Station Point Judith, Rhode Island
USLSS Station #2, Third District
Coast Guard Station #55
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Location:
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On Point Judith, 1/8 of a mile north of Point Judith Light; 41-21' 40"N x 71-29' 00"W
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Date of Conveyance:
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1875
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Station Built:
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1876
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Fate:
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Still in operation
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Remarks:
Point Judith station was built in 1876 "on Point Judith, near Point Judith Light, east one-half mile of Point Judith Harbor of Refuge." It was opened for service on November 15, 1876. The station was rebuilt in 1888-1889.
The station is still in operation. Three boatmen were rescued in a dramatic action in July 1975. One of the three, James M. Rodger of Rumford, died on the way to South County Hospital. The two survivors were identified as Walter Zrebriec, 55, of Berkeley, Mass., and Robert Everett Horton, 25, of Pawtucket. Two Coast Guardsmen sustained light injuries.
Keepers:
The first appointed keeper was a fisherman, Joseph N. Griffin, who was appointed at the age of 33 on September 14, 1876; he was removed on February 18, 1878. Horace Briggs was offered the appointment, but declined it. The next keeper was Daniel Billington, who was appointed effective February 11, 1878; the date of the end of his tenure was unrecorded. The next keeper was Herbert M. Knowles, who was appointed from one of the crew at the age of 24 on December 5, 1878, but it is not known when he left. Next came Asa Church (October 3, 1889 until his resignation due to physical reasons on May 15, 1905), and Amos P. Tefft (April 25, 1905 until his reassignment to the Sandy Point station on June 24, 1922). He was followed by Chief Petty Officer C. H. Collins, who is listed in 1927 and shown going to the Narragansett Pier station in 1929. Next appears Adolph A. Rohdin, from the Cuttyhunk station on August 25, 1928, who served until December 2, 1935 when he was reassigned to the Office of the Third District. The last commanding officer listed before World War II was Arthur E. Larkin, who arrived on July 15, 1937 from the Quonochotuag station
Sources:
Station History File, CG Historian’s Office
Dennis L. Noble & Michael S. Raynes. “Register of the Stations and Keepers of the U.S. Life-Saving Service.” Unpublished manuscript, compiled circa 1977, CG Historian’s Office collection.
Ralph Shanks, Wick York & Lisa Woo Shanks. The U.S. Life-Saving Service: Heroes, Rescues and Architecture of the Early Coast Guard. Petaluma, CA: Costaño Books, 1996.
U.S. Treasury Department: Coast Guard. Register of the Commissioned and Warrant Officers and Cadets and Ships and Stations of the United States Coast Guard, July 1, 1941. Washington, DC: USGPO, 1941.