Coast Guard Station 276 (Louisville-Jefferson County, Kentucky)

 barge, historical layer / disappeared object, lifeboat/lifesaving station

Since 1881, the Louisville Lifeboat Station was in operation at Louisville, Kentucky. The station was located just above the falls of the Ohio River and was authorized by an act of Congress on 2 March 1881. It was the only permanently located floating lifeboat station in the world. The reason for establishing a floating station can be found in the typical floods of the Ohio River. The first floating station was constructed of wood by H.T. Cook and John McHenry at the Howard Ship Yards, Jeffersonville, Indiana. This station was put into operation on 3 November 1881. It remained in use until November 1902, when it was replaced by another wood station. This second structure served until 1928. Then a steel hull station, built at Dubuque, Iowa, was placed into commission. The new station, which arrived at Louisville on April 20, 1929, was 90 feet long and 38 feet wide, larger than the old station.