September 25, 2023
Coast Guard Station Sand Beach c1920
History

The Pier Based Coast Guard Harbor Beach Station

The original Coast Guard Station was a pier station built on the Jenk’s company dock in 1910 and incorporated a 50-foot lookout tower. The station seen in this picture was built on a concrete foundation 300 yards offshore in 1935. During World War II, the Harbor Beach Station served as a Coast Guard training facility The pier station was closed in 1987, and the Coast Guard moved to new facilities on-shore.

US Coast Guard Harbor Beach
US Coast Guard Harbor Beach

An Iconic Coast Guard Station Torn Down in 2004

Despite attempts to preserve the structure and the pier the station was torn down in 2004.

  • US Coast Guard for the Great Lakes – Michigan, stands at the center of activities in the region and is the hub of the Great Lakes waterway system, the world’s largest freshwater source. Describing them as mere lakes is possibly a gross understatement, as it does not give the right perspective of the vastness of the Great Lakes region. They are more inland seas than lakes.
  • Fort Gratiot Lighthouse – Guarding Southern Lake Huron Since 1829 – The area just to the north of Port Huron has a rich history. Noted as a strategic chokepoint, the mouth St. Clair River was the gateway to the northern lakes and the luxurious fur and lumber trade.
  • Huron County Lighthouses Guard the Shore – The Huron County lighthouses videos were part of a promotional campaign called LIVEHuron produced by Huron County Economic Development Corporation.
  • Huron County Golf – Listing and ratings for the top courses for Huron County Michigan golf links.
  • Attract Hummingbirds and Orioles to Your Yard This Summer – The ability to attract orioles to your yard is fun and easy. April and May are big bird months in the Great Lakes region.
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7 thoughts on “The Pier Based Coast Guard Harbor Beach Station”

  1. My great-grandfather, William Small, served at that station. In his writings he refers to the Coast Guard as The Life Saving Service and to Harbor Beach as Sand Beach. Thanks for posting. I’ll try to dig up his account of a big storm in 1913 (I think) and the wreck of the St Clair.

    Reply

    1. Hi Joe, That would be a great addition to the story. His writings must be before the 1930s.

      Reply

  3. We own the property south of the Resort which was the old terminus of the Coast Guard path. There was a check-post (literally) for the watchman to verify he’d come down all this way. We have a photograph of this…..somewhere.

    Reply

    1. Hi Lisa,

      Boy, if you ever find it please let me know. It would be great to update our local history with a bit of personal family lore that only you possess.

      Mike

      Reply

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