There were early organizations that provided life-saving services in certain areas. For instance, in 1786, the Massachusetts Humane Society was formed by a number of Boston citizens who were concerned over the needless loss of life from shipwrecks in the area. They started the first lifeboat station at Cohasset, Massachusetts in 1807. These stations were small sheds that held the small boats and equipment that volunteers could use to rescue mariners. The society had recognized that only small boats were useful for life-saving since larger boats risked being shipwrecked as well. But the early sheds were only placed near busy ports and large areas of the coast remained unprotected.