State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr., (I, D, WF, WE-Sag Harbor) today announced that the Amagansett U.S. Life-Saving and Coast Guard Station in the Town of East Hampton has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was previously named to the New York State Register of Historic Places in June. State and National Register listings can assist property owners in revitalizing buildings, making them eligible for various public preservation programs and services, such as matching state grants and state and federal historic rehabilitation tax credits.

This station is a significant part of East Hampton Town’s maritime history and is dedicated to the historical preservation of the building and to all who served at the Amagansett U.S. Life-Saving & Coast Guard Station from 1902 to 1944. Now a museum, it was restored to its original appearance and situated in the same spot it was built in 1902.

The Amagansett Station was constructed on Atlantic Avenue and was one of a network of 30 life-saving stations on the South Shore of Long Island. The crew at these stations kept watch from the lookout tower and by patrolling the beach. Discovering a ship in distress, the life-savers would perform a rescue by launching their surfboat or by firing a line to the ship and taking people off with a breeches buoy. From 1902 to 1937, the crew of the Amagansett Life-Saving Station, most of who were experienced local fishermen and shore whalers, kept watch over this beach and rescued sailors and passengers from several shipwrecks. The station is also associated with an incident in World War II when coastguardsmen discovered four boxes of explosives buried in the sand by Nazi agents who had landed on the beach from a U-boat. The agents were later apprehended and tried. This incident led to the establishment of the Coast Guard Beach Patrol, which grew to consist of 24,000 men and played an important role in coastal defense during the war.

The State and National Registers are the official lists of buildings, structures, districts, landscapes, objects and sites significant in the history, architecture, archeology and culture of New York State and the nation. There are more than 120,000 historic buildings, structures and sites throughout the state listed on the National Register of Historic Places, individually or as components of historic districts. Property owners, municipalities and organizations from communities throughout the state sponsored the nominations.

More information on the nominations is available on the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation website.