More than fifty ships wrecked along this stretch of Lake Michigan, and these buildings housed the men of the United States Life Saving Service who guarded this hazardous shore. Equipped with line-throwing cannons and rowing lifeboats, they stood ready to help ships in distress, though the most important life-saving tool was the skill, courage, and dedication of the men and women who live here. Built in 1901 along the dunes of Sleeping Bear Point, the station was nearly buried by moving sand, and horses pulled the building to this site in 1930. The Life Saving Service later became part of the U.S. Coast Guard, and the station served until the early 1940s.