The Station served in the finest traditions of sea rescue for some three generations, even as the Life-Saving Service became part of the Coast Guard in 1915. The Coast Guard began to consolidate stations with the advent of more capable rescue boats, which resulted in the eventual closure of Nahant’s Station as an active duty facility in 1964.

In 1996, the Nahant Preservation Trust was created as a nonprofit entity to protect Nahant’s historic properties and open space. We began with saving and restoring Valley Road’s 1904 Georgian Schoolhouse (now the Nahant Community Center) which was slated to be razed.

A former U.S. Navy ship, USS Nahant, one of three ships named after the town, will be honored by the American Legion Post 215 in a ceremony Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Nahant Life Saving Station, with a model of the ship unveiled and a former crewmember as the keynote speaker.

The Nahant Life Saving Station is getting a partial facelift befitting its status as one of the town’s most visible buildings and a link to its sea-going past. Before winter sets in, workers for Lincoln-based contractor Gerard O’Doherty will finish constructing two new wooden staircases on the building’s front and the station’s gravel parking lot will be completed.

In an effort to preserve and improve the Life Saving Station on Nahant Road, crews will be finishing up the installation of a new fence this week. Old fences were removed and new post-and-rope style fences are being built in areas around the building and dune areas. An older metal fence lining the beach will remain in place to further protect the dunes.