Morris Island Station Site

1884 proposals invited; 1885 completed and receiving equipment; 1886 put into operation (USLSS Annual Reports). The diversion of the main ship channel at Charleston Harbor, SC from the vicinity of Morris Island to that of Sullivan's Island rendered the Morris Island Life Saving Station too remote to afford prompt assistance to vessels encountering disaster while entering or leaving port through the new channel. Therefore, it was decided in 1894 to build a new station on Sullivan's Island. The station was completed on August 1, 1895; in 1934 the Coast Guard was granted a permit by the War Department to construct and operate a pier, wharf, boat hoist, and boat shelter, on Fort Moultrie Military Reservation. With the closing of Fort Moultrie, Sullivan's Island Lifeboat Station was able to add the existing pier and boathouse to the station (USCG Historian's Website).