Contact: Jim Hall, Indian River Life-Saving Station, phone: (302) 227-6991
or Melanie Rapp, Public Affairs, phone: (302) 739-9902

Indian River Life-Saving Station Offers Lantern Tours

Step back in time and experience a lantern tour of the Indian River Life-Saving Station and Delaware Seashore State Park this November and December. Restored to its 1905 appearance, the Station, once used by the United States Life-Saving Service to respond to shipwrecks along the coast, is now a museum of artifacts and historical information on Delaware’s lifesaving and maritime heritage.

Located on DE Route 1, near the Indian River Inlet, the Indian River Life-Saving Station and Museum at the Delaware Seashore State Park will host evening lantern tours from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 17, Saturday, Nov. 25, Saturday, Dec. 16, and Friday, Dec. 29.

One hundred and one years ago, the surfmen of the United States Life-Saving Service, armed with lanterns, patrolled the beaches of the Delaware coast every night, scanning the waters for signs of ships in distress. These brave men put their own lives in danger to rescue mariners from ships already aground.

A museum interpreter dressed in the uniform of a turn-of-the-century Life-Saving Service patrol will guide you on a lantern tour of the museum followed by a walk on the beach to gain a sense of “life on the surfmen’s beat”. The tour of the station will highlight the surfmen’s duties, famous shipwrecks off Delaware’s shores, and the changing Delaware coastline.

Program fee is $5.00 per person, and pre-registration is required. To thoroughly enjoy the experience, we encourage you to dress for the weather. To register for this and other programs offered at the Indian River Life-Saving Station, call the station at 302-227-6991.

The Indian River Life-Saving Station is one the many attractions of the Delaware Seashore State Park. Bounded on the east by the Atlantic Ocean and on the west by Rehoboth and Indian River Bays, the 2825-acre park lies along the barrier island between the bays and the sea. The State Park Commission, now DNREC’s Division of Parks and Recreation, began operating Delaware Seashore State Park in 1965. Today millions of visitors enjoy the large variety of water-related activities and venues available at this state park.
 

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