Fort Hancock U.S. Life Saving Station

United States historic place

Significant dates

Fort Hancock U.S. Life Saving Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
New Jersey Register of Historic Places


40°25′35″N 73°59′5″W / 40.42639°N 73.98472°W / 40.42639; -73.98472
Area	2 acres (0.81 ha)
Built	1894
NRHP reference No.	81000080^[1]
NJRHP No.	2025^[2]
Added to NRHP	November 30, 1981
Designated NJRHP	March 15, 1976

The Fort Hancock U.S. Life Saving Station, also known as Spermaceti Cove No. 2 Life-Saving Service Station, is located on Sandy Hook, north of Highlands, New Jersey. Originally built on the grounds of Fort Hancock, the area has been part of the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area since 1974.

A United States Life-Saving Service station was first located in the area in 1848 or 1849. The current structure was built in 1894 about 1,000 feet (305 m) from the 1848 site. It is a 1+1⁄2-story shingle-style building with a boathouse and a four-story tower. When the Life-Saving Service was merged into the United States Coast Guard in 1915, the site became a Coast Guard Station until decommissioned in 1949. It later served as administrative offices for a New Jersey state park, and, beginning in 1974, as a visitors' center for Gateway NRA. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 30, 1981.^[3]

References

^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
^ "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places - Monmouth County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office. January 10, 2010. p. 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 4, 2011. Retrieved March 27, 2010.
^ NPS historic place nomination form