May 27, 2010

At the Chicamacomico historic site you can learn all about the heroes of the U.S. Life-Saving Service

The Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station Historic Site is a seven-acre, eight-building complex, extending from Highway 12 to the Atlantic Ocean in Rodanthe on Hatteras Island.  It is considered the most complete remaining U.S. Life-Saving Service complex in the nation. Of the 285 USLSS stations built from 1848 to 1914 along most of America’s coastline, the Chicamacomico complex contains two complete stations as well as a number of outbuildings. 

Chicamacomico was the first operational station in North Carolina and is located on the eastern-most point in North Carolina.  Today the site is open to the public and contains artifacts, displays, photographs, and other unique items.

The site consists of eight buildings:

The 1874 Station opened in December 1874.  The architecture is stunning and highly unusual. It was originally located approximately a half mile north of its current location but was relocated soon after the 1911 station was completed.  Once the replacement station was built, the 1874 Station was used by the crew as a boathouse and storage shed. It now resumes its original role as a USLSS lifesaving station.  It contains original and reproduction USLSS rescue equipment.  It is one of only two 1874 life-saving stations in the nation that is open to the public.

The 1892 soundside Boat House originally housed a smaller, shallow-draft boat for rescues in the Pamlico Sound.  It now serves as a Visitors’ Center and gives first-time visitors an orientation to the USLSS in general and to the Chicamacomico site in particular.

The 1896 Cook House was built to accompany the 1874 Station.  In later years, it was relocated on the property and was then used as an Oil Shed.

The 1911 Station was a larger structure with unique architecture – cedar shakes and shingles, dormer windows, and an enclosed watch tower. Both the first and second floors are open and are filled with displays, artifacts, photographs, and many unique exhibits.  There are also two videos visitors can watch, and the highlight for many is climbing to the top of the watch tower for the spectacular 360-degree view of the Atlantic Ocean, Pamlico Sound, and the village of Rodanthe.

The 1911 Stable held two “government horses” until they became obsolete for this type of beach patrols. Later it was converted to a workshop.

The 1911 Cook House is completely furnished with a coal-fired cook stove, wooden table and chairs, cast iron and porcelain sink with hand pump, a cold-storage room, and even a fully stocked pantry with lots of details.

In addition, the site also contains three wooden water cisterns (1874 era) and one concrete “beehive” cistern (1911 era).
   
The Chicamacomico Life-Saving Service Station was decommissioned and closed in 1954.  It was abandoned property until it was acquired by a private citizen.  In 1974, this private citizen turned the property over to the residents of Rodanthe, Waves, and Salvo.  They then created the nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, the Chicamacomico Historical Association, to own and operate the complex.  CHA raises all of its own funding.

Limited restoration was done to the buildings up to 1994, when vigorous work began.  From 1994 to present, the 1911 Chicamacomico Station is 97 percent restored and the 1874 Station is 75 percent restored.  The buildings on the site are now back in their correct historical location.

In 2005, a home built on Hatteras Island in 1907 was donated, complete with furniture and other furnishings, and was relocated to an adjacent piece of property within the Chicamacomico complex.  This home has direct ties to the Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station.  It is now called the 1907 Midgett House and is also open to the public.  It is set up as a real home and not a museum piece. 

Chicamacomico was the scene of the most highly awarded maritime rescue in American history – the SS Mirlo on Aug. 16, 1918. On display at the station is Surfboat No. 1046, the actual boat used in that stunning and dramatic rescue.  Chicamacomico was also the scene of one of the last breeches buoy rescues in the state of North Carolina – the Omar Babun in 1954. 

Today Chicamacomico is the only place in the United States that performs the full Beach Apparatus Drill reenactment for the public during the summer months.  It is the only drill reenactment in the world performed by active duty U.S. Coast Guard personnel.


IF YOU WANT TO VISIT

The Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station Historic Site, located on Highway 12 in Rodanthe at milepost 391/2 or GPS 35 35 737N, 75 27 981W, is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. during the season – April until Thanksgiving.  Admission is $6 for adults and $4 for seniors and students from 6 to 17. For more information, call 252-987-1552. The e-mail is clss@embarqmail.com, and the Web site is www.chicamacomico.net


CHICAMACOMICO LIFE-SAVING STATION SUMMER PROGRAMS

Programs are presented during June, July, and August. All programs are free with regular site admission fee.  All begin 2 p.m. All Programs are outdoors thus weather dependent

MONDAYS: ‘NIGHTS IN RODANTHE’ MOVIE — BEHIND THE SCENES
All exterior scenes were actually filmed right here in Rodanthe, where
Chicamacomico is located.  The station’s site pperations manager, Linda Molloy, was cast as Jill Torrelson opposite Richard Gere in a brief but pivotal role. 
Come get the scoop.  Linda will autograph and personalize your book and DVD purchases for a truly unique vacation souvenir.  The movie house, Serendipity, has been relocated within view of the site, only five streets away! Walk over after the program and get some photos.

TUESDAYS:  AMERICA’S FORGOTTEN HEROES
Marvel at the superlatives that make Chicamacomico so very specia Discover the forgotten yet fascinating history of the United States Life-Saving Service, the original “Storm Warriors” who were the predecessors of today’s U.S. Coast Guard. Absorb the unbelievable details of actual rescues done here, especially the dramatic SS Mirlo story -- the most highly awarded maritime rescue in U.S. history.

WEDNESDAYS: THE REAL TAFFY OF TORPEDO JUNCTION
Taffy was the central character in a wildly popular children’s book published in the ‘50s.  Republished recently, it is being discovered by a whole new generation.  This fictional novel tells the daring antics of an independent young teenager living on Hatteras Island during World War II.  ‘Taffy” was based on the real-life Carol Dillon, Hatteras Island native.  She will enthrall you with her stories of what was fiction and what was not.  You will be surprised how much was not fiction.

THURSDAYS: BEACH APPARATUS DRILL
The U.S. Life-Saving Service required all stations to practice this rescue method weekly.  Chicamacomico is now the only place in the country—or the world, for that matter—that performs the complete drill, including live black powder firing and live shot.  Popularly known as the “Breeches Buoy Rescue Reenactment,” it remains the best show on the Outer Banks.

FRIDAYS:  WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO THE “LOST COLONY”?
Another of history’s mysteries? The longer popular works of drama are around, the more fiction is mistaken for fact. This is simply no “mystery” at all, once the basic factual history is understood.  Where did they go? According to Scott Dawson, they came right here to Hatteras Island, where they actually first started. Dawson’s compelling delivery will have you spellbound. Documentation and evidence abound.


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