Legislative Funding Progress and Historic Designation for Wood Island Station
AUGUSTA – Legislation sponsored by Senator Dawn Hill of Cape Neddick to provide $200,000 in state funding for the restoration project at Kittery’s historic Wood Island life saving station has moved through both the House and Senate. It awaits end of session action in the appropriations process.
Sen. Dawn Hill of York
“This is another excellent step in the right direction for the bill and I am pleased with the bipartisan support of both the House and Senate,” said Sen. Hill. “This level of support is a testament to the efforts by the group working to save the station.”
Also, the Maine State Historic Preservation Commission has approved an application for Wood Island Station to be “eligible” for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. “I believe this life saving station is one of our state’s most precious historic resources,” Hill said. “The State Historic Preservation Commission has confirmed that.”
The Wood Island Life Saving Station Association (WILSSA), which has been instrumental in leading this preservation effort, drafted and submitted the application.
“We have always known it was a special building and we learned through our research for this application that it is the only life saving station remaining in the country with a marine railway. The historical significance of Wood Island Station is now clear” said Sam Reid, President of the Association.
Christi Mitchell of the Maine State Historic Preservation Commission wrote a letter to the Association confirming the decision about the historic status of Wood Island Station saying, “of particular importance is the presence of the marine railway – a feature that survives only rarely in association with these stations.” She added, “It played a key role in the defense of Portsmouth Harbor between 1941 and 1945.”
Kittery Town Manager, Nancy Colbert Puff, added, “The recent developments with State funding and the eligibility determination are excellent news. It is good to see such strong progress towards restoring Wood Island. I congratulate the Wood Island Life Saving Station Association on its perseverance and thank our elected officials for their support.”
The 1908 life saving station is on Wood Island in the mouth of the Piscataqua River. The facility was a base of operation for the U.S. Life Saving Service, which later became part of the U.S. Coast Guard in 1915.
Six men, called “surfmen” and their leader called the “keeper” would live there year round and wait for maritime emergencies. Their job was to row out and save mariners in distress. Life saving was the purpose of the building from 1908 to 1941. More than 66 wrecks were responded to in that period, and many were lives saved.
During World War II, the building was taken over by the U.S. Navy to watch for Nazi subs attempting to attack Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. After the war, in 1948, the building was decommissioned and has been vacant ever since.
The town of Kittery was given the station in 1973 by the federal government. Over the years, its vacant status led to deterioration of the building and site. After much study, in 2013, the town created a formal agreement with WILSSA to restore the building as a historic landmark.
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