Mount St. Helens Lookout Site

In March of 1916, discussions of a lookout on St. Helens started with the success of a lookout built on the summit of Mt. Hood the previous summer. A.E. Cohoon, supervisor of the Columbia National Forest and T.H. Sherrard, supervisor of the Oregon National Forest, met with their respective district rangers to discuss the issue. By June, the materials were shipped to Castlerock. All the material for the house were cut and ready to be put together by the forest officers without the help of a carpenter. Twelve miles of telephone line were put up, connecting the lookout site with the rest of the patrol lines. From Castlerock, the materials were hauled 55 miles by horse and mules to a point south of Spirit Lake. The final three miles to the summit required hauling the sections up over steep snow and ice by means of a steel cable, using rocks for counter-weight. A bundle of material was fastened to the end of a long rope, away up on the mountain, was run through a pulley fastened to a projecting rock and huge stones fastened to the rope and the stones came down the mountain side while the load of lumber or other material went up. In this way 70 bundles of material for the lookout's house was gradually taken up. There was 7000 pounds of timber and other material for the house and equipment.

In 1916, the new lookout site was likely first staffed by Edward Robinson, the patrolman at Spirit Lake. Newspapers reported him to be stationed at the summit with just a telephone line and camp.

In 1918, construction began on the cupola cabin, with work continuing until 1921 due to the unpredictable weather on the summit. One of the builders was George Mays. Once finished, a coal oil lamp furnished heat for cooking and warmth.

In 1919, John Walker, a temporary employee, was caught in a rockslide while repairing the telephone line to the St. Helens lookout house, and was so badly injured that he died before medical aid could reach him.

In 1922, the lookout was George Schnitzler.

In 1924, the lookout was Glen H. Meissner. In one day, he reported 16 fires including one that was a building in Portland.

In 1926, the lookout was Kenneth Macdonald.

Around 1929, the lookout was abandoned. When men were removing the salvageable items from the lookout, in route down the mountain, the Osborne Firefinder came loose from a backpack and tumbled far down the mountain breaking in many pieces, never to be recovered.

In 1980, when the mountain erupted, only the foundation and a few remnants still remained.