Mosquito Lagoon House of Refuge
Coast Guard Station No. 203
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Location:
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On beach outside the lagoon; 28-51' 30"N x 80-46' 20"W
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Date of Conveyance:
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1884
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Station Built:
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Unknown
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Fate:
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Property sold under bid in 1945.
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Remarks:
First established as a House of Refuge. According to the 1879 "Annual Report of the Life Saving Service" these houses of refuge along the east coast of Florida "contemplate no other life saving operations than affording succor to shipwrecked persons who may be cast ashore, and who, in the absence of such means of relief, would be liable to perish from hunger and thirst in that desolate region. Crews of surfmen are not needed here, but the keepers and members of their families are required to go along the beach, in both directions, in search of castaways immediately after a storm."
Keepers:
Jacob Summerlin was appointed keeper on 13 MAY 1886 and was discharged on 23 JUL 1890.
Elwin S. Coutant was appointed keeper on 23 JUL 1890 and resigned on 20 OCT 1912.
F.W. Church was appointed keeper on 21 OCT 1912 and left on 2 JAN 1913 (caretaker).
Frank Hayman was appointed keeper on 17 DEC 1912 and resigned on 14 MAR 1913.
Lee Huntley was appointed keeper on 19 FEB 1913 and was still serving in 1915.
Photos:
No caption/date/photo number; photographer unknown. Probably 1930s.
Courtesy of Van R. Field
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 Unpublished manuscript, compiled circa 1977, CG Historian’s Office collection.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.