''Mayor Andrew Broaddus'' is a lifesaving station built by the

United States Life-Saving Service The United States Life-Saving ServiceDespite the lack of hyphen in its insignia, the agency itself is hyphenated in government documents including: and was a United States government agency that grew out of private and local humanitarian effort ...

located in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, off the corner of River Road and Fourth Street. She is named in honor of

Andrew Broaddus Andrew Broaddus (May 15, 1900 – September 7, 1972) was Mayor of Louisville, Kentucky from December 1953 to December 1957. Life He was born and died in Louisville. After serving in the Navy during World War I he attended Centre College in nearb ...

(1900-1972), a former mayor of Louisville (1953-1957). Her historic purpose was to protect travelers on the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

from the

Falls of the Ohio The Falls of the Ohio National Wildlife Conservation Area is a national, bi-state area on the Ohio River near Louisville, Kentucky in the United States, administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Federal status was awarded in 1981. The fal ...

, with rescue crews for those who fell victim to the rapids. Louisville was the first place where a lifesaving station was placed in western waters. The first lifestation in Louisville was in 1881, with ''Mayor Andrew Broaddus'' as the third. A

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

, she is the only surviving floating lifesaving station of the US Life-Saving Service.

Predecessor

On 22 October 1881, Life Saving Station#10 was placed in service at the Falls of the Ohio at Louisville, Kentucky, the most dangerous place on the entire Ohio River. Skilled rivermen, who had served here as volunteers, became personnel of the Service. Built at the Howard Shipyards (later part of

Jeffboat Jeffboat was a shipyard in Jeffersonville, Indiana founded by James Howard in 1834, a builder of steamboats. The company was owned by the Howard family until it was sold leading up to World War II. Following the war, it became known as the Jeff ...

, closed in 2018) at

Jeffersonville, Indiana Jeffersonville is a city and the county seat of Clark County, Indiana, Clark County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River. Locally, the city is often referred to by the abbreviated name Jeff. It lies directly across the Ohio River ...

, the station boat was the first on America's Western Rivers system. It served until being replaced in 1902 by another wooden hull boat. The second vessel was replaced in 1929 with the present steel-hulled boat with its distinctive watchtower. In addition to her primary role in providing aid and rescue to river travelers, LSS#10 also served notably during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, when

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

Reservists ran patrols from the station to guard against possible acts of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

sabotage. Earlier, Station personnel also assisted in the enforcement of

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

by transporting Federal agents to remote islands in the Ohio River to search for illicit alcohol operations. From 1881 to 1972, the Life Saving Service, and later the

, patrolled the Falls area, rescuing rivermen and passengers, saving stranded boast and cargoes, recovering victims of drowning, and performing heroic action during

floods. Station records reveal that between 1881 and 1915, 7000 lives and property worth $6 million were saved by the crews of LSS#10.

History

''Mayor Andrew Broaddus'' was built in 1929 in

Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Il ...

. She has a

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

, and is long, a beam of , a Hold Depth of , at 623 Net Tons. She has two decks, and a lookout tower. She has much of her original interior fabric, and is considered in good condition. ''Mayor Andrew Broaddus'' is the only floating lifestation and the last inland waterway lifestation for the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

still in existence, and one of the few reminders that the U.S. Life-Saving Service ever existed. ''Mayor Andrew Broaddus'' currently serves as an adjunct to ''

Belle of Louisville ''Belle of Louisville'' is a steamboat owned and operated by the city of Louisville, Kentucky, and moored at its downtown wharf next to the Riverfront Plaza/Belvedere during its annual operational period. The steamboat claims itself the "most wid ...

'', also a National Historic Landmark. ''Mayor Andrew Broaddus'' provides office space for ''Belle of Louisville''. In the Spring of 2007, ''Mayor Andrew Broaddus''s hull was damaged by a commercial ship. In November, she was towed to Jeffboat for repairs. A museum within the boat was planned for the future in 2007.

References

* **

External links

Mayor Andrew Broaddus, ex. Life-Saving Station No. 10
{{National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in Louisville, Kentucky Ships on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky Buildings and structures completed in 1928 Buildings and structures in Louisville, Kentucky Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky National Historic Landmarks in Kentucky