Station Point Allerton, Massachusetts
Coast Guard Station #26
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Location:
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1 mile west of Point Allerton
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Date of Conveyance
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1882 (authorized)
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Station Built:
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1889
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Fate:
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Still in operation
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Remarks:
An comment is made in the 1879 Annual Report that "a station is required at a point at some distance north of Scituate Harbor, Massachusetts. The station heretofore authorized for Scituate was placed several miles below the harbor, but the one now recommended seems to be nearly or quite as necessary as that established." Establishment of a complete lifesaving station "between Cohasset and Scituate Harbors, Massachusetts" was authorized by the act of May 4, 1882. Port Allerton station, located "west one mile of Point Allerton," was completed and placed into commission in 1889. Contract was entered in 1913 for extensive improvements to the station.
Keepers:
Its first keeper was the famous Joshua James, formerly of the Massachusetts Humane Society, who was appointed on October 15, 1889 and died "in line of duty" on March 19, 1902. He was succeeded by William C. Sparrow, appointed June 19, 1902 and retired at age 64 on December 3, 1922. Next came Chief Petty Officer G. A. Joseph in 1927, who was commissioned and sent to the Gloucester station on August 2, 1935. He was relieved by Isaac L. Hammond who had been commissioned on July 4, 1935. The station is still in existence.
Captain Joshua James:
Captain Joshua James fell dead at his post of duty just as he stepped from the boat in which he and his crew had been engaged in surfboat drill on March 21, 1902. Captain James was probably the most celebrated life-saver in the world, having spent all the years of his manhood in the service of the Humane Society of Massachusetts and the United States Life-Saving Service. He is credited with having saved hundreds of lives, and was honored for his bravery and skill on numerous occasions by the award of tokens of distinction from the United States Government, the State of Massachusetts, marine and commercial organizations, and various societies. He left an invalid widow and several children, whose unhappy pecuniary situation so profoundly appealed to the sympathy and sense of justice of the public that a popular contribution of $3,733 was immediately collected for their assistance.
Photographs:
"Point Allerton L. S. Station, c. 1895; Keeper Joshua James."; photo is numbered "L45 124" and CGAX-56; photographer unknown.
Note Keeper Joshua James to the right and the Lyle gun in the foreground.
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.