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United States Coast guard
Station Tawas
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The present Station Tawas is located a 5.9 acre site on Tawas Bay
adjacent to the
 Tawas
Bay Yacht Club. The boats currently assigned to the station include
a 21 foot Rigid Hull Inflatable boat, a 47 foot Motor Lifeboat and an
Ice Skiff. The boathouse shown in the photo below has now been
demolished and the boats are kept in slips adjacent to the Tawas Bay
Yacht Club. Following is an historical article from the archives of the
Iosco
County Historical Museum
that was written while the present Station Tawas was being built:
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HISTORY OF U. S.
COAST GUARD TAWAS STATION
From the
Iosco County Historical Museum Archives
(written while new station was being constructed.
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Station Tawas is located 3 miles NE of US 23 on Lakeview Dr.
on 2.3 acres. Station was built in 1876 and expanded in 1936. It has been
modified several times since it was first built. The over-water boathouse was
built in 1939, and was equipped with manual hoist capable of housing a 44 foot
motor life boat (MLB) and is 1/2 Mile from the station on 5.9 acres of Coast
Guard property. This boathouse is the fourth boathouse. The original boathouse
was located at the main building and is the recreation area (Rec Deck) today.
The second was the shops at the station and the third was on the bay side. It
was built in 1910 and was replaced by the current structure in 1919. The station
is the oldest in the District, and the only surviving example of the first
series of life saving stations on the Great Lakes.
The station area of responsibility includes 3611 square miles,
the largest area assigned to any single station in the district. The station is
busy with 140-160 cases annually from 15 May to 15 Sept. The boats assigned to
the station are a 44 foot motor lifeboat, a 22 foot utility boat, and a 14 foot
ice skiff. The crew at present consists of 17 men and women with a Boatswain
Mate Chief (E-7) as officer in charge.
Station Tawas was first called Ottawa Point. The name was
changed on July 1, 1902. The station was also nicknamed Near Light Lake Huron.
The first keeper of the station was George Haskin and the latest keeper is BMC
Robert H. Moore. The new station is being built on 5.9 acres which property is
located by the present boat house. The new station will be a modern flat century
station. This will cut down on the response time to get to the boat, warm the
boat and getting it underway. The new station will be able to take care of many
missions including but not limited to Law Enforcement, Marine Safety Support and
Search and Rescue, making it a true multi-mission station.
Click Thumbnails for Larger Pictures
  
Historical photos courtesy of Neil Thornton at
www.printersdevilpress.com
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The old Station Tawas has been purchased by a private
individual. The station has been restored to its original size, refurbished and
is being used as a residence. On the remainder of site,
10 beach cottages have been constructed and sold.
 
This is a personal website-not affiliated
with the
United States Coast Guard
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