Quarter, 1896." NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "6th District
Inspection Reports, 1890-1902."

35. Log entry for May 11, 1898. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder,
"Little Kinnakeet logs, 1894-1899."

23


"J.A. Farrow Surfman No. 3" was quickly extinguished.(11) A year later
an inspector visiting Little Kinnakeet made reference to a privy and
stables that stood "at least 150 yards from the station." He further
observed that "several of the crew live in the vicinity of the station and
have pump wells. . . ."(12) In an effort to forestall erosion at the new
site, the crew planted bushes around the boathouse and packed their
bases with sand. On March 14, 1907, they cemented the inside of the
tank to the 1874 station. And in late September and October, 1908, the
men filled a low spot lying between the station and the cookhouse with
sand and seaweed. Early in 1910 a hurricane-force wind knocked a
window light from the privy, and a few months later the crew completed
painting the tank house.(13)

1910s. Routine maintenance continued. In January, 1910, the crew
received material to repair boat inclines, evidently on a boat landing
house erected near the ocean's edge, probably about 1904. And in April,
1913, the walk running between the station and the cook house was
repaired, an event followed soon after by the erection of a new boat brow
on the boathouse. The night of September 2nd was so windy that the
water closet was knocked down along with the flagstaff, the topmast of
which broke into five pieces.(14) Late in 1918 plans were made to build

11. Log entry for October 12, 1905. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA
folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1905-1909." Judging from photographs
taken in 1934, 1935, and 1936, two frame dwelling houses, plus a large
shed, stood about 100 yards northeast of the station. See photographs
taken March 9, 1934, May 2, 1935, and June 24, 1936, in the files of
CAHA.

12. Inspection report, October 17, 1906. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA
folder, "7th District Inspection Reports, 1904-1907."

13. Log entries for April 1, 1905, March 14, 1907, and September 30 and
October 29, 1908. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet
Logs, 1905-1909"; Log entries for January 29, and April 29, 1910. NA,
RG 26. Copies in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1910-1915."

14. Log entries for April 17 and September 3, 1913. NA, RG 26.
Copies in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1910-1915."

66



Date Name and nationality of vessel

Apr. 29

Apr. 4 Sc., no name

May 16 Am. scs. Hobson and
Little Bettie.

May 25 Am. sc. N.J. Mercedes.

Jan. 12 Skiff, no name

Apr. 14 Schooner, no name.

Apr. 30

Dec. 2 Se. Little Tennyson.

Apr. 28 Skitne name

Apr. 3 Loring C. Ballard

(schooner).

Station and locality

Nature of casualty and service rendered

Little Kinnakeet, North
Carolina.

1907
Little Kinnakeet, North
Carolina.
Little Kinnakeet, North

Carolina.

Little Kinnakeet, North
Carolina.

1908

Little Kinnakeet, North
Carolina.

Little Kinnakeet, North
Carolina.

Little Kinnakeet, North
Carolina.

Little Kinnakeet, N.C.

1909

Little Kinnakeet, N.C.

1915

Gull Shoal; Little Kinnakeet;
‘Chicamacomico

142

Mr. T.L. Wescott came to the station for
shelter, and the keeper cared for him until
the following day.

Three surfmen employed five hours assisting
owner to get this boat ready for launching.

Surfmen are called upon to assist in blocking
up vessels for repairs. Requests complied
with,

Surfmen assisted in launching vessel from
ways after repairing.

It was discovered by the lookout adrift in
Pamlico Sound. Two surfmen, in the supply
boat, went out and towed it ashore. It was
delivered to its owner.

At request of owner, surfmen assisted him to

haul his schooner out of the beach for repairs.

A woman and 2 children. Caught in a heavy
squall while out in a skiff and came ashore
near station. Carried to their home by
Station team.

Missed stays, and stranded 3 miles W. of the
station. Her flag of distress was discovered
by the lookout. Surfmen responded to the
call, carried out anchors and warps from the
schooner, and she was floated, undamaged.

Picked up adrift by surfmen in small boat,
and turned over to owner.

Stranded in hurricane; vessel lost;
7 rescued by breeches buoy.


Brothers entered a successful bid of $64.39 to complete this work. The
log entries for May 21 and 26, 1931, however indicate that the crew spent
six and one-half hours repairing the cook house. On June 8 the men
painted the interior of the structure. (12)

Similar activity involving the cook house continued in 1932. During
February the crew built a new cupboard in the kitchen.(13) But the old
building was clearly in decline. Late the following year Lieutenant
Commander McCabe, who inspected Little Kinnakeet, wrote of the kitchen
and messroom: "Outside appearance is good and building well painted but
is old and should be renewed or renovated. This building is shingled
outside similar to main building."(14) Soon after this evaluation was
completed, Officer-in-Charge Clarence P. Brady suggested that the
kitchen might be moved and used for a store room, and that the
downstairs sleeping quarters in the station be used as a new kitchen and
mess room. Nothing came of this proposal. In October the crew
repainted the ceiling in the kitchen. Minor improvements were made to
the cook house over the next few years. Metal strips were laid on the
kitchen floor in April, 1936, and a cesspool for the kitchen sink was
installed in September, 1937. Less than a year after that the station was
deactivated .(15)

12. Commander, Seventh District, to Commandant, April 14, 1931. NA,
RG 26. Microfilm copy in the files of CAHA; Log entries for May 21, 26,
and June 8, 1931. NA, RG 26. Copies in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet
Logs, 1930-1932."

13. Log entry for February 1, 1932. Ibid.

14. Inspection report, December 7, 1933. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA
folder, "Little Kinnakeet Inspection Reports."

15. Brady to Inspector in Chief, January 1, 1934. NA, RG 26. Copy
in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Inspection Reports"; Log entry for
October 3(?), 1934, and April 1, 1936. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA
folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1933-1936"; Log entry for September 8,
1937. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs,
1937-1938."

59


has scaled off in places, leaving the wood bare and unprotected from the
weather and in some cases the houses are actually going to decay, for
want of paint outside."(13) Newcomb recommended that "two good coats"
of red paint be applied to the stations as soon as the weather
warranted. (14)

1882. In late December the keeper reported that new sills were
needed, probably for the floors, and that the "outside braces" needed
replacement, possibly a reference to the Gothic buttresses on either side
of the building. (15)

1883. On March 23 Lieutenant Edwin L. Wade of the Revenue Marine
filed a quarterly report urging that the Little Kinnakeet station, among
others, be repainted using red lead paint. The recommendation was
countered by Captain Merryman, who opposed using that color. Wrote
Merryman:

While a red house is more conspicuous perhaps than one of a
light color, the latter is no doubt better on the southern coast
for the perservation of the wood, since it will not so readily
absorb the heat of the sun's rays in summer. The men at the
station are inexperienced in mixing paint, and if attempted
much waste would ensue in addition to unsatisfactory results.
In my judgment there is true economy in employing regular
painters with their own materials, thus insuring neater and
more durable coatings. (16)

It is not known from the documentary sources whether Merryman's
view prevailed, although the few early photographs believed to be of
Little Kinnakeet suggest that a lighter shade was indeed used on the

13. Newcomb to Merryman, January 27, 1880. Ibid.
14. Ibid.

15. Quarterly Report, December 31, 1882. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA
folder, "Little Kinnakeet Inspection Reports."

16. Merryman to Kimball, March 28, 1883. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA
folder, "6th District - Repairs and Construction."

16


1950s. The reactivation of the Coast Guard station lasted into the
early 1950s. On May 24, 1954, the site once more was decommissioned.
This time, however, the National Park Service obtained the complex under
a revocable permit of indefinite duration. Since that time the 1874 station
has remained under the administration of Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
Park Service records disclose little of efforts toward preservation and
maintenance of the structure since then. A 1967 memorandum cited the
gradual deterioration of the interior of the 1904 station; presumably the
same description would have applied to the overall condition of the 1874
structure. Yet in the late 1970s the roof of the 1874 structure was
reshingled and the entire complex was enclosed with a 7-foot-high chain
link fence for its protection. (59)

59. Louis Torres, Historic Resource Study of Cape Hatteras National
Seashore (Denver: National Park Service, 1985), p. 140; Granville B.
Liles to Director, National Park Service, August 24, 1967. National Park
Service Records in the History Division, WASO. "Cape Hatteras National
Seashore," Box 1; Note in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet (copies)";
verbal recollections of former superintendent William A. Harris to the
writer, December, 1986.

33


Couplings, brass, for 2-inch discharge hose
Couplings, brass, for 24-inch discharge hose
Emery cloth, No. 00, Baeder, Adamson & Co.'s
Emery cloth, No. 1%, Baeder, Adamson & Co.'s
Emery cloth, No. 3, Baeder, Adamson & Co.'s

Flour sieves, seamless, tin rim, 12-3/8 inches diameter,
No. 18 mesh

Forks, carving, rubber handles, with bolsters, Russell's
or Northampton Cutlery Co.'s

Forks, flesh, 18-inch, 3 prongs, malleable iron, retinned
Funnels, corrugated, 1-quart, 4X tin

Funnels, corrugated, 1-quart, 4X tin, with brass
wire-cloth strainers

Hasps, wrought iron, galvanized, 7-inch, with staples,
Stanley's or Brewer's

Hinges, strap, heavy, 6-inch, wrought-iron, galvanized,
brass pins, with screws, Stanley's

Hinges, strap, heavy, 8-inch, wrought iron, galvanized,
brass pins, with screws, Stanley's

Hooks, clothes, medium size, japanned, with screws

Hooks, harness, galvanized, 8-inch, with screws

Hooks, hat and coat, No. 14, japanned, with screws

Hooks, wrought-iron, galvanized, 6-inch, with staples

Hose, carbon, 3/4-inch delivery, in 50 foot lengths,
coupled with brass shank couplings and "Sherman's"
brass hose bands, with iron bolt and nut

Hose, cotton, 14-inch delivery, in 50-foot lengths,
coupled with brass shank couplings and "Sherman's"
brass hose bands, with iron bolt and nut "Warwick,"

mildew and rot proof, "Safety" brand, or equally
good

153

per set
per set
per sheet
per sheet

per sheet

each

each
each

each

each

each

per pair

per pair

per dozen
per dozen
per dozen

each

per foot

per foot


238

azoyseas [euoteN sesayeH edeD

“(g096T) UMOUYUN a2ep ‘UOTIPpe WooI sseul CHET “ED YIM aSNOY OOO ZE8T PUL

“6T “ON uonessny[]


1950s and after. In March, 1949, a new wiring layout was approved
for the Little Kinnakeet Station, and installation was completed either late
that year or early in 1950. The new layout involved few changes from
the wiring indicated on the 1945 plot (footnote no. 40, above). When
installed, the various components contained lights as follows: (44)

Downstairs:

Crew Bedroom 40-watt lights
Assembly Room 100-watt lights
Hall 40-watt light
Office 100-watt light

Officer-in-Charge Room
Officer-in-Charge Bathroom
Crew Lavatory

Porch

60-watt light
60-watt light
60-watt lights
40-watt lights

WNERPRPENwW

Power Plant:

Equipment Room 2 40-watt lights

Generator Room 1 60-watt light

Boiler Room 1 60-watt light
Upstairs:

Loft Dormitory
Spare Bedroom

40-watt lights
60-watt light
25-watt light
40-watt light

PRRO

Watch Tower

When the Coast Guard finally deactivated Little Kinnakeet in 1954 the
National Park Service at Cape Hatteras National Seashore acquired the
complex under a revocable permit of unspecified duration. Soon after the
transfer the coal burning plant in the station was converted to oil and
the station became used as a quarters for National Park Service
employees, a function that continued until at least 1967.(45) In February

44. "Little Kinnakeet Lifeboat Station Wiring Layout," January 13, 1950.
Copy in the map file at CAHA.

45. Torres, Historic Resource Study, p. 140; Granville B. Liles to
Director, National park Service, August 24, 1967. NPS records in the
History Division. "Cape Hatteras National Seashore," Box 1. In March,
1954, an interesting incident took place near Little Kinnakeet when a
Marine Corps jet fighter, out of fuel, made an emergency landing on the
packed sand near the station. The plane had to be disassembled to be
removed. NA, RG 79. Records of the National Park Service. Accession
No. 66A0231/15 16/07: 26-1-1.

53


237


beams on the second floors; and the replacement of the lookout platform
and the addition of sheet lead flashings. Architect for the renovation
was A.B. Bibb.(20)

Work on the Little Kinnakeet Station was finished during November.
L.O. Wissman, Assistant Superintendent of Construction, described what
he had accomplished on the boat room ramp:

I reconstructed the Boathouse platform, with the assistance of
Mr. Hooper and his men . . . by raising the upper end to the
level of the door sill, removing the step or "chuck" which
existed, and also raising the lower end considerably, thereby
obviating the difficulty experienced in getting the boat out and
in, in consequences of the prow striking ceiling.(21)

1888 and 1889. In May, 1888, an inspecting officer urged that brick
cisterns be built to replace those of wood existing at several stations,
including Little Kinnakeet. The problem was that inundating tides often
overran the cisterns, leaving them polluted with saltwater. "I found that
the crews who were obliged to drink the water were liable to bowel
trouble and a number of men were covered with sores. . . . In all cases
where I have recommended brick cisterns the wooden ones will not hold
water and are so rotten as to be beyond repair, and the crews have to
depend solely on well water." The officer also noted that the stations
needed repainting.(22)

20. Log entries for March 12, April 1, 2, 1885. NA, RG 26. Copies in
CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1881-1886"; "Plan of Ten U.S.
Life-Saving Stations"; Plans and specifications for Sixth District stations,
May 1, 1885, enclosed in Merryman to Kimball, May 1, 1885. NA, RG 26.
Copy in CAHA folder, "6th District-Specifications for Repairs." See
Appendix B for the content of this document and its special provisions
for Little Kinnakeet.

21. Wissman to Merryman and Captain G.R. Slicer, November 23, 1885.
NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Repairs."

22. Lieutenant E.C. Chayton to Kimball, May 31, 1888. NA, RG 26.
Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet--Miscellaneous"; W.A. Farling to
Captain C.A. Abbey, November 12, 1889. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA
folder, "6th District Inspection Reports, 1880-1889."

19


Date

Name and nationality of vessel

Station and locality

Nature of casualty and service rendered

Feb. 9

Dec. 15

Feb. 8

Feb. 8

Apr. 22

Dec. 2

Am. sc. Zeovia

Am. str. Engecombe

Br. str. Garland

Am. sc. Zenovia

Gas. Lch. Sea Skiff

Little Kinnakeet, North
Carolina.

Little Kinnakeet, North
Carolina.

1903

Big Kinnakeet, Little
Kinnakeet, and Cape

Hatteras, North Carolina.

Little Kinnakeet, North
Carolina.

Little Kinnakeet, North
lina.

1904

Little Kinnakeet, North
Carolina.

140

Grounded about 12.30 p.m. on a reef in
Pamlico Sound, 3 miles WNW. of station.
Surfmen boarded her in their supply boat,
and found that she was aground aft. By
moving a portion of her cargo of merchandise
to the forward end of the vessel, and shoving
on poles placed over the sides, and making
back sails of her canvas, she was floated and
taken into deep water.

At anchor 24 miles WNW. from station, flying
a signal for assistance. Surfmen boarded and
at the master's request brought a sick man

ashore; the vessel proceeding on her voyage.

Stranded at 4 a.m. 1 mile NE. from Big
Kinnakeet station, thick weather, moderate
to fresh easterly wind, and rough sea.

A surfman from Big Kinnakeet discovered
her at 4.30 a.m. and at once reported to
keeper, who called up Little Kinnakeet and
Hatteras stations, then mustered crew and
started alongshore with beach apparatus,
arriving abreast of the stranded craft at
5S a.m., the crews of the other stations
reaching the place soon after. The life-
savers fired a line across the steamer, the
first shot being successful, set up gear,
rigged breeches buoy, and safely landed
the shipwrecked crew, eighteen all told.
The rescued men were succored at the Big
Kinnakeet station until the 12th, when a
wrecking company floated the vessel and
towed her to Newport News, with twelve of
her crew on board. The remaining {men}
feared to go back to their ship and were
succored at the station till the next day
when they also departed.

At 3 a.m. during thick weather, a surfman
discovered a steamer dangerously near shore
and burned a Coston signal, when she
promptly hauled out.

At request of owner the keeper detailed
three surfmen to assist in hauling this
vessel up on the beach for repairs.

Disabled by a broken propeller and her crew
of three men were succored at the station
overnight. The following morning a mast was
obtained, and the vessel continued on her
way under sail.


LIEUT. CHARLES F. SHOEMAKER, United States Revenue Marine, on
special duty, Washington, D.C.

LIEUT. THOMAS D. WALKER, United States Revenue Marine, on special
duty, New York City.

District Superintendents.

First District.--JOHN M. RICHARDSON, Portland, Maine.

Second District.--BENJAMIN C. SPARROW, East Orleans, Massachusetts.

Third District.--HENRY E. HUNTTING, Bridgehampton, New York.

Fourth District.--JOHN G. HAVENS, Metedeconk, New Jersey.

Fifth District.--BENJAMIN S. RICH, Onancock, Virginia.

Sixth District.--JOSEPH W. ETHERIDGE, Manteo, North Carolina.

Seventh District.--WILLIAM H. HUNT, Biscayne, Florida.

Eighth District.--CAPT. LEONARD G. SHEPARD, United States Revenue
Marine (Acting), Galveston, Texas.

Ninth District.--DAVID P. DOBBINS, Buffalo, New York.

Tenth District.--JEROME G. KIAH, Detroit, Michigan.

Eleventh District.--LIEUT. WALTER WALTON, United States Revenue
Marine (Acting), Milwaukee Wisconsin.

Twelfth District.--CAPT. JOHN W. WHITE, United States Revenue Marine

(Acting), East Oakland California.

Assistant District Superintendent.

Third District.--NICHOLAS BALL, New Shoreham, Rhode Island.

86



Anchors, boat, galvanized iron, weight 50 pounds

Anchors, boat, galvanized iron, long shank, weight
100 pounds

Anchors, boat, iron, weight 35 pounds
Anchors, boat, iron, weight 50 pounds

Anchors, boat, Dirigo patent folding, galvanized iron,
weight 26 pounds

Anchors, boat. Dirigo patent folding, galvanized iron,
weight 32 pounds

Anchors, boat, Dirigo patent folding, galvanized iron,
weight 44 pounds

Anchors, boat, Dirigo patent folding, galvanized iron,
weight 55 pounds

Anchors, boat. Dirigo patent folding, galvanized iron,
weight 78 pounds

Anchors, boat, Dirigo patent folding, galvanized iron,
weight 106 pounds

Axle grease, 2-pound boxes, "Frazier's," "Manhattan," or
"The Four Brothers"

Bags, gunny (for coal)
Bath bricks
Beeswax, pure yellow

Boat grapnels, galvanized iron, four prongs, with rings
at bottoms, 10 pounds

Boat grapnels, galvanized iron, four prongs, with rings
at bottoms, 30 pounds

Boat hooks, navy, double hooks, ball points, No. 14,
Newhall's, with 9-foot staves

Boat hooks, heavy, pointed, galvanized wrought iron,
9-foot staves

Brooms, corn, best railroad XXX, without seed, not less
than 28 pounds to the dozen

168

per pound

per pound
per pound

per pound

per pound

per pound

per pound

per pound

per pound

per pound

per box
each
each

per pound

each

each

each

each

per dozen


Little Kinnakeet. Most of these seem to have been used for replacing
shingles, as 2500 of them arrived at the station later that month. Also,
500 bricks and 2 barrels of lime were used in making repairs in early
April. At this time a flue was cut in the chimney in the office, and
ceiling of the second floor loft evidently began. During the following
month the surfmen hand oiled the sitting room (office?), hallway, and
keeper's room, an exercise that occupied less than a day.(14)

1914, 1915, 1916, and 1917. Apparently few repairs and _ little
construction of note occurred in 1914. In August the crew installed wire
gauze in a door and window, perhaps to help strengthen them against
strong winds. But in October the superintendent of construction wrote
Kimball that "no repairs will be necessary . . . during the present Fiscal
Year, or for the Fiscal Years beginning July 1, 1915 and July 1,
1916."(15) Nonetheless, in September, 1915, an inspector reported that
the flooring in the keeper's room had worn through and needed
replacement. He requested that materials be sent to complete the relaying
of the floor.(16) Accordingly, 128 board feet of lumber, twelve pieces at
16 feet by 1 inch by 8 inches, was obtained to accomplish this work.
Soon after, additional lumber was obtained for installing or repairing a

window sash. Five hundred heart cypress shingles were apparently
replaced at this time, too.(17) In 1915 the Life-Saving Service became

14. Inspection report, January 15, 1913. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA
folder, "7th District-Inspection Reports, 1913-1915"; Acting General
Superintendent to Superintendent, Seventh Life-Saving District,
March 11, 1913. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet
Repairs"; Log entries for March 31 and May (illeg.), 1913. NA, RG 26.
Copies in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1910-1915."

15. Log entry for August 4, 1914. Ibid.; John S. Randall to Kimball,
October 14, 1914. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet
Repairs."

16. Inspection report, September 17, 1915. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA
folder, "7th District Inspection Reports, 1913-1915."

17. "Proposals for Supplies of Material, Little Kinnakeet Station,
April 22, 1916, and June 19, 1916. NA, RG 26. Copies in CAHA folder,
"Little Kinnakeet Repairs"; Superintendent of Construction to
Superintendent, Seventh District, July 7, 1916.

40


Framing.

Sills for the outer walls of the lean-to 6 by 8 inches, lapped and pinned
at the corners, and to be in full lengths; wall plates for the outer walls 4
by 14 inches, joined together in the same manner as the sills; floor joists
3 by 8 inches, placed 16 inches from centres and framed into the main
house at a point which will bring the floor on a line with the top of the
mess-room floor; studs of outer frame and partitions 2 by 4 inches placed
16 inches from centres; rafters 2 by 6 inches placed 24 inches. All
rafters and other framing timbers showing to view must be planed,
chamfered and cut as shown on the drawings. All windows and door
studs to be doubled.

The corner posts and every third stud of outer frame will be fastened
both to the sills and the wall plates and rafters by 4% by 1% inch strap
irons spiked on in the most thorough manner. The framing timber must
be of spruce or yellow pine well seasoned free from sap, large knots or
other defects.

Weather boarding.

The lean-to will be covered with tongued and grooved seconds yellow pine
flooring nailed on diagonally and then covered with tarred roofing paper,
over which the face covering will be nailed. This will consist of 1 by 4%
inch tongued, grooved and dressed clear cypress or yellow pine boards
nailed on vertically and the joints to be covered with 1 inch half round
battens. The water-table, corner boards, casings and general finish to
correspond with the main house. The middle horizontal band and the
ornamental braces to be removed from the siding of the main house. The
top edge of the water table to be flashed all the way around with sheet
lead 2% inches wide, bent to extend 1 inch on the face covering and 1%
inches over the water table, both edges to be secured by timed tacks and
thoroughly put on so as to prevent leakage, then all vertical joints of the
boarding to be covered with 1 inch half round battens. If after removing
the bands and ornamental braces any of the siding is found decayed it
must be replaced with sound material.

Roofing.

The rafters of the lean-to will be covered with tongued and grooved
yellow pine seconds flooring, all the projecting parts with the planed side
down. Over this boarding tarred roofing paper will be tacked, and over
the paper 14 by 2 inch shingling laths to be nailed not more than 6
inches on centres. The old shingles to be stripped from the main roof;
the shingling laths to be renewed and replaced if found necessary, and

81


Wheelbarrows, canal or railroad, bolted, per sample

Stoves, Etc.

Ash pans for "Beaver" range No. 8-21

Ash pans for Buck's "Regal" range No. 83B
Ash pans for "Crawford" range No. 8

Ash pans for "Model Grand" range No. 8 20
Ash pans for "Hub Heater" No. 30

Ash pans for "Irving" No. 4

Ash pans for "Oak Jewel" No. 618

Ash pans for "Princess Beaver" No. 12

Ash pans for "Princess Beaver" No. 13

Ash sieves, 14 x 16 inches, galvanized iron, No. 2
besh, hard-wood frames

Ash sifters, "Rival," wood, galvanized wire, for barrels

Boilers, 8-quart, cast iron, round, tinned inside, with
covers

Boilers, 12-quart, cast iron, round, tinned inside, with
covers

Boilers, wash, with covers, 4X tin, drop iron handles,
flat copper bottoms, 19 inches long, 12 inches wide,
13 inches high

Boilers, wash, with covers, 4X tin, oval, range, drop
iron handles, flat copper bottoms, 24 inches long,
15 inches wide, and at least 13 inches high

Broilers, wire, retinned, reversible, 13 wires, riveted,
10 x 9 inches

Cake turners, stamped, threaded handles, retinned,
4, x 34 inches

172

each

each
each
each
each
each
each
each
each

each

each

each

each

each

each

each

each

each


you st styL

“O06T

AroistyH [eanjeN Jo Wnasnw eulforeD yiJON

“aes st Huyrerep yHnoyye ‘uopeys Jeoyxeuuly efT ayy

“eo ‘UOTLOTJIPOW GBBT UUM uJeyed PLT ey Jo uoeIS Hulaes-ajtT

“€ ‘ON UOT eIISNIIT

206


Torres, Louis. Historic Resource Study of Cape Hatteras National
Seashore. Denver: National Park Service, 1985.

United States Coast Guard. Beach Apparatus Drill. Washington:
Government Printing Office, 1918.

Wyma, Cornelia, and Albright, John. Historic Structure Report. Glen
Haven Coast Guard Station. Architectural and Historical Data.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Frankfort, Michigan.
Denver: National Park Service, 1980.

Articles

Davis, Rebecca Harding. "Life-Saving Stations," Lippincott's Magazine of
Popular Literature and Science, XVII (March, 1876), pp. 301-10.

Johnson, William Wallace. "The United States Life-Saving Service," The
New England Magazine, II (New Series, March, 1980), pp. 134-45.

Lyle, D.A. "Report on Life-Saving Apparatus: Guns, Projectiles, Etc.,"
in Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving
Service for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1878. Washington:
Government Printing Office, 1878. Contains chapters on guns,
carriages, rockets, shot lines, etc., and is illustrated with fifty-four
plates showing equipment. Should be consulted for furnishings
ata.

Mason, T.B.M. "The Preservation of Life at Sea. A Paper Read Before
the American Geographical Society, February 27, 1879." From the
Bulletin of the Society, New York, 1879. Contains data on equipment
and methods used in saving the apparently drowned.

"The American Life-Saving Service," Harper's New Monthly Magazine,
LXIV (February, 1882), pp. 357-73.

"The United States Life-Saving Service," Scribner's Monthly, XIX
(January, 1880), pp. 321-38.

York, Wick. "The Architecture of the U.S. Life-Saving Stations." The
Log of Mystic Seaport (Spring, 1982), pp. 3-20.

Books and Pamphlets

Bloomfield, Howard V.L. The Compact History of the United States Coast
Guard. New York: Hawthorn Books, Inc., 1966.

Brown, Riley. The Story of the Coast Guard. Men, Wind and Sea.
Garden City, New York: Blue Ribbon Books, 1939.

198



The kitchen [at Little Kinnakeet] is one of the old kitchens,
but it will last for several years as it is, and I would
recommend that no more repairs be made on it, but that when it
gets past use as it is, that a new one be built, to conform with
the architecture of the other buildings. (9)

This view prevailed. In September, 1915, it was noted that the flooring
in the kitchen and mess room had worn through and required
replacement, but it was not until the spring of the following year that the
firm of Evans & Meekins of Manteo received a contract for completing this
work at a cost of $44.18. The inside of the cook house was painted again
in February, 1918.(10)

1920s. Little if any maintenance was performed on the old cook
house in the following years. Late in 1923 some cracked or broken
window panes were replaced, and in April, 1924, the kitchen windows
were puttied and painted. Two years later the inside of the kitchen
received another coat of paint. And in October, 1928, the crew scraped
the paint inside the kitchen. (11)

1930s. In April, 1931, a major repair was necessary after the
kitchen chimney burst, requiring that part of the ceiling be removed and
replaced. At the same time the Seventh District commander urged that the
entire kitchen be re-ceiled. Apparently the Elizabeth City firm of Kramer

9. Randall to Kimball, October 14, 1914. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA
folder, "Little Kinnakeet Repairs."

10. Inspection report, September 27, 1915. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA
folder, "7th District Inspection Reports, 1913-1915"; Superintendent,
Seventh District, to Commandant, April 29, 1916. NA, RG 26. Copy in
CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Repairs"; Log entry for February 13,
1918. oo RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs,
1916-1 :

11. Superintendent, Seventh District, to Commandant, December 31,
1923. NA, RG 26. Microfilm copy in the files of CAHA; Log entry for
April 16, 1924. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet
Logs, 1921-1924"; Log entries for April 28, 1926, and March 28, 1928.
NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1925-1929."

58



then all roofs to be covered with the best quality of No. 1 cedar shingles
(Baird & Ropers or of equal quality) 20 inches long nailed to show not
more than 6 inches to the weather, with two nails to each shingle. The
ridge to be finished with 14 by 6 inch saddle and a 2 inch roll cut out to
its centre.

The chimney, lookout platform and hatchway to be flashed against in a
thorough manner with 4 pound sheet lead.

The flagstaff to be removed from the roof altogether.

Inside finish.

Floors: The floor of the lean-to is to be of one thickness of tongued,
grooved and dressed yellow pine 1% inches thick by not more than 3
inches wide, blind nailed.

A floor will be laid on top of the collar beam in the second story, the
whole length and width, of tongued & grooved, beaded and dressed
yellow pine or cypress, 7/8 by not more than 3 inches, laid with the face
down.

Ceiling: All walls and ceilings of the lean-to will be lined with tongued &
grooved, beaded and dressed cypress or yellow pine, 1 inch thick by not
more than 3 inches wide, laid in regular horizontal courses, blind nailed,
and finished with base or wash boards and 7/8 inch quarter rounds in all
angles.

Doors: The new door frames will be made of 1% inch plank dressed and
rebated; outside door sill of hard wood.

The doors of the lean-to will be 1-3/4 inches thick, four panels, molded
on the solid, and hung with 4 by 4 inch galvanized wrought iron butt
hinges with bracs joint pins. They will have 5/8 inch hard wood saddles
and brass faced two tumbler mortice backs with brass spindles and knobs
and furniture complete. All old doors to be pieced refitted and arching
windows. The window frames of the lean-to and of the window to replace
the east-messroom door will be made to correspond with those of the main
house; sash 1-3/4 inches thick. The old sash to be pieced and refitted,
and all sash both old and new to have brass sash-lifters and brass
sash-locks to hold them in any position. There is to be a 1 by 1 inch
beaded piece of pine fitted in the nosing of all windows close against the
bottom rail of the sash, with a groove (see detail plan). The doors
leading from storeroom to keepers room and crews quarters to have a 12
inch transom light secured stationary over each. The old shutters,
hinges and fastenings to be removed, and all windows both old and new,
except in lean-to to have new outside shutters in two folds, 1-3/4 inches
thick, framed together, panelled on the lower half, and stationary slats in
the upper half, hung with 4 by 4 inch wrought iron butt hinges with

82


1883

November 11.--At half past 5 in the morning, as the north patrol of
the Gull Shoal Station (Sixth District), coast of North Carolina, was
returning toward the station, he discovered the schooner Edward Stewart,
of Bangor, Maine, from Turk's Island, West Indies, loaded with salt for
Baltimore, Maryland, and having a crew of eight men, stranded two and a
half miles north of the station. He signaled the people on the vessel by
burning a Coston light which was replied to by the flashing of a lantern.
The station crew on being alarmed proceeded to her with the surfboat,
and on arriving on board at half past 6 went to work laying out anchors
and cables to keep the vessel from driving further on the bar. The
keeper then returned ashore and telegraphed for the crews of the Little
Kinnakeet, Chicamicomico, and New Inlet Stations (all of the same
District), telling them to bring all the shovels they could muster, and
upon their arrival all set to work shoveling the salt overboard and
heaving on the cables to get the schooner off. At 4 in the afternoon, the
tide having flowed, the vessel was hove off the shoal and moved into
deep water, and as soon as the anchors and cables were re-stowed the
life-saving crews left her and she proceeded on her voyage.

The following acknowledgement of the services of the life-saving
crews was subsequently received from the captain by the general
superintendent:

"BALTIMORE, November 20, 1883.
"UNITED STATES LIFE-SAVING SERVICE, Washington, D.C.:

"GENTLEMEN: While on a voyage from Turk's Island to Baltimore,
with a cargo of salt, in command of the schooner Edward Stewart, of
Bangor, Maine, I had the misfortune to ground on Gull Island Shoal,
coast of North Carolina, on the 11th at 5 A.M. I take great pleasure in
making known to the Department that our call for assistance was promptly
responded to by the keepers of the life-saving stations in the vicinity
and their crews, and can add that through their indefatigable aid the
schooner Edward Stewart was brought into deep water at 2 P.M. the same
day. Without assistance from the shore, heavy losses would undoubtedly
have been sustained by owners and myself.

"For these services I tender the Department my most sincere thanks,
and politely request that the same be conveyed to Israel B. Midgett,
keeper of Gull Shoal Station, and his crew; L.B. Midgett, keeper of the
Chicamicomico Station, and his crew; E.O. Hooper, Keeper of the Little
Kinnakeet Station, and to the keeper of New Inlet Station.

"The schooner Edward Stewart, after being floated, proceeded on

her voyage to Baltimore, and arrived safely at 3 A.M. November 14,
without apparent damage.

117


Powder, Hazard's (L.S.S. Standard), 10-pound packages per pound

Pumps, Rumsey's, No. 1, horizontal, double acting, 5-inch
cylinder, with fore and aft brakes, complete (2-inch
suction and 2 inch discharge) each

Pumps, Rumsey's, No. 2, horizontal, double acting, 6-inch
cylinder, with fore and aft brakes, complete (2%-inch
suction and 2%-inch discharge) each

Pumps, Gould's, "Challenge," No. 12, horizontal, double
acting, 5-inch cylinder, with fore and aft brakes,
complete (2-inch suction and 2-inch discharge) each

Pumps, Gould's, "Challenge," No. 16, horizontal,
double-acting, 6-inch cylinder, with fore and aft
brakes, complete (2%-inch suction and 24-inch

discharge) each
Reels, double, for hand carts, per sample each
Sand anchors, per sample each
Sand anchor pendants, per sample each
Signals, patrol per dozen
Signal holders, "Coston," improved each

Speaking trumpets, brass, 14-inch, marked "U.S.L.S.S. each
Tally boards, No. 1, per sample each
Tally boards, No. 2, per sample each

Telescopes, Bardon & Son's, day and night adjustment,
No. 362, 22", per sample each

Telescopes, brass, calf-covered body, diameter of object

lens, 2-1/8-inch, "U.S.L.S.S." engraved upon slides,

per sample each
Thermometers, copper case, per sample each
Time detectors, Imhauser's watchman's latest improved,

with safety lock attachment, leather cases, 8 keys,

1 box dials (370 to box), complete, per sample each

Tripods, "McLellan," per sample each

191


espied by a small boy, who called attention to her. At once the keeper
saw from the direction she was steering the vessel would soon be
aground, and he made immediate preparations to render assistance. The
adjoining stations were spoken by telephone, and in response the keeper
and crew of the Gull Shoal Station immediately repaired to the spot
indicated, while the keeper of the Big Kinnakeet Station came with horses
to assist in hauling the beach cart. In about three-quarters of an hour
from the time the vessel was first seen the three life-saving crews were
upon the beach near the vessel, which had stranded about one hundred
and fifty yards out. Operations began forthwith, under the direction of
the keeper of the Little Kinnakeet Station. Communication was soon
established, and in less than an hour the entire crew were landed with
the beach apparatus, excepting the mate, who had been killed by a heavy
sea before the vessel stranded.

It appears from the testimony of the master that in the forenoon of
the preceding date, when off Cape Henry, Virginia, the weather became
thick and the wind came out from the northeast, increasing to the force
of a gale and creating a rough sea. The vessel was then hove to under
a close-reefed mainsail, and made good weather until the straps of the
main sheet block suddenly parted, carrying away the main boom. This
unfortunate accident made it necessary to run back down the coast before
the wind, but finding that a course clear of the Hatteras Shoals could not
be made, as the soundings on the morning of February 22 indicated that
the current was sweeping the vessel toward the land, the master resolved
to beach her as a final means of safety. The breakers were seen at about
11 o'clock, although the land was not then visible. Putting the helm to
port, so as to run head on, the captain ordered all hands into the cabin,
as the safest place when passing through the breakers. While going over
the outer bar an immense sea broke over the stern, smashing the yawl
and bursting into the cabin with terrific force. At this time the mate,
Alonzo Driscoll, of Atlantic City, New Jersey, stood within the cabin
holding the doors together, and was therefore directly in the path of the
wave, which tore away the doors and sent one of them with fatal violence
against him, to all appearances causing instant death. The crew rushed
out of the cabin and climbed into the rigging. The captain followed,
after hastily examining the mate; but while he was making his way
forward the vessel was again swept by a sea, which left him helpless with
a broken leg. By slow and painful movements he crawled to the cabin
and remained there until two members of his crew placed him in the buoy,
which by this time had been sent off. Upon landing, the captain was
carefully wrapped in blankets and sent to the Little Kinnakeet Station in
the keeper's cart, where he received all possible attention, the keeper
doing the best he could with the appliances and remedies of the station
medicine chest in dressing the injured limb and alleviating its pain.

The crew were also cared for at the station, where they remained
for a period of nine days, until the state of the weather permitted their
departure across the sound to the mainland. The isolation of the narrow
strip of land on which the life-saving station is situated is such that no
physician could be secured to give the captain needed treatment. Efforts
were made to obtain surgical aid from the mainland, but the severe gale

120



1909 and 1910. Late in the year Keeper Hooper requested that
quantities of white, yellow, and red lead be forwarded for painting the
1874 station. He shortly received the following articles:

300 pounds white lead

11 pounds tints #15

15 gallons raw linseed oil
4 pounds Tuscan red for trimmings
2 gallons turpentine

25 pounds putty(43)

The building was painted during the first few months of 1910, a
process that employed 250 Ibs of the white lead, 14 gallons of linseed oil,
11 lbs of tint (yellow?), 4 lbs. of tuscan red, 4 lbs of Indian red, and 1%
gallons of turpentine. The brass metalwork on the old station was also
cleaned. A significant development early in 1910 was the retirement of
Edward O. Hooper as Keeper after some thirty-six years of continuous
service at Little Kinnakeet. A senior surfman from the Chicamacomico
Station, E.S. Midgett, replaced Hooper. (44)

1913. In April the crew constructed a new "Boat Brow" on the old
building. This was, in effect, a new incline or gangplank which, when
equipped with rollers, facilitated the moving of the surfboat in or
out. (45)

1916. During the second year of administration of Little Kinnakeet
by the newly formed U.S. Coast Guard, the old station was severely
damaged by lightning. At 8 p.m. in the evening of Saturday, June 3, a

43. Hooper to Superintendent, Seventh District, November 23, 1909.
NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Repairs"; Q.M.
Maxam to Inspector, Life-Saving Stations, December 9, 1909. Ibid.

44. Log entry for April 29, 1910. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder,
"Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1910-1915"; Inspection report, March 28, 1910.
NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "7th District Inspection Reports,
1908-1912."

45. Log entry for May 2, 1913. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder,
"Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1910-1915."

27


Furniture

Chairs, office, hard wood, back of bent wood in one
piece, with five upright rungs, one ¥-inch iron rod
with head and nut, on each side through seat and
side rungs, per sample

Tables, extension, 34 x 10 feet, solid oak, round, drop
leaves, iron brackets, iron hinges, five legs
fastened to frame with bolts, nuts, and washers,
and iron clasps on underside of tops to fasten
tables when closed, brass casters, set up single,
tops burlaped

Tablecloths, Turkey. "Toilenette," with varigated
stripes, 67 inches x 3 yards, ends hemmed, per
sample

Table covers, oilcloth, white marble pattern, 14 x 4
yards, each rolled on 1%-inch roller 46 inches long

Toweling, linen, crash, light, 18-inch, best quality

Toweling, linen, crash, heavy, 18-inch, best quality

Hardware

Brackets, brass, cast, 5% x 7 inches, with brass screws

Brackets, iron, cast, japanned, plain, 12 x 14 inches,
with screws

Burrs, copper, No. 15 (for 1-inch nails)
Burrs, copper, No. 14 (for 14-inch nails)
Burrs, copper, No. 12 (for 3-inch nails)

Coal hods, 18-inch, No. 20 galvanized iron, Iron Clad
Co.'s or equal

Coffee mills, box, per sample
Coffee mills, side, Parker's No. 460

Couplings, brass, for 14-inch discharge hose

152

each

each

each

each
per yard
per yard

each

each
per pound
per pound

per pound

each
each
each

per set



Cups, best heavy tin, stamped, retinned, flaring
pattern, pint, 4-3/4 x 2-1/8 inches

Cups, best heavy tin, stamped, retinned, quart, 5-3/8
x 24-inches

Dampers, cast-iron, for 5-inch stovepipe
Dampers, cast-iron, for 6-inch stovepipe

Dippers, cup, stamped, retinned, 5 x 2% inches,
flaring, flat handles

Dippers, tin, stamped, retinned, hollow tin handles,
with rings, quart

Elbows, stovepipe, No. 18 galvanized iron, 90, 5-inch,
4 pieces (about 4 pounds each)

Elbows, stovepipe, No. 18 galvanized iron, 90, 6-inch,
4 pieces (about 4% pounds each)

Elbows, stovepipe, No. 18 galvanized iron 90, 6-inch
(4 pieces (about 44, pounds each)

Elbows, stovepipe, No. 11 Russian iron, 90, 5-inch,
4 pieces (about 1 pound each)

Elbows, stovepipe, No. 11 Russia iron, 90, 6-inch,
4 pieces (about 1 pound each)

Elbows, stovepipe, No. 11 Russia iron, 90, 6-inch,
4 pieces (about 1 pound each)

Fire bricks for "Atlantic" caboose No. 3
Fire bricks for "Atlantic" range No. 7
Fire bricks for "Atlantic" range No. 8
Fire bricks for "Beaver" range No. 8 21
Fire bricks for "Buck" No. 7

Fire bricks for "Buck" No. 9

Fire bricks for Clad's steel plate portable French range
No. 8 x 20

Fire bricks for 1885 "Crawford" range No. 8

175

each

each
each

each

each

each

per

per

per

per

per

per
per
per
per
per
per

per

per

per

pound

pound

pound

pound

pound

pound
set
set
set
set
set

set

set

set


legislation introduced by Representative William A. Newell allowed for the
purchase of surfboats and equipment to protect against loss of life and
property along the New Jersey coast, an area known for the frequent
occurrence of shipwrecks. In 1849 additional appropriations paved the
way for the erection of more stations on the New Jersey coast as well as
along the shores of Long Island and Long Island Sound. In all instances,
construction of the stations was administered by the Treasury
Department. Through the decade of the 1850s more stations appeared on
the coasts of New England and New Jersey, while boats and equipment
were purchased for use along the coasts of North and South Carolina,
Georgia, Florida, Texas, and the Great Lakes. Further, in 1858
Congress provided funding for furnishing lighthouses along the Atlantic
coast to further help prevent sea disasters and to assist sufferers.

Throughout the period of organization oof the early
government-funded stations their operation relied on the efforts of
volunteers. Interest on the part of local societies initially charged with
their care gradually waned, and the stations generally fell into disrepair.
Moreover, the volunteer crews serving the stations proved to be badly
trained and often undependable. Although attempts were made to improve
the discipline and efficient operation in 1854 by appointment of a
superintendent and salaried station keepers, significant operational
improvements were usually negated by the practice of choosing
superintendents based upon political affiliation. In 1869 surfmen manning
the stations began receiving remuneration for their services, but even
this payment was irregular and was awarded under limited conditions.

If anything, the early history of life-saving pointed up the need for
active government involvement to help assure the safety of persons
engaged in the coastal maritime trade. Formalization of that involvement
came on April 20, 1871, when Congress, responding to revelations of poor
conditions and inept performance at the stations following several Atlantic
coast shipwrecks, appropriated $200,000 for the Treasury Department to
use through its Revenue Cutter Service for life-saving objectives. The
newly established Life-Saving Service was headed by Sumner I. Kimball,




APPENDIX H
Services of Little Kinnakeet Crews, 1891-

Compiled from the annual reports of the United States Life-Saving Service, 1892-1915.

1891
Date Name and nationality of vessel Station and locality Nature of casualty and service rendered
Dec. 17 Am. sc. Annie C. Thomas Little Kinnakeet, North Stranded on reef; signaling for assistance.
Carolina. Lightened part of cargo and hove her off
into deep water.
1892
Feb. 22 Am. sc. Annie E. Pierce. Little Kinnakeet, North Stranded. Rescued four men by means of
Carolina. the breeches-buoy, clothed them, and pro-
vided food and shelter for nine days.
Crews of Gull Shoal and Big Kinnakeet
stations assisted in rescue.
June 28 Am. sc. Ospray Little Kinnakeet, North Dismasted and sinking; abandoned by crew
Carolina. during night before wreck could be seen
from station. Boarded her, brought ashore
personal effects of crew, ship's papers, ana
what property could be saved, and turned
them over to master.
Nov. 27 Am. sc. J.B. Atlett Little Kinnakeet, North Fast on reef in Pamico Sound. Lightened
Carolina. her, forced her into deep water, and then
reloaded cargo.
1893
Feb. 4 Am. sc. Topaz Little Kinnakeet, North Ran aground. Boarded her and landed a
Carolina. passenger who wished to go ashore. Next
day, vessel being out of provisions, took
master ashore to procure same. On 6th,
wind shifting and tide coming in, schooner
floated.
Feb. 5 —...do... Little Kinnakeet, North Crew occupied two days in picking up and
Carolina. securing lumber, supposed to have washed
ashore from a wrecked vessel. The re-
covered property was given over to the
proper authorities.
Feb. 20 Am. sc. Nathan Esterbrook, Jr. Little Kinnakeet, North Totally wrecked; heavy sea and gale.
Carolina. Assisted by crews of Gull Shoal and Big

Kinnakeet Stations landed entire crew of
nine men in breeches buoy and life car,
and cared for them at station. One man
died after having been landed.

135


APPENDIX I
Furnishings Data for Life-Saving Stations, ca. 1884.
(From Revised Regulations for the Government of the Life-Saving
Service of the United St States and the Laws Upon Which They Are Based.
~~ Washington: Government Printing Cities, 1884, pp. 148-55.)

Return of public property, apparatus, equipments, &c. . . .

Articles
Anchors, boat Boats, cedar, supply; when received, pattern, builder
Anchors, sand Boats, (dinghy,) metallic; when received, pattern, builder
Annual Reports, Life-Saving Service Boats, (dinghy,) wooden; when received, pattern, builder
Articles of engagement, Form 1803 Boats, life, self-righting ‘and self-bailing, metallic or wooden;
Articles on engagement, volunteers, Form 1804 when received, pattern, builder
Auger-bits, inch Boats, metallic, surf; when received, pattern, builder
Auger-bits, inch Boilers, stove, iron
Augers, inch Boilers, stove, tin
Augers, inch Bolster-covers
Augers, inch Bolsters, shuck
Augers, inch Boxes, faking, large, (size B)
Awis Boxes, faking, small. (size A)
Axe-helves, (broad-axe; extra) Bowls, chopping
Axe-helves, (chopping-axe; extra) Bowls, mixing, earthen
Axes, broad, handled Bowls, soup, stone-china
Axes, chopping, handled Brackets, brass, size, (extra)
Axes, pick, handled Brackets, iron, size, (extra)
Brads
Bags coal Bread, navy pounds of
Balls, mortar Breeches-buoys, complete, with slings and wooden block
Barometers, aneroid Brooms, corn
Bars, drop, stove, (extra) Brooms, hickory
Basins, wash, tin Brushes, dust
Basins, wash, paper Brushes, paint and varnish, assorted sizes
Bath-brick Brushes, scrubbing
Beach-light, complete Brushes, stove
Beef pounds of Brushes, whitewash
Bit-braces, carpenter's Buckets, fire, galvanized iron
Blankets, new pattern Buckets, rubber
Blankets, old pattern Buckets, cedar, water
Blocks, breeches-buoy, wooden shell, (extra) Bull's-eye and strop
Blocks, breeches-buoy, McLellan pattern Bunting
Blocks, galvanized iron, snatch pattern, for sand-anchor Burners, lantern, (extra)
Blocks, tackle, 8-inch, double, common bushed Burners, lamp, (extra)
Blocks, tackle, 8-inch, double, patent bushed
Blocks, tackle, single, common bushed Camp-stools
Blocks, tackle, 8-inch, single patent bushed Cans, oil, 2-gallon, screw-top
Blocks, tackle, Cans, oil, 3 gallon, screw-top
Blocks, tackle, Cans, oil, 5-gallon, screw-top
Blocks, tackle, Cans, oil, 10-gallon, screw-top
Blocks, tackle, 12-inch, single, patent bushed Canvas
Blocks, tail, 6-inch, double, common bushed Cartouch-box, (patrolman's)
Blocks, tail, 6-inch, double, patent bushed Chairs, dining
Blocks, tail, 6-inch, single, common bushed Chairs, kitchen
Blocks, tail, 6-inch, single, patent bushed Charts, coast
Boat-cables Chimneys, lamp, (extra)
Boat-carriages Chisels, }-inch
Boat-drags Chisels, 4-inch
Boat-grapnels Chisels, 3/4-inch
Boat-hatchets Chisels, 1-inch
Boat-hooks Chisels, 14-inch
Boats, cedar, surf; when received, pattern, builder Chisels, 14-inch

143




Blocks, triple, 10-inch, inside galvanized iron strapped,
galvanized iron sheaves, with best composition roller
bushings and loose hooks each

Blocks, triple, 8-inch, inside galvanized iron strapped,
galvanized iron sheaves, with best composition roller
bushings and loose hooks each

Blocks, triple, 10-inch, inside galvanized iron strapped,
galvanized iron sheaves, with best composition roller
bushings and loose hooks and beckets each

Blocks, triple, 8-inch, inside galvanized from strapped,
galvanized iron shelves, with best composition roller

bushings and loose hooks and beckets each
Sheaves, open, galvanized iron, bushed, 3% x 15/16 inch

(for tail blocks) each
Sheaves, galvanized iron, best composition roller bushings,

8% x 15/16 inch each
Sheaves, galvanized iron, best composition roller bushings,

5 x 1-1/16 inch each
Sheaves, galvanized iron, best composition roller bushings,

64 x 1-15/16 inch each
Sheaves, galvanized iron, best composition roller bushings,

8 x 1-6/8 inch each

Cordage

(Circumference in inches.)
Hawsers, 3-Inch
Bolt rope, best manila, right-hand laid, one red yarn
throughout the entire length of one strand (150
fathoms each) per pound
Bolt rope, best manila, right-hand laid, one red yarn

throughout the entire length of one strand (235
fathoms each) per pound

Whip Lines (14-inch).
Bolt rope, best manila, right-hand laid, one red yarn

throughout the entire length of one strand (300
fathoms each) per pound

149


The plastering is falling off of chimney boath [sic] in the
Boatswain's office [Officer-in-Charge's room] and spare room
over office. Chimney should be sheathed and can be done by
the crew at a small expense. Plastering has fallen off of ceiling
in living room over stove, which should be_ temporarily
repaired. If the material is furnished the crew can do the
work. (22)

1921. Early in the year Kramer Bros. Co. of Elizabeth City
provided, at the request of the Coast Guard, ceiling flues for station 181
at an expense of $20.90. These were installed by the crew members in
two hours time on February 15. The men also completed repairs to
cracked plaster walls. In March they spent part of one day scraping old
oil from the floors that had caused them to turn dark.(23)

1922. Little maintenance activity occurred during the year. On
July 11, Boatswain's Mate First Class O.J. Gray had the crew touch up
the white paint of the post and railing around the veranda. And on
September 29, they did the same to the plaster inside the station. At the @
end of November, preparing for winter, the men removed the screen
doors and windows, replacing them with stormproof doors and windows.
This procedure was doubtless an annual event.(24)

1923. During the first part of May the men spent a brief amount of
time touching up the white paint on the exterior and window facings of
the station. A telephone earlier installed in the room of the
officer-in-charge was moved to the office at the front. Late in December

22. Ibid.

23. Superintendent, Seventh District, to Commandant, January 14, 1921.
Ibid.; Superintendent, Seventh District, to Commandant, January 21,
T921. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Repairs";
Log entries for February 15 and March 3, 1921. NA, RG 26. Copies in
CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1921-1924." r )

24. Log entries for July 11, September 29, and November 29, 1922.
Ibid.

42







Illustration No. 10.

Two views of old station taken May 2, 1935, showing leanto
addition under construction. Scrollwork beneath the eaves on
the front was apparently removed during this work.

U.S. Coast Guard

220



Il. Background: The Life-Saving Service and Coast Guard

The Little Kinnakeet station represents an enduring tradition in
life-saving that began during the formative years of the republic. Even
before the nation was founded, various colonies, reflecting then-current
practices of European maritime nations, established procedures governing
the salvage of vessels wrecked within their waters. Local crews of

practiced surfmen systematically completed salvage operations in the
vicinity of coastal metropolitan centers. While primarily concerned with
saving commercial property, they also rescued passengers and crewmen.
Such private efforts ultimately evolved into ones sanctioned by
government during the early years of the nineteenth century when ship
owners, underwriters, and private groups, among them the Boston Marine
Society, the New York Life-Saving Benevolent Association, the New York
Shipwreck Society, and the Massachusetts Humane Society, advocated
improved navigational aids and relief for shipwreck victims. The latter
group, founded in 1785, became the first established for the primary
purpose of saving lives during disasters at sea. Financed principally
through private donation, the Massachusetts Humane Society also received
some monetary contributions from state and federal coffers. The pioneer
society erected the first lifeboat station, complete with surfboat and
rescue gear, in 1807, and by 1845 had eighteen stations and huts of
refuge positioned strategically along the Massachusetts coast. Under its
guidance, nearly eighty similar stations were established by 1872. All
were manned by largely volunteer crews.

Direct government involvement in the practice of life-saving was slow
to develop, although after 1832, with establishment of the United States
Coast Survey, the United States tacitly acknowledged the need for clear
and accurate charts to facilitate the maritime economy. Five years later
Congress authorized seasonal cruises along the Atlantic coast by the
Revenue Marine to relieve victims of sea disaster, the first instance of
government participation in life-saving, albeit not from the shore. In
1838 and 1846 proposals were made to equip lighthouse stations with boats
to aid distressed seamen. The lighthouse appropriation of 1848,
moreover, specified that this be done. Also in 1848, Congress enacted


Illustration No. 17.
Top: Little Kinnakeet Station, ca. 1963.

Bottom: Little Kinnakeet Station in use as National Park
Service quarters, February 25, 1958.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore

234


agreed to complete the station by August 15, 1904, at a cost of
$8,800.(5) On March 18, 1904, J.C. Jensen reached the site to begin
work. Eleven days later the three commissioners previously appointed by
Kimball arrived at Little Kinnakeet and spent less than two hours laying
out the location of the new station. Accordingly, the building was
scheduled to rise at a point 100 feet south of the northern boundary of
the tract and 315 feet west of its northeast corner. (It appears,
however, that the station was actually erected closer to Pamlico Sound
than to the ocean, probably to avoid the effects of high tide flooding. )(6)

On consensus, the design of the Little Kinnakeet Station was to be
of the "Bungalow Style" or "Southern Pattern." The design was the
creation of Victor Mendleheff, Architect of the Life-Saving Service, who
had prepared drawings for past stations erected in Maine, Michigan, and
Washington State. At Little Kinnakeet, Mendleheff introduced the
bungalow style, based on a house design that prevailed in popularity from
about 1900 to the 1940s. Typically, bungalows were low-roofed,
one-story structures covered with unpainted shingles. Mendelheff's
stations possessed the features of hipped roofs with long, protruding
eaves and a veranda enclosing the building. Additional southern pattern
stations were raised in 1904 at Ocracoke, Fort Macon, and Bouge Inlet,
North Carolina. (7)

5. Other bidders were Charles L. Duncan, Beaufort, North Carolina;
F.E. Moore, Norfolk, Virginia; and E. Hart, also of Norfolk. Although
Hart's bid was lowest, he apparently could not finish the work until
December. "Schedule of Proposals for the Construction of a Life-Saving
Station at Little Kinnakeet, North Carolina," February 5, 1904. Ibid.

6. Kimball to Superintendents of Construction, March 10, 1904. Ibid. ;
Log entries for March 18, 29, 1904. NA, RG 26. Copies in CAHA
folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1900-1904"; "Plot of L.S.S. Lot at Little
Kinnakeet. . . ." March 9, 1905. NA, RG 26. Cartographic Archives
Division, L.S.S. 181. For the location of the station in reference to the
ocean and sound, see U.S. Coast Guard, "Little Kinnakeet Station Site
Plan, March, 1935." Copy in the files of CAHA.

7. York, "Architecture of the United States Life-Saving Stations,"
pp. 13-17.

36



the swash of the water. One of them was insensible, but by the
energetic application of the method in vogue in the Service for the
resuscitation of apparently drowned persons he was soon brought to and
taken to the nearest house for shelter. All but one, the captain, were
now safe. He clung to the rigging, anxious, but evidently with stern
determination, although the very loneliness of his position, surrounded by
the terrible waters, was in itself appalling. At about half past 3, just as

the life-saving crews were about to fire again in the hope of placing the.

line within reach, to haul him ashore by, the mainmast broke off and he
was thrown into the surf. He exhibited rare coolness and presence of
mind, and made a_ gallant and successful struggle; for quickly
disengaging himself from the wreckage he clambered to the rail which was
out of water, and thence by degrees reached the rigging of the foremast,
which still remained intact. This movement was watched by the surfmen
with intense interest, and as soon as he was again ensconced in the
rigging the sixth and last shot was fired. At this juncture the man lost
his hold and was swept out of sight, apparently under the wreck. His
disappearance was but momentary, however, for to the great relief of
those on the shore, he quickly reappeared on the surface amidst the
fragments of timbers and planking, and catching at the first piece within
reach flung his arms and legs around it with the grip of death or
despair. By great good luck the piece of timber to which he clung was
cast shoreward by the sea, and willing hands were ready to grasp him as
soon as he was within reach. When drawn ashore he was insensible. He
was at once taken to a place of shelter and by proper manipulation and
the administration of the usual remedies was soon brought to
consciousness.

Darkness had now overtaken them, and as soon as the men were able
to travel the rescuers wended their way to their respective stations, the
wrecked crew reaching No. 20 with the men of that station at about half
past 8. Here, after changing their wet garments and partaking of warm
food, all hands except those whose turn it was to patrol the beach,
sought relief in much-needed rest after the excitement and exposure of
such an eventful day. The crew of the McColly remained at the station
several days until able to leave for their homes, their unfortunate craft
having become a complete wreck. The crew of No. 20 thus had eight
shipwrecked sailors on their hands, those of the Charles remaining until
their vessel was floated off. It should be mentioned that one of the
surfmen of No. 20 had a narrow escape while wading into the surf to the
assistance of one of the sailors. He was knocked almost senseless by a
piece of timber, and it was only with considerable difficulty that he was
rescued by his comrades. The action of the crews of these two stations
(Nos. 20 and 21) on this occasion was certainly very creditable, and to
their perseverance under adverse circumstances, coupled with great
gallantry in wading out into the surf at the peril of their own lives, is
due the saving of all those on board the McColly.(1)

1. Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving
Service for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1882 (Washington:
Government Printing Office, 1883), pp. 96-100.

116



sem ued sy.

asoyseess feuoneN seseqqeH edep

“SUOTIIPPe OUR] GBgI a4} JO UOTONI}sSUOD Joy peiedeid
‘suomeis useied-p/8T ey} jo sjlejap jeinjonms ewos Hulmoys ued

*p ‘ON uoTeIysnIII

208


1875. On April 1, as preparations were made for the crew to leave
at season's end, the locks were removed from one of the doors, oiled,
and replaced. The keeper reported that the stove and other fixtures
were in good condition. (9)

1876. On January 7 and 8, thumb latches were installed on the boat
room doors, while twenty-four screw type clothes hooks were put inside
the station.(10) During the night of September 1-2, lightning apparently
burned three holes in the floor of the mess room, including one that
penetrated a piece of zinc sheeting beneath the stove.(11)

1877. In September arrangements were made to paint twelve of the
Virginia and North Carolina stations, including that at Little Kinnakeet.
On September 5, William T. Harding of Norfolk proposed to paint the
station roofs vermillion red "and lettered on the ocean side," for the sum
of $450. Another painter, Warren Hester, of Portsmouth, Virginia,
proposed to do the same work at a slightly higher cost. The lowest
bidder, however, was Miles W. Minter who agreed to paint two coats of
vermillion red on the roofs and then paint white letters, each 20 inches
high for a sum of $15 per station.(12)

1880. Painting the exteriors of the Sixth District stations became a
priority concern early in the year. "At most of those stations," wrote
Second Lieutenant Frank Newcomb of the Revenue Marine, "the old paint

9. Logbook entry, April 1, 1875. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder,
"Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1874-1880.

10. Logbook entries, January 7 and 8, 1876. Ibid.
11. Logbook entry, September 2, 1876. Ibid.

12. Harding to Superintendent of Life-Saving Stations, Sixth District,
September 5, 1877. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Sixth
District - Repairs and Construction". Hester to Captain Jonathan J.
Gunthrie, September 4, 1877. Ibid.; Gunthrie to Secretary of the
Treasury, September 8, 1877. [bid.; Miles to unidentified recipient
(Gunthrie?), September 7, 1877. Ibid.

15


boathouse. Sometimes, too, the surfmen erected houses nearby so that
they might have their families with them. (3)

Construction of the Little Kinnakeet station began in the autumn of
1873. The successful contract bid went to James Boyle of New Bern,
North Carolina. Under an agreement with the United States, Boyle
promised to complete ten life-saving stations at designated sites by
September 30, 1874, or to forfeit $25 daily for each house yet incomplete
beyond that date. Secretary of the Treasury William A. Richardson
accepted this proposal subject to Boyle's completion of three of the
stations by December 1, a provision to which Boyle agreed. When it was
learned that Boyle had begun raising structures with little regard to their
locations or specified dimensions, the Revenue Marine Cutter Service,
overseeing completion of the contract, sent inspectors to check on Boyle's
progress. Lieutenant Lewis M. Stoddard reached designated station no.
10 at Little Kinnakeet, which was under construction in late September,
only to discover that Boyle was using plans and specifications different
from those in Stoddard's possession. Stoddard ordered Boyle to rebuild
the nearly completed structure and raise it by 18 inches. A few days
later, yet another set of plans arrived by mail that varied from the
others, causing Stoddard to direct a suspension of Boyle's work. The
project stopped for three weeks, and when the weather turned cold the
workmen went to their homes. (4)

Work resumed at Little Kinnakeet after January 1, 1874, under a new
construction crew of nineteen men headed by T. J. Gardner of
Washington, North Carolina. The project lasted until the end of the

3.  Ibid., pp. 21, 26-27. In 1903 W.A. Gray claimed the land on which
the station stood, stating that the tract had been leased in 1874 to the
federal government for twenty years. Hooper to Superintendent of
Construction, February 21, 1903. NA, RG 26. Records of the U.S.
Coast Guard. Copy in CAHA file, "Little Kinnakeet Construction."

4. Edwin C. Bearss, "Chicamacomico Study" (unpublished report dated

September, 1965, in the library of Cape Hatteras NS), pp. 3-4.
Specifications for the 1874 stations appear in Appendix A.

10



TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS vi

I. SIGNIFICANCE 1

II. BACKGROUND: THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE AND COAST GUARD

Ill. THE LITTLE KINNAKEET STATION 8

The 1874 Station--Construction and Maintenance 8

The 1904 Station--Construction and Maintenance 34
The 1892 Cook House--Construction and Maintenance 55
Associated Structures 61

1. Structures Associated with the 1874 Station 61

2. Structures Associated with the 1904 Station 65

Samp

APPENDICES 71

Specifications for 1874 Stations 73

Specifications for Repairs, 1885 79

Organization of the Life-Saving Service, 1880 85
Instructions to Mariners, 1894 87

Beach-Apparatus Drill, 1918 94

Rescue Operations from Little Kinnakeet, 1881-1911 113
Table of Wrecks Involving Assistance of Little Kinnakeet Crew,
1883-1902 133

Services of Little Kinnakeet Crews, 1892-1915 135
Furnishings Data for Live-Saving Stations, ca. 1884 143
Furnishings Data for Life-Saving Stations, ca. 1901 147
Specific Furnishings Data for Little Kinnakeet 192

AIDE omnoomp

BIBLIOGRAPHY 195
ILLUSTRATIONS 201


the beach to look out for anybody who might come ashore. "At this
time," says Captain Hooper in his testimony, "the wind was strong from
the NNE., the weather was clear and cold, the sea and surf high, and
there was a strong southerly current running. The stranded vessel
could be seen about 200 yards offshore on the outer bar heading
southward, the seas breaking over her, lumber washing overboard, sails
lowered, and two side lights burning. A light could also be seen through
the cabin window, but there were no signs of life on board."

The south patrol from Gull Shoal reported a light offshore down the
beach about 11.30 p.m. Keeper Burrus at once ordered all hands to
stand by and be ready, and sent Surfman R.A. Grey out to make a
closer investigation. The surfman came back a little after midnight and
reported a wreck. As already shown, upon learning of the wreck,
Captain Burrus sent up a rocket and telephone to Keeper Midgett, at
Chicamacomico, for a team to haul his apparatus. He then notified Keeper
Hooper, at Little Kinnakeet, and sent three of his surfmen on ahead to
stand by the vessel while he and the rest of his crew made everything
ready to start when the horses should arrive. The team came at 1
o'clock a.m. and the apparatus cart, loaded wreck gun, lines, and
breeches buoy, was on the beach abreast of the vessel an hour later.

A number 9 line, projected by 6 ounces of powder, was first fired
toward the wreck at an elevation of 22 degrees, but missed the mark,
falling to leeward. A second line (a number 7), carried by a 5-ounce
charge and aimed at 18 degrees elevation, was next sent over the wreck,
falling abaft of the mainmast. Captain Burrus then gave the signal to
haul off, but could get no answer. He thereupon sent two surfmen south
along the beach to see if anyone had come ashore or if any bodies had
been washed up, but all they found was the little boat in which, as it
afterwards proved, the sailors had undertaken to leave the ship. Captain
Burrus then sent the team back to Gull Shoal for the surfboat, thinking
to board the wreck upon its arrival.

While the perplexed life-savers were grouped on the beach awaiting
the coming of the surfboat, Mate Lund put in his appearance and soon
cleared up the mysterious features of the night's tragic event.

The service crews returned to their stations about 7.30 a.m. The
Katahdin, whose lights could be seen offshore while the life-savers were
trying to establish communication with the wreck, came in near the Saxon
after daylight, and, seeing that the vessel was lost, turned about and
steamed northward.

Asked by the investigating officer whether or not the crew of the
Saxon could have been saved had they stayed aboard their vessel, Keeper
Burrus replied:

Yes, we would have saved them, every one, without any
trouble. The second shot put the line across the deck abaft
the mainmast, and the gear could have been rigged in a few
minutes. The masts stood until about 2 p.m., October 14. If

128



"Man Weather Whip--Haul Ashore."

Nos. 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 shift to the weather part of the whip and
haul ashore, the keeper superintending and assisting when necessary.
(See fig. 14.)

Fig. 14.--Man weather whip--haul ashore.

The keeper and No. 7 assist the rescued persons out of the buoy
when they reach the shore.

Odd numbers are on the left, even numbers are on the right when
stationed at the beach cart; and throughout the exercise, when two
numbers work in company, as in training the gun, tending the whip,
hauling the whip from the reel, etc., the odd number is on the left, the
even number on the right.

The exercise must be considered as a whole, and when a man has
performed a duty he will proceed to execute the next assigned him. All
must work together. While the keeper and Nos. 1 and 2 are opening
communication with the gun and shot line, Nos. 3, 4, 5, and 6 will have
the hawser and its connections ready for sending off and hauling taut.

When practicing, No. 6 or No. 7 will go to the wreck pole as soon as
the gun is discharged, and haul off and make fast the whip and hawser.

106



replaced or used for other purposes. Consequently, much of the late
history of these routine structures remains unknown and is undoubtedly
lost. The old oil house, for example, was moved out along the beach in
1906 to serve as a watch house for surfmen on beach patrol.(10)

2. Structures Associated with the 1904 Station
A number of adjunct structures have been identified as
having been affiliated with the operation of the Little Kinnakeet Station
since 1904, some of which evidently carried over their associative
functions with the first station. So far as can be determined, besides
the station and cook house buildings, the structures composing the
station complex, 1904-1954, together with their approximate dates of

construction, consisted of the following:

Dwelling house, mentioned in 1905

Privy, mentioned in 1906. New foundation built September, 1920
Stables, mentioned in 1906

Water tank of 1874 station, moved in 1904

Boat landing house, ca. 1904 (dismantled 1936)

Flagstaff, ca. 1904 (moved from old site?)

Concrete walk between station and cook house, 1919

Hog wire fence around station, 1924

Concrete walks, 1924

Fence around 1874 station, 1927

Picket fence, 1934

Stable and corral mentioned in 1943 plot plan

Drill pole mentioned in 1943 plot plan (moved in 1904 from old site?)
Gasoline pump mentioned in 1943 plot plan

Signal tower, ca. 1938; removed by 1954

Hose reel and fire pump, mentioned in 1943 plot plan

Loading ramp and platform, ca. 1953

1900s. Most of buildings formerly situated near the 1874 station
were moved to the site of the new station in 1904. It is not known
whether these included the several dwelling houses formerly erected by
and for members of the crew. In any event, at least one such dwelling
existed near the new site in 1905, for in October it caught fire. With the
help of the crew and equipment from the station, the blaze in the home of

10. Log entry for March 6, 1906. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder,
"Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1905-1909."

65


auoyseas jeuoneN sesayqeH odeo

‘agadooH *O puempy Jadaoy
uoneis Ajqeqoud st yeoq ul Bulpueys ueW “O68T Ul peqoe19 ‘asnoyyue) ey} st iYybi
ye Burping ‘“punosHyoeq 1YyHlu ayy ul uses aq ued YyoIyM jo do} ayy ‘asnoy yooo ayy
jo uonjatdwos saqje ‘e6gl Noqe uaye, ‘uoNeIS Huyaes-ajtT usajjed-pigt yayxeuuly spy

‘T (ON UoTeuySNIII

202


1890. In April the crew scrubbed the walls of the mess room and
removed sand that had accumulated in the well near the station. During
the following month the inspecting officer reiterated his recommendation
for building new cisterns at the stations to replace deteriorating ones.
He also urged that double gutters be installed to facilitate the collection
of potable drinking water. He noted that the cistern at Little Kinnakeet
was still rotten. By mid-November a new tank, 5 feet in diameter and 8
feet long, was emplaced and a house to enclose it was completed and
painted.(23) Other construction during the year included the installation
of gutters and the replacement of the mess room floor. The new floor
was laid of

rift Georgia pine 1-1/8 by not more than 2-1/2 inches, dressed
and tongued and grooved 5/8 inch below the upper surface,
and blined [sic] nailed. The flooring to be in long lengths,
avoiding butt-joints as much as possible. New saddles to be
put down at the door openings, and the doors fitted to swing
clear. (24)

Another project involved building and hanging "a battened door on the
third step from the bottom of the stairs leading to the second story" of
the station: The door was to be made "of narrow, matched, dressed, and
beaded white pine, and the necessary jambs; door to be hung by 4 inch
narrow butts and secured by a strong thumb-latch."(25)

1891. In September the crew varnished the "sleeping room,"
presumably the crew's upstairs quarters of the station. Less than two

23. Log entries for April 10, October 1, November 12, 18, and 24, 1890.
NA, RG 26. Copies in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1890-1893";
Farling to Abbey, May 1, 1890. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "6th
District-Inspection Reports, 1890-1902."

24. Specifications for work at Little Kinnakeet, 1890. NA, RG 26. Copy
in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Repairs."

25. Ibid.

20


Date

Nature of casualty and service rendered

Aug. 17

Jan. 3

Name and nationality of vessel Station _and locality
Am. sc. Robert W. Dasey. Little Kinnakeet, North
Carolina.
1900
Am. sc. Hettie J. Dorman. Little Kinnakeet, North
Carolina.
1902
Sailboat Relief Little Kinnakeet, North
Carolina.

139

Driven ashore by the terrible ENE. storm
3/4 mile 8. of station, at 5.30 p.m. Life-
saving crew started for the wreck with the
beach apparatus as soon as possible after

its discovery by the patrolman, but the
beach cart and horses became mired in the
quicksand on the way, delaying them nearly
an hour. They found the wreck, bows-on
to the beach, with the outer jib stay, which
had parted, hanging over the bow. They
went into the surf and caught hold of the
stay; then, while they held it fast, the crew
of the schooner came down upon it, one by
one, and surfmen carried them all safely up
the beach. Taking them to station, the keeper
gave them stimulants and food’ and provided
them with dry clothing from the stores of the
Women's National Relief Association. On the
next day the station crew went on board the
wreck with the shipwrecked crew and aided
them to search for their personal effects,
finding very few, however. The crew were
succored at the station until the 2ist, when
they were given transportation to Elizabeth
City. The captain remained at station until
the 30th, when, having sold the wreck, he
left for his home.

Sunk near the Outer Diamond Shoal by
striking on a sumberged wreck. The five men
composing her crew manned the yawl and
started for shore. They were met a short
distance from the wreck by the crew of the
Cape Hatteras Station, who took them safely
ashore. The wreck drifted off the shoal and
went ashore about 24 miles S. of the Little
Kinnakeet Station. The crew of that station
boarded her, and finding her deserted, saved
some of the gear and kept a lookout over the
vessel and cargo until the arrival of the
master. The vessel was a total loss and the
cargo was sold at public auction. The crew
of the wrecked vessel were sheltered at the
Hatteras and Little Kinfjakeet stations until
transpor'

ae ee

This boat was discovered sunk in Pamlico
Sound 1 mile WSW. from station. Surfmen
assisted the master in bailing her out and

ran an anchor to windward, but were unable
to get her afloat. A portion of the cargo of
wood was removed, and on the 6th a favorable
tide enabled the owner to get his vessel afloat.




directions from their station, patrolling the shoreline until, at designated
spots, they each encountered a patrolman from the adjacent stations.
The two exchanged checks, small brass squares bearing the station name
and the individual surfman's number, then returned over the same course
to their respective stations. The operation was then repeated by other
surfmen performing consecutively through the night. During foggy
weather the patrols continued through the day. In addition to the
patrolling, surfmen watched from platforms erected at the stations, a duty
that seems to have increased with construction of new pattern station
houses and towers after 1900.

If, during the patrol, the surfman noticed a vessel in danger or one
already wrecked, he ignited a red-flamed signal light to either warn the
craft or to assure its passengers and crew that help was at hand. The
patrolman then returned to his station and notified the keeper and crew
of the emergency. With the precision developed from daily drilling, the
crew soon had the requisite equipment, including, if required, a surfboat
laboriously pulled forward, at the beach opposite the wreck. If
conditions precluded use of the boat for reaching the distressed ship, a
gun and line were used. The ordnance was generally a Lyle gun, a small
brass mortar firing an 18-pound shot to which was attached a strong line.
After the line successfully reached the ship, a hawser line with tackle
and pulleys was secured to the wreck, thus enabling use of more
specialized apparatus, such as a breeches buoy and life-car in rescuing
the survivors. The former consisted of a pair of heavy duck pants with
openings for the legs. A large piece of cork fixed at the waist acted as
a buoy. Survivors clung to ropes running from the buoy to a pulley
attached to the hawser. The cigar-shaped life-car measured 8% feet long
by 1% feet deep and 3% feet wide. Made of tightly sealed strong zinc or
tin plates, the vessel was covered with entrance afforded through a hatch
on top. The sides were surrounded by rolls of cork. The life-car could
accommodate between four and six persons, and, like the breeches buoy,
reached the shore by the system of hawser, rope, and pulleys managed
by the life-saving crew.



Date

Name and nationality of vessel

Station and locality

Nature of casualty and service rendered

Mar. 25

Mar. 31

May 4

Aug. 31

Sip. Cora Bell

Sharpie Bracebridge Hall.

Am. sc. Paragon

Am. sc. Little Sampson.

Little Kinnakeet, North
Carolina.

Little Kinnakeet, North
Carolina.

Little Kinnakeet, North
Carolina.

Little Kinnakeet, North
Carolina.

137

While anchored in Pamlico Sound, about 3
miles to the northward of the station, with
no one on board, this vessel dragged her
anchor, which had become fouled, and
stranded during the prevalence of a strong
westerly wind, the casualty being discovered
by the surfman on lookout at 6:30 a.m.
Having summoned assistance from the adjacent
stations. Gull Shoal and Big Kinnakeet,
which call was promptly responded to by a
portion of their crews, the keeper proceeded
to the scene with his own men, and as the
tide was favorable the combined efforts of

the life-savers were soon successful in get-
ting the sloop afloat.

Stranded at 5 p.m., 3 miles W. of the sta-
tion, in Pamlico Sound, her master being
unacquainted with the channel. At 9.40

the following morning she set a signal of
distress, which was responded to by the
life-saving crew, but on reaching the craft
she was found to be so fast aground that
nothing could be done to float her at that
stage of the tide. The captain, his wife, and
two children preferring to remain on board,
the surfmen returned ashore, taking with

them the remaining member of the party,

Mr. Fred A. Olds, a press correspondent,
after agreeing to answer at any time a call

for aid. On the morning of Apr. 2, a signal
having been shown from the stranded vessel,
the life-savers again repaired to the scene

and as a more favorable condition of the tide
existed succeeded in getting the sharpie afloat.

Stranded in Pamlico Sound, about 3 miles W.
of the station and shortly afterwards set a
signal of distress, which attracted the notice
of the lookout. Upon reaching the vessel

the life-savers transferred a portion of her
cargo of general merchanside to a neighboring
schooner, and were able to float her before
any damage was sustained.

Stranded on a reef 3 miles to the westward
of the station and set signal of distress.
Surfmen went out to her relief and planted
an anchor, but were unable to move her
until they had lightened her cargo. Then
part of the crew jumped into the water and
lifted while the others hove on the hawser,
and in a short time the schooner came off.
Surfmen helped to reload her cargo.


Stoves, cooking, 1885 "Crawford" range No. 8, with lining
for coal or wood, as required, single oven, reservoir,
1 collar joint, 6-inch, No. 18 galvanized iron, to
connect with 6-inch galvanized iron stovepipe without
furniture each

Stoves, cooking, "Granite Peninsular" range No. 8 21, for
coal or wood as required, single oven, reservoir, with
furniture complete, including 1 wash boiler, 1 iron pot
and cover, 1 iron kettle, 1 iron teakettle, 1 dipper,
1 square tin pan for bread, 1 drip pan, 1 spider, 1
shovel, 1 poker, 1 griddle, 1 round tin pan for
pudding, 1 collar joint, 6-inch, No. 18 galvanized
iron, to connect with 6-inch galvanized iron
stovepipe each

Stoves, cooking, "Granite Peninsular" range No. 8 21, for
coal or wood as required, single oven, reservoir, 1
collar joint, 6 inch. No. 18 galvanized iron, to connect
with 6-inch galvanized iron stovepipe, without
furniture each

Stoves, cooking. "Model Grand" range No. 8-20, for coal
or wood as required, with reservoir, tea shelf, single
oven, with furniture complete, including 1 wash boiler,
1 iron teakettle, 1 iron pot and cover, 1 iron kettle
and cover, 1 iron spider, 1 broiler, 1 griddle, 2 bread
pans, 1 poker, 1 shovel, 1 drip pan 44 x 17 inches, 1
collar joint, 6-inch, No. 18 galvanized iron, to connect
with 6-inch galvanized iron stovepipe each

Stoves, cooking, "Model Grand" range No. 8-20, for coal
or wood as required, with reservoir, tea shelf, single
oven, 1 collar joint, 6-inch, No. 18 galvanized iron,
to connect with 6-inch galvanized-iron stovepipe,
without furniture each

Stoves, cooking, "Peerless Universal" range No. 8 20 for
coal or wood as required, with reservoir and T shelf,
single oven, with furniture complete, including 1
No. 8 wash boiler, 1 C. tin, copper bottom, 1 No. 8
iron teakettle, 1 No. 8 iron pot and cover, 1 No. 8
iron kettle and cover, 1 No. 8 iron spider, 1 wire
broiler, 1 No. 8 iron griddle, 29 x 14 inch tin
bread pans, 1 poker, 1 No. 80 shovel, 1 14 x 17
iron drip pan, 1 collar joint, 6-inch No. 18 galvanized
iron, to connect with 6-inch galvanized-iron
stovepipe each

Stoves, cooking, "Peerless Universal" range No. 8 20, for
coal or wood as required, with reservoir and T-shelf,
single oven, 1 collar joint, 6-inch No. 18 galvanized
iron, to connect with 6-inch galvanized-iron stovepipe,
without furniture each

180



1901. In early June an assistant inspector of the Revenue Cutter
Service visited Little Kinnakeet and reported that the station was in poor
condition and had gone unpainted "for some time." The foundations, he
stated, "are no doubt very much rotten," while the roof was prone to
heavy leakage. Pending construction of a new building, the inspector
recommended that the station be put in repair. "Much money, however,
should not be spent on it, as it is not worth it."(38) On September 14,
the crew engaged in scouring both floors of the station. (During the day
word arrived of the death of President William McKinley from gunshot
wounds. )

1902 and 1903. Throughout these two years little significant
construction occurred in anticipation of erecting the new station. In
May, 1902, a bench was placed in the building to hold a water filter,
while an inspection report for October 15, again cited the station as
condemned. (39)

In May, 1903, the crew removed the stove from the sitting room to
discover that the flue was in a dangerous condition, requiring repairs
before the stove could operate again. As preparations continued for
building a new station, some thought was given to the projected use of
the 1874 structure. A prominent view voiced by Captain C.A. Abbey of
the Revenue Cutter Service, Inspector and Superintendent of
Construction, was that the old station be removed to a site close by and
be repaired. It would "make an excellent barn, carpenter shop and fuel
house, and afford ample storage room besides." Cost for moving and
putting the station in shape was estimated at $600.00.(40)

38. Second Lieutenant R.O. Crisp to Inspector to Life-Saving Stations,
June 3, 1901. Ibid.

39. Log entry for May 20, 1902. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder,
"Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1900-1904"; Inspection report for October 15,
1902. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Inspection
Reports."

40. Log entry for May 1, 1903. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder,

"Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1900-1904"; Abbey to Kimball, May 12, 1903. NA,
RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Construction."

25


Brushes, varnish, 1-inch, flat, tin bound, French

bristles, "Atlantic," double thick each
Brushes, varnish, 2-inch, flat, tin bound, French

bristles, "Atlantic," double thick each
Brushes, whitewash (beads), brass bound, all white

Russia bristles, Clinton's extra, width 8 inches each
Drier, patent, Acme White Lead and Color Works, in

1-pound cans per pound
Drier, patent, Masonry's, in 1-pound cans per pound
Drier, patent, Tieman's, in 1-pound cans per pound
Drier, patent, F.W. Devoe & Co's, in 1-pound cans per pound
Drier, patent, John Lucas & Co's, in 1-pound cans per pound
Drier, patent, "Peninsular," in 1-pound cans per pound
Drier, patent, Toch Bros.; in 1-pound cans per pound
Drier, patent, F.O. Pierce Co.'s in 1-pound cans per pound
Drier, patent, C.A. Woolsey Paint and Color Co.'s in

1-pound cans per pound
Drier, patent. The Sherwin-Williams Co.'s, in 1-pound

cans per pound
Glass cutters, steel wheel each
Lead, red, dry, best American per pound
Lead, white, in oil, strictly pure American White Lead

and Color Works per pound
Lead, white, in oil, strictly pure, Lewis' per pound
Lead, white, in oil, strictly pure, "Atlantic," per pound
Lead, white, in oil, strictly pure, Richardson's per pound
Lead, white, in oil, strictly pure, Jewett's per pound
Lead, white, in oil, strictly pure, Cornell's per pound

Lead, white, in oil, strictly pure, Detroit White Lead
Co.'s per pound

162



Stoves, cooking, "New Splendid" No. 80 20, for coal or
wood as required, with reservoir and No. 2 tea shelf,
with furniture complete, including 1 wash boiler,
1 iron pot and cover, 1 iron kettle, 1 iron teakettle,
1 dipper, 1 square tin pan for bread, 1 drip pan, 1
spider, 1 shovel, 1 poker, 1 griddle, 1 round tin
pan for pudding, 1 collar joint 6-inch, No. 18
galvanized iron, to connect with 6-inch galvanized-iron
stovepipe each

Stoves, cooking. "New Splendid" No. 80 20, for coal or
wood as required, with reservoir and No. 2 tea shelf,
1 collar joint, 6 inch, No. 18 galvanized iron, to
connect with 6-inch galvanized iron stovepipe, without
furniture each

Stoves, cooking, "Regal Hub" No. 8-20, for coal or wood
required, with reservoir, tea shelf, single oven, with
furniture complete, including 1 wash boiler, 1 iron
teakettle, 1 iron pot and cover, 1 iron kettle and
cover, 1 iron spider, 1 broiler, 1 griddle, 2 bread
pans, 1 poker, 1 shovel, 1 drip pan 14 x 17 inches,

1 collar joint, 6-inch No. 18 galvanized iron, to
connect with 6-inch galvanized iron stovepipe each

Stoves, cooking, "Regal Hub" No. 8-20, for coal or wood
as required, with reservoir, tea shelf, single oven,
1 collar joint, 6-inch, No. 18 galvanized iron, to
connect with 6-inch galvanized iron stovepipe, without
furniture each

Stoves, cooking. "Areadian" range No. 80, for coal or
wood as required, with furniture complete, including
1 wash boiler, 1 iron pot and cover, 1 iron kettle
and cover, 1 teakettle, 2 bake pans, 1 wire broiler,
1 tin dipper, 1 iron spider, 1 griddle, 1 poker, 1
shovel, 2 bread pans, 1 collar joint 6 inch No. 18
galvanized iron, to connect with 6-inch galvanized
iron stovepipe each

Stoves, cooking, “Areadian" range No. 80, for coal or
wood as required, 1 collar joint, 6-inch, No. 18
galvanized iron, to connect with 6-inch galvanized-iron
stovepipe, without furniture each

Stoves, cooking, "Somersworth Ideal" range No. 8 20, for
coal or wood as required, with low hot closet and
reservoir with copper lining, with furniture complete,
including 1 wash boiler, 1 iron pot and cover, 1 iron
kettle, 1 iron teakettle, 1 dipper, 1 square tin pan
for bread, 1 drip pan, 1 spider, 1 shovel, 1 poker,
1 griddle, 1 round tin pan for pudding, 1 collar
joint 6-inch, No. 18 galvanized iron to connect with
6-inch galvanized-iron stovepipe each

182



APPENDIX E

Beach Apparatus pri.
From United States Coast Guard, Beach-Apparatus Drill
(Washington: Government Printing Office, 1918), pp. 3-24.

Beach-apparatus drill shall be so far as practicable precisely the
same aS at a wreck, using the apparatus on the beach cart. The drill
shall consist in the mustering of the crew, the recital by each member of
his particular duties, the rigging of the gear over a distance of
approximately 75 yards from the sand anchor to the wreck pole, and the
carrying out of the drill as prescribed. If practicable, the range from
the gun to the wreck pole should be across water. Powder must be used
in every case unless the supply on hand is reduced to 3 pounds, in
which case the district superintendent shall be notified. The use of small
practice gear is forbidden. A short whip and hawser of regulation size
will be allowed, but in every other respect the gear shall be of service
size and kind. When a practice shot line is used, it shall be removed
from the pins and fired from the box precisely as in actual service.
Once each quarter the regulation gear on the service beach cart shall be
used. The sand anchor shall be securely buried at every drill and a man
landed in the buoy. A post of ready-buried anchor shall not be used
except where absolutely unavoidable.

Beach-apparatus drill shall be held twice each week during the first
month after a station is placed in commission, and once each week
thereafter.

Practice with the life car shall be substituted for that with the
breeches buoy at least twice each year. The car must be examined for
leaks after each practice.

The hawser cutter shall be bent on ready for hauling off once each
month, but the hawser shall not be cut. The keeper shall, when
advisable, demonstrate the use of the hawser cutter by bending it onto a
condemned line or hawser and cutting it.

The senior petty officer and No. 2 shall on alternate months conduct
the drill once, taking the keeper's place, the keeper falling out. When
the senior petty officer conducts the drill, he performs his own duties
and those of keeper assisted by No. 2; No. 2 performs his regular duties
and assists No. 1. When No. 2 conducts the drill he performs the duties
of keeper and of No. 1, assisted by No. 1; No. 1 performs the regular
duties of No. 2, and assists No. 2. At such drills each of the other men
will perform his regular duties.

1. These regulations have been so framed as to be applicable both to
drill and to actual service at decks.

94



Date

Name _and nationality of vessel

Station and locality

Nature of casualty and service rendered

Dec.

Oct.

Jan.

Jan.

2

10

16

. 22

19

Am. sc. Dorcas Jane

Sc. Henrietta

Sip. Tildon

Am. sc. Dauntless

Am. sc. Clipper

Little Kinnakeet, North
Carolina.

1894

Little Kinnakeet, North
Carolina.

Little Kinnakeet, North
Carolina.

1895
Little Kinnakeet, North
Carolina.

Little Kinnakeet, North
Carolina.

1897

Little Kinnakeet, North
Carolina.

136

Stranded in Pamlico Sound. Ran out an
anchor, then brought the two men, who were
on board, to the station. Vessel floated
December 6, when the crew boarded and
sailed her to safe anchorage.

Parted her cable in the gale and was driven
on the beach. Moved her about 15 yards on
skids, and removed them where it was
supposed she would float, but the water was
too shallow; on 13th, assisted by crew-of Big
Kinnakeet Station, moved her about 15 yards
farther; on 26th, ‘some of the villagers
assisting, got her afloat.

Stranded. Being unable to float her, trans-
ferred the two boatmen to the schooner Annie
Lee. Next day the sloop floated without
assistance.

Unacquainted with locality. Sent two surfmen
on board who piloted her to a good anchorage.

The north patrol during first watch burned
Coston signal and warned off a schooner that
was approaching dangerously near the beach.

Stranded at 1 p.m. 2 miles W. of the station
in Pamlico Sound, her master being
unacquainted with these waters. Two surfmen
went alongside, took off her four passengers,
leaving her crew of two men on board at their
own volition, and meeting the rest of the
station crew coming to the scene, informed
the keeper that it would be impossible to re-
lease the schooner that day, but that her
captain requested assistance the following
morning when the tide would serve. At

8 a.m. on the 20th the Iife-savers boarded
the craft, ran out a kedge, and were soon
successful in floating the vessel, after which
she was piloted to clear water and the master
given his course to his destination.



APPENDIX D

Instructions to Mariners in Case of Shipwreck,
with
Information Concerning the Life-Saving Stations Upon
the Coasts of the United States

Prepared by Lieutenant C.H. MCLELLAN, U.S.R.C.S., Assistant
Inspector Life-Saving Stations, under the Direction of the General
Superintendent.

{From Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving
Service for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1894 (Washington:
Government Printing Office, 1895), pp. 295-99.

General Information.

Life-saving stations and houses of refuge are located upon the
Atlantic and Pacific seaboard of the United States, the Gulf of Mexico,
and the lake coasts. . . .

The houses of refuge are located exclusively upon the Florida coast,
where the requirements of relief are widely different from those of any
other portion of the seaboard.

All life-saving stations on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts are manned
annually by crews of experienced surfmen from the 1st of August to the
1st of June following.

Upon the lake coasts the stations are manned from the opening until
the close of navigation, and upon the Pacific coast they are opened and
manned the year round.

All life-saving stations are fully supplied with boats, wreck guns,
beach apparatus, restoratives, etc.

Houses of refuge are supplied with boats, provisions, and
restoratives, but not manned by crews; a keeper, however, resides in
each throughout the year, who, after every storm, is required to make
extended excursions along the coast, with a view of ascertaining whether
any shipwreck has occurred and finding and succoring any persons that
may have been cast ashore.

The life-saving stations are provided with the International Code of
Signals, and vessels can, by opening communication, be reported; obtain
the latitude and longitude of the station, where determined; information
as to the weather probabilities in most cases; or, if crippled or disabled,

87




Stones, oil, mounted, 8 x 2 x 1-3/8 inches, Washita each

Squares, carpenter's, steel, "Eagle," 24 inches long,

with 14 inch arm each
Squares, try, Disston's, No. 1, 8-inch each
Wrenches, monkey, 12-inch, knife handles, Coe's each
Wrenches, combination pipe, bolt, and nut, 12-inch

Donahue's patent, No. 100 each
Vises, carpenter's, parallel, 4-inch jaw, Parker's 22X or

"Trenton" No. 4 each
Barometers, life buoy, aneroid, first quality, in bronzed

cases, per sample each
Barometers, life buoy, aneroid, porcelain dials, square

oak frames, per sample each
Boat drags, canvas, per sample each
Breeches buoys, with slings, complete, per sample each
Cartridge bags, rod, per sample per M
Cartridge bags, white, per sample per M

Cases, leather, for marine glasses, with straps
complete, per sample each

Cases, leather, for time detectors, with straps complete,
per sample each

Clocks, banner lever, nickel plated, one day, 8-inch
dial, time, U.S.L.S.S., in black letters, 3/8-inch,
on dial each

Compasses, liquid, boat, with binnacles, complete, Ritche's,
per sample each

Compasses, liquid, boat, with binnacles, complete, John
Bliss & Co.'s, per sample each

Compasses, liquid, boat, with lacquered copper improved
binnacles, complete, 5-7/8 x 5-7/8 x 9% inches, per sample

Crotches, per sample each

Dials, card, for Imhauser's time detectors, 370 dials to
box per box

189


Rescue operations, however, were more the exception than the rule
at most life-saving stations. Generally, station life was a monotonous
enterprise at best, with daily activity enlivened by the regimen of drill,
exercise of equipment, and upkeep of the station house and grounds.
Life at Little Kinnakeet, so far as can be determined, did not vary much
from the norm.!

1. Background data on the origins, historical evolution, and operation
of the Life-Saving Service and Coast Guard are in Darrell Hevenor Smith
and Fred Wilbur Powell, The Coast Guard: Its History, Activities and
Organization (Washington: The Brookings Institution, 1929), pp. 23-29,
3037, 55; Riley Brown, The Story of the Coast Guard. Men, Wind and
Sea (Garden City, New York: Blue Ribbon Books, 1939), pp. 17-18; and
Walter C. Capron, The U.S. Coast Guard (New York: Franklin Watts,
Inc., 1965), pp. 22-28. “A popularly written account is in Howard V.L.
Bloomfield, The Compact History of the United States Coast Guard (New
York: Hawthorn Books, Inc., 1966), pp. 121-27. Contemporary accounts
of the Service appear in Rebecca Harding Davis, "Life-Saving Stations,"
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, XVII (March,
1876), pp. 301-10; "The United States Life-Saving Service," Scribner's
Monthly, XIX (January, 1880), pp. 321-38; "The American Life-Saving
Service," Harper's New Monthly Magazine, LXIV (February, 1882),
pp. 357-73; and William Wallace Johnson, "The United States Life-Saving
Service," The New England Magazine, II (New Series, March, 1890),
pp. 134-45." Perhaps the single catalytic document bearing on the
development of the Life-Saving Service in the United States is Remarks of
William A. Newell, of New Jersey on a Proposition to Devise Means for the
Preservation of Life and Property from Wrecks on the New Jersey Coast.
Delivered in the House of Representatives, August 3, 1848 (Washington:
John T. Towers, 1848).



Take particular care that there are no turns of the whip line round
the hawser before making the hawser fast.

Send the women, children, helpless persons, and passengers ashore
first.

Make yourself thoroughly familiar with these instructions, and

remember that on your coolness and strict attention to them will greatly
depend the chances of bringing you and your people safely to land.

93


Stoves, cooking. "Somersworth Ideal" range No. 8 20 for
coal or wood, as required, with low hot closet and
reservoir with copper lining, 1 collar joint, 6-inch,
No. 18 galvanized iron, to connect with 6-inch
galvanized iron stovepipe, without furniture

Stoves, cooking. "New Sterling" range No. 81, with
lining for coal or wood as required, single oven
18 x 18 x 12 inches, reservoir, 2 nickel tea shelves,
shaker, lifter, flue cleaner, towel rod, and furniture
complete, including 1 wash boiler, 1 iron pot and
cover, 1 iron kettle and cover, 1 teakettle, 2 bake
pans, 1 wire broiler, 1 tin dipper, 1 iron spider,
1 griddle, 1 poker, 1 shovel, 2 bread pans, 1 collar
joint, 6-inch, No. 18 galvanized iron, to connect
with 6-inch galvanized-iron stovepipe

Stoves, heating, Buck's "Royal" No. 15 (hard or soft
coal) with 1 collar joint 6 inch No. 18 galvanized
iron, to connect with 6-inch galvanized iron
stovepipe

Stoves, heating, Buck's "Gem" No. 25, fixed top (wood),
with 1 collar joint 6-inch No. 18 galvanized iron, to
connect with 6-inch galvanized-iron stovepipe

Stoves, heating, "Elon" 21 inch (wood), with 1 collar
joint, 6-inch No. 18 galvanized iron, to connect
with 6-inch galvanized iron stovepipe

Stoves, heating, "Hub Heater" No. 30, with 1 collar joint
6-inch, No. 18 galvanized iron, to connect with
6-inch galvanized iron stovepipe

Stoves, heating, "Irving" No. 4 (hard coal), with 1 collar
joint, 6 inch, No. 18 galvanized iron, to connect
with 6 inch galvanized iron stovepipe

Stoves, heating, "Matchless Diamond" No. 140, hard
coal (no brick required), with 1 collar joint, 6-inch,
No. 18 galvanized iron, to connect with 6-inch
galvanized iron stovepipe

Stoves, heating, 1891. "Oak Jewel" No. 618 (hard coal),
with 1 collar joint, 6-inch, No. 18 galvanized iron,
to connect with 6-inch galvanized iron stovepipe

Stoves, heating, "Stewart Oak" No. 4, wood and coal (no
brick required), with 1 collar joint, 6-inch, No. 18
galvanized iron, to connect with 6-inch galvanized
iron stovepipe

183

each

each

each

each

each

each

each

each

each

each


lace for Sand Anchor.

Fig. 3.--Halt.

"Action."

The relative positions assumed by the men for the purpose of placing
the apparatus are shown by figure 4. The current is supposed to be
running from the right, as shown by the arrow.

Keeper puts on his haversack; No. 4 throws buoy off the cart; Nos.
5, 6, and 7 unload the shovels, pick, and sand anchor, and proceed at
once to bury the sand anchor where directed by the keeper. The sand
anchor must be opened, its sides at right angles to each other, and
buried upon its flat in a narrow trench of sufficient depth, say 2 feet,
and the trench then filled in solidly about it. Nos. 2 and 3 remove the
shot-line box. Keeper and No. 1 remove the gun, and place it in
position four or five paces to windward of the cart; Nos. 2 and 3 place
the shot-line box, inverted, on a line with the muzzle of the gun, and 3
feet to windward (wind), unless the wind is directly on shore, when they
will place it to the right, and, after lifting the pins clear of the line, will
cant the box in the direction of the wreck.

If through carelessness the shot line has been faked too tightly upon
the pins, it should not be forced off the pins by the bottom board, which
is liable to split, but the frame should be raised and a few of the bottom
fakes removed with the hand, when the remainder will fall off into its
place in the box.

98





Annual Report of the United States Life-Saving Service for the Fiscal
Year Ended June 30, 1906. Washington: Government Printing
Office, 1906.

Annual Report of the United States Life-Saving Service for the Fiscal
Year Ended June 30, 1907. Washington: ~ Government Printing
Office, 1908.

Annual Report of the United States Life-Saving Service for the Fiscal
Year Ended June 30, 1908. Washington: " Government Printing
Office, 1909.

Annual Report of the United States Life-Saving Service for the Fiscal
Year Ended June 30, 1909. Washington: ~ Government Printing
Office, 1910.

Annual Report of the United States Life-Saving Service for the Fiscal
Year Ended June 30, 1910. Washington: Government Printing
Office, I91T.

Annual Report of the United States Life-Saving Service for the Fiscal
Year Ended June 30, 1912. Washington: ~ Government Printing
Office, 1913.

Register of the United States Life-Saving Service, with Post Office
Addresses. July I, 1914. Washington: Government Printing Office,
1914. ~

Annual Report of the United States Coast Guard for the Fiscal Year
Ended June 30, 1915. Washington: Government Printing Office,
1915.

Annual Report of the United States Coast Guard for the Fiscal Year
Ended June 30, 1916. Washington: Government Printing Office,
1916.

Historic Landmarks Program. Washington, D.C.: National Park
Service, 1982.

History and Prehistory in the National Park System and the National

Kimball, Sumner I. Organization and Methods of the United States
Life-Saving Service. Washington: ~ Government Printing Office,
1912. Orig. pub. 1889.

Menz, Katherine B. Historic Furnishings Report. Sleeping Bear Point
Life-Saving Station, Sleepini Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
Harpers Ferry: National Park Service, 1983.

Revised Regulations for the Government of the Life-Saving Service of the
United States, and the Laws Upon Which They are Based.
Washington: Government Printing Office, 1884.

197


Rasps, wood, 12-inch, half round, handled, Kearney &
Foot's or Disston's

Rules, capenter's, boxwood, brass bound, 2-foot, 3 joints,

1-3/8 inches wide, 8ths and 16ths

Saw sets, Morrill's, No. 1

Saws, butcher, 20-inch, extra spring steel blades, beech
handles, polished edges, three brass screws, flat
backs

Saws, crosscut, lumber, 6-foot, set and sharpened, plain
handled, Disston's

Saws, crosscut, lumber, 8-foot, set and sharpened, plain
handled, Disston's

Saws, hand, crosscut, 26-inch, four screws, grained
blades, Disston's

Saws, hand, rip, 28-inch, four improved screws, grained
blades, Disston's

Saws, panel, 18-inch, Disston's
Saws, whip, 6-foot, with handles, Disston's
Saws, wood, with frames, No. 6, Disston's

Screw drivers, steel, 8-inch, handled, brass ferrules,
Stanley's or C.E. Jennings & Co.'s

Shovels, best steel, No. 3, handled, Ames's

Shovels, round point, best steel, long handled, Ames's

Shovels, scoop, Ames's, No. 2

Sledges, blacksmith's, 8-pound, steel face and peen
polished, handled, Atha Tool Co.'s, No. 29, or
"Trenton"

Soldering tools, 1-pound, handled

Spades, best steel, handled, Ames's, No. 2

Spokeshaves, best steel, 3-inch blade, plated, beechwood,

with thumbscrews, Bagshaw & Field's or Booth &
Mills's

188

each

each

each

each

each

each

each

each
each
each

each

each
each
each

each

each

each

each

each


across the beach and launch her in Pamlico Sound, and thus saved his
vessel, he and his crew receiving shelter at the station while the work
was going on.

October 5.--By the time the crew of the Charles were safely ashore,
the schooner which the life-saving crew had seen coming down the coast
astern of her had also stranded about a quarter of a mile south of the
station. She struck the bar at about noon. The life-saving crew (No.
20, Sixth District) hurried towards her as quickly as the bad condition of
the beach would permit, the water in some places being almost knee-deep
at the foot of the beach hills, well above ordinary high-water mark. To
add to the difficulties of travel the wind blew a furious gale right in
their teeth. As afterwards learned, the schooner was the H.W. McColly,
of New York, 111 tons measurement, bound from Broad Creek, Neuse
River, North Carolina, for Philadelphia, with a full cargo of pine lumber.
Her crew numbered five men, all told. Like the Charles, she had
encountered the first outburst of the gale the previous night, when far
to the northward, and by morning had lost most of her sails, part of the
deck-load, and was leaking badly. In this condition she was run ashore,
having scudded before the gale until it became no longer safe to do so;
her captain, from his knowledge of the coast and of the existence of
life-saving stations, realizing that it was the only chance he and his men
had for their lives. The schooner brought up on the outer bar, about
two hundred yards from the beach. She lay stern to the sea, which at
once commenced breaking over her with such irresistible volume that the
crew were compelled to take to the rigging for safety, the captain
ascending at the main while the rest went up forward. By the time the
life-saving crew arrived the sea and current had cut the vessel's stern
around off-shore. The wreck-gun was soon placed in position and fired,
the shot lodging the line across the end of the jib-boom. Watching their
opportunity between the seas the men in the fore-rigging quickly
descended and went out on the boom and secured the shot line, and by
that means, after considerable difficulty, owing to the action of the
current upon the lines, succeeded in getting hold of the whip, the
tail-block of which, they made fast to the flying jib stay. The hawser
was then sent off, and also made fast above the block. At this moment
the crew of Station No. 21 arrived upon the scene, and with their
assistance the hawser was quickly tautened, and everything arranged in
working order for bringing the people ashore. While the life-saving
crews were hauling the breeches-buoy off, however, an accident occurred
which, as events proved, nearly resulted fatally. The schooner had
during this time gradually swung around until her head pointed to the
northward, thus bringing the jib, which remained set, flat aback. This
had the effect of canting her bow off-shore and throwing her stern
towards the beach, thus fouling the lines. The strain was too much for
the hawser, as it stretched and surged, for after the men on the beach
had slacked as much of it as they dared without letting go altogether it
snapped in twain, the sudden jerk throwing the mate from the jib-boom
into the surf. The man was at once swept by the current to the
southward, along the shore. Seeing his peril, three surfmen quickly
donned their cork life-belts and followed down the beach to a point some
three hundred yards distant, where, by venturing out until the surf

114


D. Associated Structures
1. Structures Associated with the 1874 Station

The 1874 station appears to have been built as a
self-contained unit to include not only the sleeping quarters of keeper
and crew but a mess room and kitchen facilities as well. Consequently,
few references to collateral structures during the early days have been
encountered. As the years passed, however, and as the station grew too
small to accommodate the needs of the service, associate structures were
built nearby to fulfill a variety of purposes related directly or indirectly
to its operation. Known outbuildings and other structures that, in
addition to the 1874 station and the 1892 cook house, composed the Little
Kinnakeet complex, 1874-1904, were as follows:

Keeper's house, ca. 1884

Flagstaff, 1884

Dwelling houses, ca. 1887 (undetermined number)

Outhouse privy (water closet), late 1880s

Oil House, April, 1888

Wooden tank cisterns (probably two), ca. 1880s

Wells, at least two at individually separate times

Tank House, November, 1890

Provision House, ca. early 1890s

Landing House, ca. 1890s

1880s. Perhaps the earliest recorded reference to an associative
building at Little Kinnakeet was that made in the daily register on
November 22, 1883, pertaining to "painting the Station and the other
house." Identification of the "other house" was not given. On June 30,
1884, Keeper Hooper traveled to New Bern to purchase lumber for
erecting "a dwelling house near the Station by per mition [sic] of the
Dist Supt." This, probably, was to serve as the keeper's residence,
thereby leaving the keeper's quarters of the station free for other uses.
In August, 1884, a flagstaff was raised near the station at a cost of

$22.45.(1)

1. Log entry for November 22, 1883. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA
folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1881-1886"; Log entries for April 25,
June 30, and September 2, 1884. Ibid.; "Voucher for Purchases, etc. ,"
approved December, 1884. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little
Kinnakeet Repairs."

61


Illustration No. 18.

Former Little Kinnakeet Station in use as an emergency school
when Ash Wednesday Inlet was open, February 20, 1963.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore

236


a fence around the station complex, but the work was delayed pending
the lowering of the cost of materials. On February 18, 1919, the crew
laid a concrete walk to the kitchen from the station.(15)

1920s. In May, 1920, the crewmen spread gravel around the cook
house. Six months later an inspector reported that the boathouse incline
on the northwest side needed rebuilding and that a fence was still needed
to protect grass recently planted on the station lawn. In September,
1920, the crew built a foundation under the "station toilet." The
long-sought fence around the station was apparently under construction
in February, 1924, and seems to have consisted of intervally spaced posts
joined by a top rail to which hog wire was attached. During the same
month the crew hauled sand to the station for filling in the yard. That
September cement walks were laid across the yard. According to a 1935
plat drawing, the walks extended from all entrances of the station and
consisted of one each on the east, south, and west sides. That on the
west ran back to the cook house and beyond, while near the house an
extension ran off to the north. The south and west sidewalks were
joined by an extension running around the southwest corner of the
station which joined the west walk before diverging south and west
around the cookhouse. In June, 1927, the men spent an afternoon
painting trim on the boat house, then a few weeks later painted the
flagstaff and the fence around the station. On November 10, 1927,
another fence was built around the 1874 station, now used as a
stable.(16) Similar activities continued during the late twenties and

15. Commandant to Superintendent, Seventh District, November 21, 1918.
NA, RG 26. Microfilm copy in the files of CAHA; Log entry for
February 18, 1919. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet
Logs, 1916-1920."

16. Log entry for May 17, 1920. Ibid.; Inspection report, November 16,
1920. NA, RG 26. Microfilm copy in the files of CAHA; Log entries for
September 20, 1922, February 4, 21, and September 2, 1924. NA,
RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1921-1924"; "U.S.
Coast Guard, Little Kinnakeet Site Plan," March, 1933. Copy in the map
files of CAHA. Log entries for June 10, 27, and November 10, 1927.
NA, RG 26. Copies in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1925-1929."
For views of the fence erected in 1924, see photographs taken in March,
1934, in the files of CAHA.

67


Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving Service

for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1886.
Printing Office, 1887.

Washington: Government

Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving Service

for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1887.
Printing Office, 1888.

Washington: Government

Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving Service

for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1892.
Printing Office, 1893.

Washington: Government

Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving Service

for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1893.
Printing Office, 1894.

Washington: Government

Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving Service

for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1894.
Printing Office, 1895.

Annual Report of the Operations of the United

Washington: Government

States Life-Saving Service

for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1895.
Printing Office, 1896.

Annual Report of the Operations of the United
for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1897
Printing Office, 1898:

Annual Report of the Operations of the United

Washington: Government

States Life-Saving Service

Washington: Government

States Life-Saving Service

for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1898.

Printing Office, 1899.

Washington: Government

Annual Report of the United States Life-Saving Service for the Fiscal

Year Ending June 30, 1899. Washington:

Office, 1900.

Government Printing

Annual Report of the United States Life-Saving Service for the Fiscal

Year Ending June 30, 1900. Washington:

Office, I90I.

Government Printing

Annual Report of the United States Life-Saving Service for the Fiscal

Year Ending June 30, 1902. Washington:

Office, 1903.

Government Printing

Annual Report of the United States Life-Saving Service for the Fiscal

Year Ending June 30, 1903. Washington:

Office, 1904.

Government Printing

Annual Report of the United States Life-Saving Service for the Fiscal

Year Ended June 30, 1905. Washington:

Office, 1906.

196

Government Printing



the following December and were recounted to Captain J.H. Merryman of
the Revenue Marine, Inspector of Life-Saving Stations, as follows:

In reference to the House at Little Kinnakeet . . . , it appears
that the frame had been raised previous to Lieut. Stodders
[sic] first arrival on the Beach, which [sic] he ordered taken
down to allow for a difference in plans in the height of first
story, also to make alterations in the number and position of
the Windows in Boat Room, which was done, but in consequence
of a scarcity of suitable lumber at the time, and the absence of
the Superintendent, the same pieces composing the first, were
used in the second framing, the result was wall plates and ties
were re-morticed in different places, to suit the tenons of the
Corner and Centre posts, the Corner posts were also
re-morticed to suit the tenons of the braces, which had also
been changed, thus leaving holes here and there to be filled up
with what Carpenters call "Dutchmen ," besides weakening
somewhat the frame of the building, again several of the braces
were cut too long, throwing the wall plate out of line.
Instead of beams &c being fitted to their places and then
champered, they were worked the reverse, which also required
the too frequent use of "Dutchmen" or Graving pieces to give
the appearance of smooth work.(6)

Despite these deficiencies, the Little Kinnakeet Station more or less
adhered to the requirements of construction laid down in the formal
specifications prepared for the ten life-saving stations erected in 1873-74.
Set upon cedar piering, the structure was to be built of pine beams and
boards "in the most thorough workmanlike manner." The building, when
completed, measured approximately 45 feet long by 20 feet wide. It stood
two levels high, measuring about 25 feet above the piering to the apex of
the roof at front and back, and about 20 feet from the piering to the
eaves along either side. At the front of the building was a large sliding
door entrance, 11 feet wide, leading from an incline into the boat room
which occupied most of the space on the first story. The boat room
measured 18 feet by 29 feet. In the rear of the boat room was a mess
room, running 12 feet 6 inches by 18 feet, and in each rear corner of the
mess room stood a closet, each 6 feet long against the rear wall by 2 feet

6. Walton to Merryman, April 1, 1874. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA
folder, "Little Kinnakeet Construction.”

12


Nozzles, brass, for 24-inch discharge hose each

Padlocks, brass, 3 tumbler, 3 inches long, with drop

plates and duplicate keys each
Pans, dust, japanned, best heavy tin, ordinary house

size, half covered, steel edge each
Paper, sand, Baeder, Adamson & Co.'s, No. 00 per sheet
Paper, sand, Baeder, Adamson & Co.'s, No. 1% per sheet
Paper, sand, Baeder, Adamson & Co.'s, No. 3 per sheet
Pepper boxes, planished, 2% x 3% inches each
Rakes, garden, 14-teeth, east steel, 6-ft. handles each

Scale beams, No. 2, common, japanned, light, 500
pounds capacity each

Screw eyes, cast brass, %-inch hole, 1-inch shank per
sample per dozen

Screws, bench, beech or birch wood, 2%-inch, 24 inches
long each

Screws, brass, flat heads, gimlet points, %-inch, No. 6 per gross
Screws, brass, flat heads, gimlet points, 5/8-inch, No. 7 per gross
Screws, brass, flat heads, gimlet points, 3/4-inch, No. 8 per gross
Screws, brass, flat heads, gimlet points, l-inch, No. 10 per gross
Screws, brass, flat heads, gimlet points, 14-inch, No. 13. per gross
Screws, brass, flat heads, gimlet points, 14-inch, No. 14 per gross

Screws, brass, flat heads, gimlet points, 1-3/4-inch,
No. 15 per gross

Screws, brass, flat heads, gimlet pints, 2-inch, No. 16 per gross
Screws, iron, flat heads, gimlet points, 4-inch, No. 5 per gross
Screws, iron, flat heads, gimlet points, 5/8-inch, No. 6 per gross
Screws, iron, flat heads, gimlet points, 3/4-inch, No. 7 per gross

Screws, iron, flat heads, gimlet points, 1-inch, No. 9 per gross

156



paeny se0D “s"n
“PREL ‘SG Jequieveq ‘xa[dwoo yeayeuUTY 9]IITT PATIeUT ay} JO MAIA [elLIeY

“€T ‘ON UoTeuysNyI]

226


e At each drill the person in charge shall note the time elapsing from
the moment the command "Action" is given until the man is landed at the
crotch. This time, and the distance of the sand anchor from the pole,
shall be noted in the log.

Words of command:

Open boat-room doors--Man the beach cart.
Forward.

Halt.

Action.

Man lee whip--haul off.

Man weather whip--haul ashore.

"Open Boat-Room Doors--Man the Beach Cart."

(1) Nos. 5 and 6 open and secure the boat-room doors. If
necessary to run the boat out, Nos. 1 and 2 ship the pole or shafts of
the boat wagon; No. 1 holding the pole, No. 2 inserting the bolt. The
crew run out the boat, No. 1 and No. 2 guiding the pole. The men then
take their stations at the beach cart, face to the front with the drag

r ) ropes over their shoulders, as shown in figure 1.

Fig. 1.--Man the beach cart.

(2) The keeper before giving the command "Forward" will muster
e@ the crew, and each man upon his number being called will make the hand
salute and recite his duties as given below.

95


exterior walls, except for trim, which appears to have been darker,
perhaps a vermillion red. In any event, it appears that the repainting
did not occur sooner than October 29. Keeper Edward O. Hooper
reported on the 30th that the crew was engaged in painting the station
and forty yards of old shot line had been "yoused [sic] for lashings the
bars to paint the house," possibly a reference to the employment of
scaffolding in completing the work. The project evidently went
unfinished until the middle of November. On the 22nd the keeper
recorded that the work had been done on the station and another house
and had consumed twenty-seven gallons of paint.(17)

1884. In the summer and fall a general overhauling of the
ten-year-old building took place as part of a general refurbishing
program for the stations. The work involved exterior repairs as well as
additions made inside, besides varnishing and painting throughout the
interiors of the ten Virginia-North Carolina stations. In April the
windows of the Little Kinnakeet Station were painted. In June Keeper
Hooper received the requisite lumber for the construction, and in July
two workmen were employed at Little Kinnakeet in completing the repairs
and additions. The project proceeded over twenty-three days between
July 21 and August 27, and in early September Hooper sent to the
neighboring Chicamacomico station "for paint to paint the new work of the
station."(18) Late in the year plans were made to install chimneys in the
old stations of the Sixth District. When that occurred, however,
according to an inspector of the Revenue Marine, "the window now in the
Keepers [sic] room will be of little use, as the chimney will come directly

17. Log entries for October 29, 30, and November 21, 22, 1883. NA,
RG 26. Copies in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1881-1886."

18. Log entry for April 25, 1884. Ibid.; "Voucher for purchases, etc. ,"
October 23, 1884, for "amounts paid to complete repairs on Little
Kinnakeet L.S. Station," totaling $33.82. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA
folder, "Little Kinnakeet Repairs"; Log entries for June 9, July 21,
August 27, September 9, 1884. NA, RG 26. Copies in CAHA folder,
"Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1881-86"; Sixth District Superintendent J.W.
Etheridge to Kimball, October 17, 1884. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA
folder, "6th District Repairs and Construction."

17


Room under lookout tower is not used but was cleaned and well
painted. This room could be made private by putting up a
bulkhead to allow a passageway to lookout tower. One or two
men could be quartered in this room and relieve congestion in
the main sleeping quarters.

Lookout tower: About 12' x 15'; best type seen in stations,
but windows which swing out on upper hinges are of poor
design. Windows similar to bridge or automobile windows should
be installed here. This lookout tower is large and allows man
on watch to move around and have clear vision of surrounding
territory and sea at all times.

1934. On January 1, Clarence P. Brady, the officer in charge at
Little Kinnakeet, commented on the December, 1933, inspection report.
He noted that the sheathing on the station "carried from the skirting to
ground is a protection to the building." Efforts were already underway to
replace the lost guttering on the east side. As for the inadequate
cistern, which was difficult to clean, he stated that the station needed "a
better and more water supply." Efforts were underway to fix the fire
pump. He further acknowledged the crowded conditions in the crew
sleeping quarters and recommended that the upstairs loft be partitioned
into four rooms to alleviate the congestion. The room beneath the watch
tower could also be used once the stairway leading to the lookout was
relocated on the exterior of the building. On January 7 the district
commander urged that a modern "plumbing and lighting" plant be installed
at the station, and observed that "this station has ample space for
installing this equipment." However, the work of partitioning the loft for
additional sleeping space was delayed pending completion of the other
repairs. (32)

Yet few improvements were made immediately, and in April the only
work of note to the station was when the crew spent some time painting
carpet strips on the lower floor. In May another inspection occurred in
which Commander McCabe noted that, although previous faults "have been

32. Officer in Charge, Little Kinnakeet Station, to Inspector in Chief,
January 1, 1934. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet
Inspection Reports"; Commander, Seventh District, to Inspector in Chief,
January 12, 1934. Ibid.

46



Figure 2.

Figure 3 represents the apparatus rigged, with the breeches buoy
hauled off to the ship.

If the breeches buoy be sent, let one man immediately get into it,
thrusting his legs through the breeches. If the life car, remove the
hatch, place as many persons in it as it will hold (four to six), and
secure the hatch on the outside by the hatch bar and hook, signal as
before and the buoy or car will be hauled ashore. This will be repeated
until all are landed. On the last trip of the life car the hatch must be
secured by the inside hatch bar.

Figure 3.

91


uo uoljippe jue[d 20N

“SEI

‘p Jaqowo

‘uorelg paeny

puenp 3se0D “S'N

“Jeusoo jsemMyysou
yseog yeaxeuUTyY eT

“QT “ON woNeSNII

232


1922, 1923, 1924. On June 15, 1922, the crew scoured the floor of
the boat room. Eighteen months later the surfmen spent the entire day
reshingling the roof of the old station. Late in December, 1923, the
superintendent of the Seventh District requested sixteen panes of glass to
repair cracked or broken lights in the structure's windows. And in
September, 1924, an inspection revealed that the sills of the boat incline
had become rotten, necessitating a request for its repair.(48)

1925 and 1927. In May, 1925, the surfmen repainted the exterior of
the building, and in July a proposal of the Chesson Manufacturing
Company of Elizabeth City was accepted to "reshingle the stable at the
Little Kinnakeet Station" at a cost of $153.67. In November, 1927,
repairs were made to the stable fence. (49)

1930. On May 22 a large numeral "181" was painted on the east side
of the shingled roof by the Little Kinnakeet crew. The number
represented the Coast Guard designation for the station and was put
there for the intelligence and guidance of airplane pilots. During the
following July the building exterior of the 1874 station was repainted. (50)

1932 and 1933. Crewmen spent two hours doing unspecified work on
the old station on August 31, 1932.(51) Sometime during this approximate

48. Log entry for June 15, 1922. Ibid.; Log entry for December 17,
1923. Ibid.; Superintendent James A. Price to Commandant,
December 31, 1923. Coast Guard records on microfilm at CAHA; "Report
of Inspection of Little Kinnakeet Coast Guard Station, Seventh District,
September 23, 1924. Ibid.

49. Log entry for May 11, 1925. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder,
"Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1925-1929"; Superintendent R.T. Crowley,
Seventh District, to Commandant, July 12, 1923. NA, RG 26. Copy in
CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Repairs"; Log entry for November 10,
1927. oy RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs,
1925-1929.

50. Log entries for May 22 and July 10, 1930. NA, RG 26. Copies in
CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1930-1932."

51. Log entry for August 31, 1932. Ibid.

29


oil,
Oil,

Oil,

Oil,

Oil,

Oil,
oil,
oil,

Oil,

oil,

Oil,
Oil,

Oil,
Oil,

Oil,

hard finish, dark, Masury's, in 1-gallon cans

hard finish, dark, F.O. Pierce Co.'s, in 1-gallon
cans

hard finish, dark, C.A. Woolsey Paint and Color
Co.'s, in 1-gallon cans

hard finish, dark, The Sherman Williams Co.'s, in
1-gallon cans

hard finish, white, Acme White Lead and Color
Works', in 1-gallon cans

hard finish, white, Berry Bros., in 1-gallon cans
hard finish, white, "Excelsior," in 1-gallon cans

hard finish, white, Harrison Bros. & Co.'s, in
1-gallon cans

hard finish, white, John Lucas & Co.'s, in 1-gallon
cans

hard finish, white, Pratt & Lambert's, in 1-gallon
cans

hard finish, white, Toch Bros.', in 1-gallon cans

hard finish, white, American White Lead and Color
Works', in 1-gallon cans

hard finish, white, Masury's, in 1-gallon cans

hard finish, white, F.O. Pierce Co.'s, in 1-gallon
cans

hard finish, white, C.A. Woolsey Paint and Color
Co.'s, in 1-gallon cans

Paint, copper, Woolsey's "Yacht" or equally good in

1-quart cans

Paint, mixed, best, colors as required, Acme White Lead

and Color Works'

Paint, mixed, best, colors as required, Lucas's

Paint, mixed, best, colors as required, Mound City Paint

and Color Co.'s

164

per

per

per

per

per
per

per

per

per

per

per

per

per

per

per

per

per

per

per

gallon

gallon

gallon

gallon

gallon
gallon

gallon

gallon

gallon

gallon

gallon

gallon

gallon

gallon

gallon

quart

gallon

gallon

gallon



the anchor chain had been slipped, the Saxon would have come
over the reef and on the beach. On the 14th the mate and
myself went aboard of the wreck, but could find no papers or
anything regarding the crew. Everything movable had been
washed away.

The barge became a total loss, but a considerable portion of the
lumber she carried was saved. The body of the cook was found by
members of the Cape Hatteras life-saving crew on October 16, a dozen
miles from the scene of the disaster. The body of the negro seaman was
picked up by the Big Kinnakeet crew on the 18th.(12)

1910

In the latter part of January, 1910, the schooner Frances, a wooden
vessel of 677 tons, left New York for Jacksonville, Fla., with a cargo of
cement. She carried a crew of eight men, all told. She went to pieces
near the Big Kinnakeet Life-Saving Station, a few miles north of Cape
Hatteras, on the morning of February 1, and, but for the discovery of a
piece of wreckage bearing her name, her fate might never have been
definitely known, as all hands on board perished.

The night preceding the day of the disaster was so stormy as to
make the coast guard of the service stationed on the outlying sands of
the coast mentioned more than ordinarily vigilant. A strong gale had
sprung up from the northwest in the early evening, accompanied by snow
flurries. As the wind swept over the beach it kicked up the dry sand
from among the hummocks and drove it out over the surf, snow, sand,
and flying spray forming a curtain that shut out the view seaward as
effectually as a fog. Moreover, the temperature had fallen to the
freezing point and the sea was exceptionally high. Notwithstanding the
weather conditions, the night was an uneventful one for the life-saving
crews near Cape Hatteras, yet somewhere at sea the gale was driving a
ship to destruction on their beach.

When day broke on February 1 it was still snowing, but the
temperature had risen several degrees, and the wind, while still fresh,
had moderated to 35 miles an hour. The snow and sand flurries, however,
still obscured the view along the beach, and the surf was still very high.
Ordinarily the patrol is maintained only in the night-time, but on this
morning the weather was so bad off the cape that the performance of that
duty at the Big Kinnakeet station was not discontinued with the return of
day. At 8 a.m. Surfman C.R. Hooper, temporarily in charge of the Big
Kinnakeet crew, sent Surfman E.F. Miller on patrol southward toward

12. Annual Report of the United States Life-Saving Service for the Fiscal
Year Ended June 30, 1908 (Washington: Government Printing Office,
1909), pp. 35-37.

129


wide. A staircase leading to the second story was in the right front
corner of the mess room as one faced the boat room entrance. Beneath
the stairs was another closet, 2 feet by 6 feet.

The second level was likewise practically laid out. Above the boat
room was the crew's quarters, measuring 18 feet wide by 22 feet long. A
doorway led from the crew's quarters to a store room, 18 feet by 9% feet,
toward the rear of the building. In the rear of the store room was the
staircase and a door leading into the keeper's room, measuring 18 feet by
approximately 10 feet 10 inches. In the walls of the station were ten
windows. Two were situated along each side. Each of these windows
measured 2% feet wide by 6 feet long. Two more windows located on the
lower level of the rear of the structure measured about 2 feet wide by 6
feet long, while the two windows at either end of the second level were of
dimensions that differed from each other. Those at the rear of the
building measured 2 feet wide by 4% feet long, while those above the boat
room doors were slightly shorter and were arched and pointed at the
tops. All of these windows were double hung with 6-light sashes,
differing somewhat from those with 9 lights shown on the plan.
Doorways, each approximately 4 feet wide, were located on either wall of
the mess room and led outside the building. Centered atop the shingled
gable roof of the station was a lookout platform, or widow's walk,
measuring 10 feet square. Entrance to the lookout was via a trapdoor in
the roof. As specified, the exterior of the station, particularly the
bracketed area beneath the eaves, was festooned with elaborate decorative
bargework and stairing characteristic of the Stick Style. The walls were
covered with vertical board and batten, and the windows all had louvered
shutters. Beneath the gable, fore and aft, was a circular fixed light.
Three large wooden buttresses, complementing the scrollwork, projected
along each side of the building to complete the Gothic ornamentation.
Finally, the sliding boat room doors were each covered with‘ boards
arranged diagonally opposite to those on the other, affording a contrast
with the overall vertical construction. Painting of the station, apparently

13


windows of the cook house, a project followed the next month by the
rehanging of the doors of the structure. In May, 1903, an inspector
proposed that the building be moved, along with the others, a distance of
about 1050 feet southwest to the site selected for erecting the new
station. Actual relocation began on May 28, 1904, and lasted five days.
At the new site the cook house was raised on blocks.(6)

For many years after construction of the 1904 station building at
Little Kinnakeet, the cook house raised in 1892, moved to the new site,
continued to serve the needs of the crew. In May, 1907, the building
exterior was painted, and in October, 1908, the crew repaired one of the
doorsteps. The building was occasionally modified, such as with the
apparent addition of screen doors and windows in 1909. A _ severe
windstorm early in 1910 struck Little Kinnakeet and broke the glass in
the door on the west side of the cookhouse. In April, 1912, the kitchen
cupboards were painted, although later that year an inspecting officer
remarked that "the kitchen needs painting."(7) Unspecified repairs were
made to the cook house in January, 1913, and in May the crew engaged
"in scraping kitchen & running flue to kitchen."(8)

In 1914 it became evident that Life-Saving Service officials planned
to keep on using the old cook house as an economy measure. In October,
Superintendent of Construction John A. Randall wrote:

6. Log entries for May 25, 28, June 2, and July 19, 1904. NA, RG 26.
Copies in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1900-1904."

7. Inspection reports, September 28, 1909, and October 5, 1912. NA,
RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "7th District Inspection Reports,
1908-1912"; Log entries for May 6, 1907, and October 29, 1908. NA,
RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1905-1909"; Log
entries for January 29, 1910, and April 3, 1912. NA, RG 26. Copies in
CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1910-1915." See also inspection
report, January 15, 1913. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "7th
District Inspection Reports, 1913-1915."

8. "Requisition for Repairs," January 27, 1913. NA, RG 26. Copy in

CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Repairs"; Log entry for May 2, 1913.
NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Logs, 1910-1915."

57


heey puores

#91 8 SNOILYLS,

“PLOSICUOAs otty ut
SNOILWIS INIAVS-44I1 SN N3L 4° NWId

211


1907

The annals of the service justify the assertion that a considerable
number of the marine disasters recorded in the annual reports under the
caption "Loss of life’ would find other classification did the imperiled
mariners but remain aboard ship until the life-savers could bring them to
safety. The wreck of the Saxon is a case in point.

The Saxon was originally a steamer of 1,193 tons. She was built in
Philadelphia in 1862. In 1903 she was remodeled into a barge of 555 tons.
When she made her last voyage she was owned by the Atlantic Coast
Lumber Company of New York, but her port of registry was Georgetown,
South Carolina. On the morning of October 11, 1908, she left her home
port in tow of the steamer Katahdin with a cargo of lumber consigned to
Philadelphia. She carried a crew of four--the master, Frank Pilong;
mate, Fred Lund; one seaman (a negro), and a cook. The names of the
seaman and cook could not be ascertained.

On the afternoon of the 12th, when the two vessels were off Cape
Hatteras, they ran into rough weather, and after laboring in the seas
several hours parted their towline, the barge going ashore 2%, miles south
of the Gull Shoal station on the coast of North Carolina. Only one of the
four men on board, the mate (Lund), reached shore alive. Lund's story
of what transpired after the parting of the hawser is as follows:

When the towline parted we ran up the forestaysail, foresail,
and mainsail on the barge, and tried to stand offshore on the
port tack, but could do nothing, as we lay in the trough of the
sea. The Katahdin came up and told our captain to try to get
into Hatteras on the starboard tack, but we found that we
could not do anything with her. The Katahdin came up again
shortly afterwards and tried to pass us a 3-inch heaving line,
but missed. The second time she tried we got the line and
began hauling it in, but the steamer went ahead before we got
the hawser on board and the running line parted. The
Katahdin then signaled us to anchor. I sounded and found a
little over 3% fathoms of water. We let go our anchor, running
out about 45 fathoms of chain, but it would hold in the sea and
current, and the Saxon dragged into the breakers and
stranded. This was somewhere near midnight. We made no
distress signals, as we had only the red and green side lights.
We had no anchor light, nor had we any chance to put up any.
We started to throw over the deck load, but the seas were
breaking over the barge and she was pounding so hard that the
captain ordered the boat launched--a 14%-foot metal boat--his
intention being to try to get aboard the Katahdin which was
lying by some distance seaward of us. We got the boat in the
water with all hands in it and shoved off. The captain and I
had the oars. The seaman and cook could not row; no one was
steering. We had scarcely got away from the side of the
vessel, however, when a sea came along and capsized us. I

126



by a stop spliced around the right rear brace of the cart body and
brought up over and around the shovel handles.

A 3/4-inch hole is bored through both legs of the crotch at a
distance from the bolt equal to the extreme length of the cart. A span of
14-inch rope, 3 fathoms long, is spliced into one of these holes. The
crotch is to be secured under the cart on the left side by taking a half
hitch around both legs with this span, making the span fast around the
horn of the after crosspiece of the cart body, the head of the crotch
being made fast at the breast piece with a two-legged stop spliced there
for that purpose.

Three shot and a heaving stick and line are to be placed upon the
hawser, in front of the gun, a piece of bagging being put under them.

Upon the gun there is to be placed the haversack, containing three
6-ounce, three 5-ounce, and three 4-ounce cartridges, filled and marked,
and two dozen primers.

The breeches buoy is to be laid upon its flat, resting upon the reel
and gun. The speaking trumpet is to be hung over the left headboard
rod.

The gun work and ax are to be hung in leather beckets on the left
and right sides of the cart body, respectively.

The tarpauling, stopped at the corners and sides, is to be spread
over all.

A water light shall always be carried, suspended from the underside
of the cart. A life preserver also shall be carried on the cart for the
use of the man who might be sent into the surf with the lines. Signal
flags shall be becketed underneath the beach cart and a lantern shall be
carried suspended from the underside of the cart.

Loaded as above, the reel stanchions placed 6 inches from the
headboard, the cart should exactly balance. If, through difference in
size and weight of crotch and sand anchor the cart does not balance, it
can be adjusted by moving the gun a few inches forward or aft.

While standing in the house the cart should have a support under
the center of the axle.

Hawser Cutter.

After the crew is landed from a stranded vessel, it may be
necessary to detach the hawser from the wreck, either for the purpose of
using it elsewhere or because the wreck is rapidly breaking up. In
either case the hawser cutter should be used. To do this, the breeches

110



Fig. 17.--Hawser cutter arranged for hauling off.

from the knives to the becket, thus relieving the hawser from their
pressure while the cutter is being hauled off to the wreck.

Haul the cutter out as close as possible to the spar to which the
hawser is secured, letting the part of the whip, F, fast to the knives,
hang as loosely as possible.

When the cutter reaches the spar, hold fast to the hauling-out part,
haul on the hauling-in part, F, attached to the knives, which will remove
the toggle bight E, freeing bight D from the eye, allowing the strain to
come on the knives, which will cut the hawser.

Haul the hawser in as quickly as possible, to prevent its unlaying.
Haul back, and unbend the whip from the cutter. Unreeve the whip.
Keep the knives sharp, and all ironwork of the cutter oiled.

The beach-apparatus drill is arranged for a keeper and seven men.
When the complement of a station exceeds that number each additional
surfman shall be assigned to assist one of the regular crew at the drill,
beginning with No. 3. Thus, the man whose watch number is 8 will
assist No. 3, the one whose watch number is 9 will assist No. 4, No. 10
will assist No. 5, etc. Each man so detailed to assist a member of the
regular crew shall be required to perfect himself in the duties of the man
he is detailed to assist and shall perform those duties in the absence of
that man.

112




b
CSCOBNMUTBwWNHE

Pee Re
OBONe

[Nyeusde
SOM

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Little Kinnakeet 1874-pattern station, ca. 1893

Little Kinnakeet 1874-pattern station, ca. 1890s

Station of 1874 pattern with 1885 addition, ca. 1900

Plan showing structural details of 1874-pattern stations
Floor plans for 1874-pattern stations

Boathouse at Little Kinnakeet, ca. 1920s

Two views of 1874-pattern station, 1934

Two views of 1904 station, 1934

Two views of station complex, 1934 and 1935

Views of 1935 lean-to addition construction to 1874-pattern station
Two views of 1904 station building, 1935 and 1936

Site plan, Little Kinnakeet Station Complex, 1935

Aerial view of Little Kinnakeet complex, 1944

Little Kinnakeet station complex, 1951

Little Kinnakeet Coast Guard Station, 1954

Little Kinnakeet Coast Guard station, 1954

Two views of Little Kinnakeet complex, ca. 1958 and 1963
Former Little Kinnakeet station in use as a school, 1963
The 1892 cook house with ca. 1945 addition, ca. 1960s
The 1904 station at Little Kinnakeet, ca. 1960s

vi


Instructions.

Rescue with the Lifeboat or Surfboat.

The patrolman, after discovering your vessel ashore and burning a
Coston signal, hastens to his station for assistance. If the use of a boat
is practicable, either the large lifeboat is launched from its ways in the
station and proceeds to the wreck by water or the lighter surfboat is
hauled overland to a point opposite the wreck and launched, as
circumstances may require.

Upon the boat reaching your vessel the directions and orders of the
keeper (who always commands and steers the boat) should be implicitly
obeyed. Any headlong rushing and crowding should be prevented, and
the captain of the vessel should remain on board to preserve order until
every other person has left.

Women, children, helpless persons, and passengers should be passed
into the boat first.

Goods or baggage will not be taken into the boat under any
circumstances until all persons are landed. If any be passed in against
the keeper's remonstrance he is fully authorized to throw it overboard.

Rescue with the Breeches Buoy or Life Car.

Should it be inexpedient to use either the lifeboat or surfboat,
recourse will be had to the wreck gun and beach apparatus for the resce
by the breeches buoy or the life car.

A shot with a small line attached will be fired across your vessel.

Get hold of the line as soon as possible and haul on board until you
get a tail block with a whip or endless line rove through it. This tail
block should be hauled on board as quickly as possible to prevent the
whip drifting off with the set of the current or fouling with wreckage,
etc. Therefore, if you have been driven into the rigging, where but one
or two men can work to advantage, cut the shot line and run it thorugh
some available block, such as the throat or peak halyards' block, or any
block which will afford a clear lead, or even between the ratlines, that as
many as possible may assist in hauling.

Attached to the tail block will be a tally board with the following
directions in English on one side and French on the other:

"Make the tail of the block fast to the lower mast, well up. If the

masts are gone, then to the best place you can find. Cast off shot line,
see that the rope in the block runs free, and show signal to the shore."

89


B. The 1904 Station--Construction and Maintenance
Since 1899 sentiment among Life-Saving Service inspectors and
others concerned with the operation at Little Kinnakeet had turned from

costly maintenance toward minimal upkeep of the old _ station.
Construction of a new building to replace it became a matter of
inevitability, and on August 4, 1900, a site one-quarter mile (1050 feet)
to the southwest was selected on land purchased by the government from
C.T. Williams, as follows:

Beginning at a stone monument on the shore at the Pamlico
Sound, at the south-west corner of Ezekiel Gray's patent
running due east 20 chains to a stone monument at the
north-east corner, Cape Hatteras Light House bearing S.
10°W., thence for said Light House S. 10°W. 10 chains to a
stone monument at south-east corner, thence west 7° north 20
chains to a stone at S.W. corner also at the Pamlico Sound,
thence with the shore and said north 22° east 7 chains 58 links
to the beginning, containing 17% acres of land, together with a
full right of way 5 rods wide, to the United States for
life-saving purposes, running along the northerly line of said
premises extended, to the Atlantic Ocean.(1)

Sixteen months after the purchase of this tract, however,
construction had not started. In December, 1901, the district inspector
declared the roofs "leaky and worn out" at nine locations, including Little
Kinnakeet, and that "new stations should be certainly built at an early
date" at designated sites. Yet delay continued. Finally, in March, 1903,
Kimball inquired of his superintendents of construction why work could
not proceed. He proposed that a new station design, used at Virginia
Beach and referred to as the “Quonochontang plan," be adapted for use

1. Statement submitted by Attorney I.M. Meekices, November 16, 1899.
NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA folder, "Little Kinnakeet Title, Deed." See
also the plot of the reservation enclosed in Fourchy to Superintendent of
Construction, L.S.S., January 6, 1906. Microfilm roll, U.S. Coast Guard
Academy Library, New London. Copy in the library of CAHA. In this
letter Fourchy reported that an error of measurement existed "in the
length of the Southern line, or in the angles at S.E. and S.W. corners of
reservation." He urged that the matter be promptly corrected. The title
to the property was recorded in Manteo, Dare County, on May 20, 1901.
Plat accompanying ibid.

34



Hose, cotton, 24% inch delivery, in 50-foot lengths,
coupled with brass shank couplings and "Sherman's
brass hose bands, with iron bolt and nut, "Warwick"
mildew and rot proof, "Safety" brand, or equally
goo

Hose, rubber, hard, standard quality, 4-ply, 1-inch
delivery, for suction

Hose, rubber, hard, standard quality, 4-ply, 2-inch
delivery, for suction

Hose rubber, hard, standard quality, 4-ply, 2%-inch
delivery, for suction

Knives and forks, dinner, best shear steel, rubber
handles, with metal bolsters, Russell's Northampton
Cutlery Co.'s, or L & G (set to consist of 6 knives
and 6 forks)

Knives, butcher, best shear steel, 7-inch blade, cocoa
or beech handles, with metal bolsters Russell's,
Northampton Cutlery Co's, or L& G

Knives carving, best shear steel, 12-inch blade, rubber
handles, with metal bolsters, Russell's Northampton
Cutlery Co.'s, or L& G

Knives, mincing, best cast steel, single blade, polished,
No. 1, plain handle

Knives, putty, 6-inch, square, elastic, riveted handles
Match safes, iron, japanned, large, self closing
Measures, lipped, 4X tin, gallon

Measures, lipped, 4X tin, quart, graduated measure
Nails, boat, copper, 1-inch

Nails, boat, copper, 14-inch

Nails, boat, copper, 3-inch

Nails, boat, galvanized, Swedish iron, 1-inch

Nails, boat, galvanized, Swedish iron, 14-inch

Nails, boat, galvanized, Swedish iron, 3-inch

154

per foot

per foot

per foot

per foot

per set

each

each

each
each
each
each
each
per pound
per pound
per pound
per pound
per pound

per pound


and high sea which continued several days prevented until March 1, when
the revenue cutter Winona, from Newbern, bearing a surgeon of the
Marine-Hospital Service, reached the station in response to a dispatch
from the Department. The master then received proper professional care,
and on the following day was conveyed to Newbern on the cutter. The
high surf prevented the launching of the boat until the third day after
the occurrence of the wreck, when a successful trip was made to her,
and the mate's body and the clothing of the crew were brought on shore.
The body was prepared for burial at the station, and then carefully laid
to rest in the cemetery of the neighborhood, after funeral ceremonies
befitting the sad occasion, in the presence of his late comrades. The
clothing supplied by the Women's National Relief Association was drawn
upon for the urgent necessities of the master, as well as in preparing for
burial the remains of the mate.

In addition to the many verbal expressions of gratitude for the kind
attentions received while sojourning at the station, written statements
were made by the master and crew of the lost vessel. A deposition,
executed February 25, 1892, before Samuel R. Hazen, a notary public,
previous to the official investigation of the unhappy accident is given
below:

"We, the undersigned, captain and crew of the schooner Annie
E. Pierce, which was wrecked near Little Kinnakeet Life-Saving
Station, depose and say that the mate, Alonzo Driscoll, was
instantly killed by the sea as the schooner was crossing the
outer bar; also, just before the vessel stranded, the captain's
leg was broken by the violence of the sea. This loss of life
and injury to limb happened before the vessel struck the shore,
and was in nowise the fault of the life-saving crew. We also
state that the crew of the Little Kinnakeet Station were
promptly on hand and rendered all possible assistance.

"JOSEPH R. SOMERS,
"RISLEY SOMERS,
"GEO. J. LODER,
"EDWARD DRISCOLL,
"Of the schooner Annie E. Pierce."(5)

1894

SCHOONER DAUNTLESS, December 20, 1894.
SIR: I wish to return my sincere thanks to the keepers and crews of
Gull Shoal, Chicamonicomico, and Little Kinnakeet life-saving stations, and

5. Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving

Service for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1892 (Government Printing
Office, 1893), pp. 39-41.

121


Keeper.--Has general supervision; selects place to bury sand anchor
and position for gun; places firing plank, if one is used; places gun in
position; provides cartridge, primer, and lanyard; loads and sights gun
and determines elevation with the level; pricks cartridge, primes, and
fires gun; signals the wreck to haul off whip; lights hawser to the surf;
hitches whip around neck of buoy block and bends buoy-bridle to whip;
raises center of crotch.

(3) No. 1.--Assist keeper to place gun in position; provide shot an
hold for No. 2 to bend shot line to, then insert shot in bore; train gun;
bend shot line around whip; attend left part of whip; if on lee side, bend
whip to hawser; hold breeches buoy block while keeper bends on whip,
and then snap block on hawser; man fall and left leg of crotch.

(4) Ng. 2.--Place shot-line box in position; bend shot line into shot;
train gun; take a half-hitch with shot line over tail of whip block;
attend right part of whip; if on lee side, bend whip to hawser, hold
breeches-buoy block while keeper bends on whip, then snap block on
hawser; man fall and right leg of crotch.

(5) No. 3.--Place shot-line box in position; stretch tackle (outer
block); haul whip from reel while it is being hauled off to the wreck, and
if on lee side do the same while hawser is being hauled off; haul in slack
of hawser; bend strap or chain tail for outer block of tackle; man fall
and left leg of crotch; am shifting man on whip.

(6) No. 4.--Unload buoy from cart; place crotch, hawser, and buoy
in position; stretch tackle and hook inner block into sand-anchor
pennant; haul whip from reel while it is being hauled off to the wreck,
and if on lee side do the same while hawser is being hauled off; haul in
slack of hawser; hook outer block of tackle; man fall and right leg of
crotch; am shifting man on whip.

(7) No. 5.--Open and secure boat-room doors; unload sand-anchor,
shovels, and pick, and bury sand anchor; man weather part of whip
when hauling off hawser; haul in slack of hawser, hook inner block if
pennant block is used; man and belay fall; am shifting man on whip.

(8) No. 6.--Open and secure boat-room doors; unload sand-anchor,
shovels, and pick, and bury sand anchor; man weather part of whip
when hauling off hawser; haul in slack of hawser, snatch hawser and
make cat's-paw if pennant block is used; man fall and center of crotch;
am shifting man on whip.

(9) No. 7.--In drill go to wreck pole; in service unload shovels and
pick, and assist to bury sand anchor; man weather part of whip when
hauling off hawser; haul in slack of hawser; man fall and center of
crotch; am shifting man on whip.

1. If firing plank is used, keeper himself will train gun.

96



The station at Little Kinnakeet adhered closely to the design. It
contained two stories rather than one, but loyally conveyed the low,
ground-hugging tendencies for which the bungalow style was known.
The structure measured roughly 50 feet long (east-west) by 47 feet wide,
including an 8-foot-wide veranda enclosing most of it. The foundation
rested on cedar piling. Six rooms occupied the first floor: a crew
bedroom (with seven built-in wall closets), measuring about 34 feet long
by 16 feet wide; an assembly room 18 feet long by 14 feet wide; an
office, 12 feet by 14 feet; a keeper's room, 13 feet square; a large closet
off the north side of the keeper's room, 7 feet by 4 feet; and a room
adjoining the west end of the crew sleeping quarters, about 12 feet long
by 7 feet wide, probably used for hanging wet clothing. At the north
end of the latter room was an exit to the veranda. A small entrance
hallway, 4 feet wide by 7 feet long, stood between the office and
assembly room. At the end of the hallway was a 3-foot-wide stairway
leading to the upper floor. Nearly opposite the south side entrance and
across the veranda were steps leading to the ground. Double-hung
windows were spaced regularly around the building to afford ample
interior lighting. The top floor, designated for storage uses, consisted
of an open loft, apparently unceiled, measuring approximately 32 feet long
(east-west) by 30 feet wide. Double windows fixed in a dormer
protruded through the hipped roof from each interior upstairs wall.
Attached, but slightly offset on the southwest corner of the building, was
a watch tower measuring approximately 13 feet square. As stated, the
room at the first level served initially as the keeper's quarters, while
that on the second level comprised the watchman's room. The first floor
room contained a door and window on the west side and two more windows
on the south side. That directly above had a single window on each of
the west and south sides. From the watchman's room a narrow
2-foot-wide stairway led up to the lookout. A bank of four windows lined
each wall except the east, where, oddly, a chimney partly disrupted the
view toward the ocean. A hipped roof similar to that covering the main
building completed the tower.(8)

8. Inspection report, December 7, 1933. NA, RG 26. Copy in CAHA
folder, "Little Kinnakeet Inspection Reports"; "Little Kinnakeet Lifeboat
(Continued)

37