Tatham is the oldest building in Stone Harbor and now serves a double historical purpose. The former 1895 lifesaving station is preserved by American Legion Post 331, with material on the U.S. Life-Saving Service alongside military and veterans history.
The Stone Harbor Museum notes surviving lifesaving artifacts including a surfboat, steering oars, historic photographs and interpretive panels. Murals trace the rescue work and military service. The station's lookout tower gives the building its original logic back: the point was to see trouble before everyone else did.
This is also one of the Challenge stops where the transition from Life-Saving Service to the later Coast Guard story is easy to understand physically.
Project-management note
Stone Harbor sits on another barrier island. The challenge route comes in from the Garden State Parkway, reaches the station, then turns south toward Cape May. Keep local shopping and beach wandering outside the required window unless the day is clearly ahead.
Worth noticing nearby
The Wetlands Institute sits on Stone Harbor Boulevard near the access route and would ordinarily be an ideal companion attraction. In 2026, however, its main marsh campus is closed in October for a major transition project, so do not build a Challenge detour around it.
Stop facts
| Stop | 11 |
|---|---|
| Type | Lifesaving station |
| Address | 117th Street & Second Avenue, Stone Harbor |
| Town | Stone Harbor |
| First lit / built | Built 1895 |
| Climb | Lookout tower when accessible |
| 2026 night climb | No |
| Default dwell | 20–25 min |
SOURCE NOTES
Site history drawn from federal, state and nonprofit sources cited in the field notes. Challenge hours, stamps and night climbs follow the organizer's 2026 pages; verify live addresses during event week.