The Peaked Hill Bar station was one of the original nine stations which were erected on Cape Cod in 1872. The first keeper, David H. Atkins, was appointed in 1872 at the age of 34, with 22 years experience as a surfman.
Located on the outer shore of Cape Cod near Provincetown the station provided sent out many crews to perform dramatic rescues of ships that foundered on the Peaked Hill Bar. Among the crews they saved was the three masted schooner, "Carrie M. Richardson."
The final 's' was added to the station's name in 1886. Until that time it was known as Peaked Hill Bar. In 1888 the station received extensive repairs and improvements. By 1914 a new station was built to replace this original station when the government thought it was in imminent danger of falling into the Atlantic Ocean. The new station was built about a quarter of a mile southeast of the first station. The United States Life Saving Service and the Revenue Cutter Service merged and became the Coast Guard in 1915, just as the second station was established.
Eugene O'Neill (1888-1953) and his second wife, Agnes Boulton, moved into the abandoned life Saving Station at Peaked Hill Bars in May, 1919. Eugene's father, James O'Neill, bought the building for them as a wedding present. O'Neill is said to have written the "S.S. Glencairn," "The Hairy Ape," and the preliminary draft of "Anna Christie" at Peaked Hill Bar.
The building slid from the sand dune into the sea on January 10, 1931.
“Peaked Hill Bar Life Saving Station,” Southwest Harbor Public Library, accessed November 22, 2024, https://demo.digitalarchive.us/items/show/9118.Item 13131
