Oregon Inlet Station
Oregon Inlet Station is a one and a half-story wooden building in the shingle style, situated on a 10-acre parcel next to Oregon Inlet on Pea Island in Dare County. The structure features a distinctive lookout tower at one end, surrounded by a full-length porch that wraps around the building.
The original location was established in 1874 with a station that was moved 400 feet away after a storm in 1888, before the current building was constructed in 1898. It was built by the United States Life-Saving Service and underwent major renovations in the 1930s and again in the late 1970s.
The station is named after Oregon Inlet, the waterway it was built to protect, and reflects how the coast has long needed dedicated rescue services. The building shows how workers organized their lives around the sea, with the tower serving as both a practical lookout and a symbol of watchfulness that still resonates with visitors today.
The building sits at Oregon Inlet on Pea Island and can be seen from the nearby Herbert C. Bonner Bridge. Visitors should expect the location to be isolated on sand and accessibility may be limited, especially during rough weather or when sand accumulation changes the surroundings.
The building was replaced by a new station on Pamlico Sound in 1988 and has sat empty since, with efforts to raise it on pilings to prevent it from sinking into the sand. Sand has accumulated next to the building as high as 25 feet (7.6 m), a reminder of the constantly shifting coastal landscape that makes preservation an ongoing challenge.
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