He also managed the lifesaving station until his death in 1925.
Louisville was the first place where a lifesaving station was placed in western waters.
The lifesaving station was built in 1901 and moved to its present location in 1931 before closing in 1941.
The captain and crew of a local lifesaving station in Newport were also present.
"It is a room that conveys the essence of the lifesaving station," he said.
It was one of 29 lifesaving stations Congress approved and appropriated funds for a decade earlier.
Here, in 1886, the government established the harbor's first lifesaving station.
A lifesaving station was built one-half mile (800 m) west of the lighthouse in 1876.
The first known building in the area was a lifesaving station built in 1872, according to the historical commission.
Eventually a lifesaving station was built immediately to the east.