Oregon Inlet Lifesaving Station

Should we travelers successfully traverse the Herbert C. Bonner bridge in our journey, the first interesting sight to our left will be the old Oregon Inlet Lifesaving Station.

In 1897, Jessie Etheridge deeded 10 acres of waterfront land to federal officials to be used for the erection of the lifesaving station.  Ninety-one years later, the Coast Guard abandoned this station, leaving it to weather the elements of a harsh and unforgiving barrier island climate. 

Oregon Inlet is well known as one of the most dangerous inlets in America with its constantly changing navigational conditions consisting of shoals, eddys, whirlpools and tides.  The waters of the inlet have insidiously caused destruction of the Herbert C. Bonner Memorial Bridge (or as we fondly call it, "That Goddamned Bridge"), the only link to the mainland by automobile.

Sadly, the Lifesaving Station has suffered neglect over the last 18 years, facing extinction with the shifting sands that slowly reclaim what was their's nearly 100 years ago.  Dunes, beginning to cover the structure, leave only an eerie reminder of what was once a bustling area.

I can recall when this Oregon Inlet Lifesaving Station was in operation.  (Okay, yeah, I feel old.)  So many of these old stations, that once lined the Outer Banks every 7 miles, have remained empty & abandoned.  However, more have been converted into restaurants, B & B's, museums and private homes.

A wonderful example of the renovation of a station is the Chicamacomico Lifesaving Station located only a few blocks from where we'll be staying in Rodanthe.

Many thanks to BlueJay for sharing this photograph.