Station Ludington, Michigan
USLSS Station #7, Eleventh District
Coast Guard Station #266
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Location:
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North side entrance of Ludington Harbor, Mich., 1/2 mile east of North Breakwater Front Light;
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Date of Conveyance:
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1878
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Station Built:
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1879
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Fate:
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Still in operation
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Remarks:
In 1878 lifeboat stations were authorized for the communities of Manistee and Ludington, followed by Frankfort in 1882; the Coast Guard has been standing watch for mariners in distress throughout the region ever since. Station Ludington has changed over the years and was upgraded from a small, seasonal detachment to a full time, year-round station. In addition to its primary area of responsibility from Big Sable Point to Stoney Lake , Station Ludington provides rescue for an overall operational area of approximately 35 nautical miles of coastline encompassing 1,050 square miles, and spanning two counties.
A new station building was built and commissioned in April 2004; the 4,200 square foot facility greatly enhanced the efficiency and operational capabilities of the unit, as well as improve habitability for the crew. With a crew complement of sixteen active duty, four reservists, and more than twenty Auxiliary members (Auxiliary Flotilla 20-06), the station handles approximately 100 Search and Rescue cases per year and over 150 boardings.
Station Ludington is located at the center of the eastern shoreline of Lake Michigan.
Keepers:
Joshua J. Brown was appointed keeper on 25 OCT 1879 and resigned on 1 MAR 1883.
Robert Broadbent was appointed keeper on 15 FEB 1883 and resigned, date unknown.
Charles Tufts was appointed keeper on 25 SEP 1884 and transferred to Station Chicago on 25 FEB 1893.
Telesford St. Peter was appointed keeper on 25 FEB 1893 and transferred to Station Chicago on 28 NOV 1893.
Charles Tufts was appointed keeper on 16 NOV 1893 and resigned on 28 JUL 1897.
Peter Jensen was appointed keeper on 23 JUL 1897 and transferred to Station Holland on 14 AUG 1900.
Adam N. Weckler was appointed keeper on 14 AUG 1900 and resigned on 12 OCT 1905.
Berudt Carlson was appointed keeper on 26 OCT 1905 and died 31 JAN 1913.
Eli E. Pugh was appointed keeper on 21 FEB 1913 and was still serving in 1915.
Photographs:
Coast Guard Station Ludington, circa 2007
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.
Truman, Stephen, Grace Truman & Joel Truman. Storms & Sand: A Story of Shipwrecks and the Big Sable Point Coast Guard Station. Grand Rapids, MI: Pine Woods Press, 2013.
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.