Chewelah Peak Lookout Site

Based on the following article in The Colville Examiner, Chewelah Peak had a lookout cabin in 1925. “Robert Stegner, fire warden at the lookout station on Chewelah Peak, accidentally shot himself through the leg on Wednesday while slipping his revolver into the holster. Dr. Carson of Chewelah was called to attend him. Saddle horses were used to bring Stegner from the cabin to the road, four miles, and the injured man was taken to Chewelah, 16 miles, where he has been at the Cottage hotel under the doctor's care. The wound was a clean one, and the patient's condition is reported favorable.” (September 5, 1925)

In 1936, a USGS party placed a benchmark at the summit. No mention was made of a fire lookout or cabin, just a rock cairn at the summit. When they returned in 1943, they said that “there is now a USFS lookout tower over the station mark.”

In 1938, a 50-foot pole tower with L-4 cab was built. In July, Chewelah received two-way radio equipment.

In 1941, the lookout was Victor May.
In 1944, the lookout was Rachel Butte (a Chewelah teacher)
In 1948, the lookout was Rachel Butte
In 1949, the lookout was Rachel Butte
In 1950 the lookout was Rachel Butte

In 1951, the lookouts were Mr. & Mrs. W. Gnagy. Chewelah had the last persons to be called home in order to cover lowlands in that district.

In 1952, the lookouts were Mr. & Mrs. W. Gnagy. The following article was in the Chewelah Independent: "Mrs. W. Gnagy was severely injured Wednesday afternoon in a fall at the Chewelah Mountain lookout, where she is observer with her husband. Roy Richmond and Leonard Mally brought Mrs. Gnagy to St. Joseph's hospital at 3:05, where it was found she was suffering a broken back and numerous face and leg lacerations. Her condition this Thursday morning was reported fairly good. Mr. and Mrs. Gnagy were fixing an anemometer 24-feet above the ground, when she lost her footing and fell. The accident occurring at 12:20. With telephone to Chewelah impossible due to fallen lines, the Tony Mally home was called and Leonard came the distance of five miles for assistance. Vern Collins, of Colville, was at this lookout during the afternoon while Mr. Gnagy was at the hospital with his wife. Mr. and Mrs. Gnagy are University of Washington students in Seattle."

In 1953, the lookout was Mr. & Mrs. Ziegler Heilman.

In 1963, a 41-foot timber tower with R-6 cab was built.

An article in The Statesman Examiner on August 6, 1948 said that "Chewelah peak, though now in state territory, is being manned by the national forest service because it fits in more conveniently with their unit and radio setup." Into the 1970s, the Forest Service staffed the lookout. In the early 1980s, the Washington Department of National Resources staffed it for a couple of seasons, before the post was abandoned.

Kresek shares a story in his book about a young lady lookout who went down to gather her daily supply of fresh eggs from the garage. As she opened the henhouse door, she got the surprise of her life. There to meet her was a feisty young cougar, who had just claimed the daily egg ration along with the three clucks that laid them. Needless to say, she added eggs to her weekly store list for the rest of that summer.

In 1985, the tower was sold to Frank Scranton and moved to his farm alongside Highway 395 just north of Chewelah.