In 1849, eight lifeboat stations were built along the New Jersey coast between Sandy Hook and Little Egg Harbor, and this is the only surviving structure of the original eight. It was moved here from Sandy Hook in 1956. Boathouses were placed on beaches to hold rescue equipment too heavy and awkward to be hauled long distances, and in the early years a station keeper and volunteers used these stations to provide rescue services to shipwreck victims. In 1872 and 1894, larger life saving stations were built on Sandy Hook and used by professional lifesavers. The original station was then used sporadically as a stable for the keeper's horse and for storage. The Coast Guard made significant repairs in 1930 when it was converted to a museum, and in July 1956 it was moved here to be preserved as part of the new Twin Lights Museum. The 1894 station still remains and is now part of the Gateway National Recreation Area. An 1877 Harper's Weekly illustration of the Lifesaving Service in action at Sandy Hook shows methods used to save shipwreck victims, including a surfman signaling with a flare after discovering a wreck on patrol, surfmen launching a rescue boat, a beach apparatus cart being pulled to the wreck site, a victim being hauled to safety in a breeches buoy, and a line-throwing cannon firing lines to a distressed ship so a buoy or Life Car could travel back and forth. In 1915, the Life Saving Service merged with the United States Revenue Cutter Service to form the United States Coast Guard.