Even though the Life Saving Station and the Straitsmouth Inn were nearby each other on Rockport’s Gap Head, it is rare to see them together in the same postcard. This view looks across Gap Cove from along Marmion Way, and shows Straitsmouth Point before other houses were built there.
A portion of the same scene today.
The Straitsmouth Inn was built in 1906 and stood until New Year’s Eve in 1958, when a fire burned it to the ground. For a view of the granite fireplace inside the inn, see this postcard.
The Life Saving Station was build in 1889. It was originally called Gap Head Station and then became Straitsmouth Station in 1902. It was active as a life saving station until 1964.
I am not certain when this postcard was published. It was published by the Frank W. Swallow Post Card Co. Inc., Exeter, N.H. Swallow produced postcards from 1904 to 1927. This card bears a logo on the back that says that Swallow’s company was incorporate in 1911. That means this image could be from anytime in the range of 1912 to 1927.
Life Saving Station, what would be it’s modern name today? I’m curious!
Coast Guard Station. After repeal of prohibition the Life Saving Service and the Revenue Service were combined to create the Coast Guard.
Thanks for sharing that information.
Great for Sharing the Official Name Today I Have Waited 7 years for an Answer. Wonderful!
Anna, what a patient lady you are! You might find this image interesting.
https://www.periodpaper.com/products/1876-wood-engraving-centennial-exposition-philadelphia-lifesaving-exhibit-rescue-241279-yfl2-052
It’s from around 1876. Shows the older technology that was used in those years. Along the Atlantic coast of Cape Cod there was a thing called “Moon Cussing” which was basically land-based pirates would make a lantern go up and down as if to mimic a ship in distress but they would do this from a sand dune on the Atlantic shoreline of Cape Cod and other ships which were obligated to help another ship into distress and would come to their rescue only to be wrecked or at least beached. And presumably these unscrupulous people would either kill off the survivors of the wreck or if the water was turbulent maybe not help them survive. Then they would claim salvage rates to the cargo. They called it “Moon Cussing” because they could not do it when the moon was out and providing light to the shore. You can look up in the national archives log books from various lifesaving stations. A good book is Lifesavers of Cape Cod which my great-grandfather Tom Kean happens to be in. And my mom found logs written by the station master stating that he went with another with the wagon to Chatham from Monomoy Island Life saving station to get supplies, etc. Very interesting their lives must have been if not somewhat monotonous when no emergencies occurred. But shipping was always fraught with danger, still is. The ocean is unforgiving and unpredictable. But we have much better technology now and there is even talk of unmanned transport ships going from point a to point b in the near future.
BEAUTIFUL JAY! THANKS FOR SHARING BOTH YOUR HISTORIC KNOWLEDGE AND INSIGHT AS WELL AS THE LINK TO THE PAPER PERIOD HISTORIC ART! YOU MADE MY DAY HAPPY:)
PS. SORRY, I HAD TO USE ALL CAPITAL LETTERING DUE TO THE PROBLEM WITH MY VISUAL ACUITY. THANK YOU FOR UNDERSTANDING! BLESSINGS TO YOU!