Welcome to the Hull Lifesaving Museum

The Hull Lifesaving Museum, the museum of Boston Harbor Heritage, preserves the region's lifesaving tradition and maritime culture through collections, exhibits, experiential and interpretive education, research and service to others. The museum's open water rowing programs in Boston Harbor educate young people about themselves while developing a constituency that takes stewardship for its maritime history. The deeds, traditions, and ethics of nineteenth century coastal lifesavers--Skills, Courage, and Caring--are the foundation of the museum's exhibits and programs, and its underlying commitment to working to impact society, and individual lives, for the better.

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Who was Joshua James?

When Point Allerton Life Saving Station opened in 1889, Joshua James had been saving lives for 50 years and was already sixty-two years old. The maximum entry age to join the U.S. Life-Saving Service as keeper was forty-five, but the age restriction was waived this o ne time--and for no one else in the history of the service. During his tenure at the Point Allerton U.S. Life-Saving Station in Hull, MA, James and his crew saved over 550 lives--and no one who was alive at the start of a rescue ever died on their watch. Learn more about Joshua James's life and work, the world famous lifesaving crew s of Hull, the storms they battled, and the rescue gear they used.