Clio Logo
Historic St. Simons Island Georgia Tour
Item 5 of 7
East Beach Station, now the Maritime Center museum operated by the Coastal Georgia Historical Society, was one of 45 Coast Guard stations built in the mid 1930s by the Works Progress Administration. It was designed in the Colonial Revival style, which the federal government commonly used for its buildings in the 1930s and 1940s. The museum details the World War II military history of the station and the ecology of the coastal islands off Georgia. The historical society operates two other nearby museums, the St. Simons Lighthouse and the A.W. Jones Heritage Center which is next to the lighthouse.

The Maritime Center, formerly the East Beach Station

The Maritime Center, formerly the East Beach Station
On April 8, 1942, German submarine U-123 sunk two merchant ships—SS Oklahoma and the Esso Baton Rouge—off the Georgia coast. The guard members sprung into action and saved all but twenty two of the sailors. For many years, five of the bodies could not be identified. Eventually one was and his remains were sent to his family; the other four were identified but to date no family member has been identified. The attack prompted the government to boost coastal defenses. As for the station, it was decommissioned in 1995. The museum opened in 2006.
http://www.saintsimonslighthouse.org/cg.html Steven H. Moffson. "East Beach Station," National Register of Historic Places. 4-1-98.