Coast Guard station brought back to life in Port Orford
© Rick Francona
For 36 years, it was the focus of activity on the headlands. The U.S. Coast Guard lifeboat station in Port Orford was built in 1934 to provide lifesaving service on the southern portion of the Oregon coast, a mission it performed until the station was decommissioned in 1970 and turned over the state of Oregon.
Today, once again, it is the focus of events on the headlands. The Point Orford Heritage Society, in cooperation with Oregon State Parks, has established a museum and interpretive center on this historic site. The society’s goal is to tell the story of the significant role played by the Coast Guard station and to highlight the fascinating history of Port Orford. The Port Orford Heads state park has three excellent interconnecting trails on the headlands affording spectacular views up and down the Pacific Coast.
Although the concept of a lifesaving station in Port Orford was formalized as early as 1894, it was not until 1931 that appropriations were made and construction plans developed. Commissioned in 1934 as the southernmost Coast Guard Station on the Oregon coast, Port Orford was one of the three earliest stations established in Oregon. The mission was rescue. Two 36-foot motor lifeboats and two pulling boats were on alert, ready to respond. One of the motor lifeboats, USCG 36498 (shown above in action off Port Orford), has been acquired by the Heritage Society and can be seen on site. The society hopes to position the boat and begin its restoration in 2001.
The station boathouse, which burned down in the late 1970s, was on Nellies Cove, 280 feet below the Heads. A steep wooden and concrete staircase with over 500 steps provided access to the boathouse. To fuel the lifeboats, crewmen carried gasoline in five-gallon cans down to the cove, one can in each hand, until the tanks were full.
During the period leading up to World War II and through the end of the conflict (1939-1945) the station was under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Navy. The peacetime strength of 13 exploded to well over one hundred as the station took on the added mission of coastal defense.
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