Aransas Pass strongly influenced the region’s economic development, but its natural waterway also presented treacherous navigational hazards. In 1878, the U.S. government established the first Aransas Life Saving Station on Mustang Island at Cotter and Station Streets, and it served regional waters for several decades until wind and storm surge flooding destroyed it during the 1919 hurricane. The Coast Guard on Mustang Island then operated from an interim facility until 1925, when a second life saving station opened, but erosion of its concrete foundation and an increasing workload led to its replacement in 1976. In January 1915, President Woodrow Wilson signed a congressional act uniting the Colonial Era Revenue Cutter Service and the Life Saving Service, established in 1878, into the U.S. Coast Guard. In wartime, the Coast Guard joined the nation’s military, and during World War II its primary lifesaving mission at Mustang Island expanded to include ports, waterways, and coastal security, including watching for enemy naval activity while roving Coast Guardsmen and canine patrols guarded against incursion by enemy agents and saboteurs. In the early 21st century, the war on terrorism again altered the Coast Guard’s primary lifesaving orientation, requiring the boarding of vessels entering through Aransas Pass to examine documentation and inspect cargoes, while armed Coast Guard craft escorted U.S. Military Sealift Command vessels carrying armored vehicles and other materials from the Port of Corpus Christi to theaters of war. Through these changes, the Coast Guard on Mustang Island continued to safeguard lives and provide security.