On 22 October 1881, Life Saving Station was placed in service at the Falls of the Ohio at Louisville, Kentucky, the most dangerous place on the entire Ohio River.
From 1881 to 1972, the Life Saving Service, and later the Coast Guard, patrolled the Falls area, rescuing rivermen and passengers, saving stranded boast and cargoes, recovering victims of drowning, and performing heroic action during Ohio River floods.