LILAC is a decomissioned U.S. Coast Guard vessel that served as a lighthouse tender for the U.S. Lighthouse Service from 1933 until 1939. In 1939, the Coast Guard took over LILAC, under the name WAGL-227, as a buoy tender until 1972. She is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is an excellent candidate for National Landmark status.She is the last surviving vessel in her class (Violet Class) and one of the few steam-powered government vessels in this country. She is the oldest lighthouse tender left as well as the only steam-powered vessel from the Coast Guard.
We hope that you take a few moments to browse through our website and learn a little about LILAC and our mission as the LILAC Preservation Project. We have many exciting projects in the works as we work steadily to preserve and protect one of our nation's historic ships. The LILAC Preservation Project is a non-profit agency that is dedicated to the restoration of the LILAC to operational form. We look forward to individuals like yourself helping us in this ambitious effort. This can be through as a donation made securely on this website or by helping out at the pier during one of our volunteer days. Please enjoy our site and spread the word.