Slate Peak Lookout History

In 1924, there may have been a structure built, some kind of cupola cabin (source not clear). Slate was once set on fire by a lightning strike. The bolt melted a keg of nails into one solid mass. It is possible this original structure burned, partly burned or could have never existed, we do not know at the moment.

In 1931, a gable-roofed L-4 cabin was built. Ed Allen and Raymond Johnson were completing work on a lookout house at the beginning of September. It was then staffed the remainder of the fire season. They also strung eight miles of emergency wire to connect to the point. During construction, a few weeks prior, there was still a lookout man at the site, because he spotted a fire and reported it.

In 1932, the lookout was Roy Paul. He reported a snowdrift four feet in depth still remained at the lookout in mid-August. He said the early nights that summer were cold and days were bleak and threatening. In July, a snowstorm swept the high mountains, and the station was plunged into winter. As of mid-August, only a few Canadian fires had been spotted. At the end of August, a stray lightning bold came into his cabin. The bold shattered the wire cage designed to protect the new lookout stations from such visitations, the bolt damaged the roof, played havoc with the telephone and set Paul's bed afire. The forester extinguished the blaze with a bucket of water but was unable to rescue a $15 Pendleton blanket. At that time, according to H. F. Brundage, assistant regional forester in charge of forest protection, he said the Slate peak station is of a type nearly lightning proof as can be obtained. The walls are almost entirely of glass, surrounded by a wire cage designed to intercept lightning.

In 1934, the lookout was Al Anderson.

In 1942 the cabin was used by the AWS for aircraft spotting. AWS observers had a tough time surviving inside the building so the guard eventually did his watching from the guard station at Harts Pass.

In 1954, the Forest Service moved an L-4 cab from Leecher Mountain to the Slate. Based on 1951 photos of the Leecher Mountain cab, it was a hip-roofed L-4 cab with outriggers to hold open the shutters.

In 1956, the U.S. Air Force took control of the summit for a radar station. The lookout cabin was removed, as was the top 40 feet of the mountain, leaving a level area for the construction of an unmanned Gap Filler radar site.

In 1960, the Annex was constructed and was subordinate to the Colville Air Force Station.

In 1961, the radar station was declared excess inventory in January and by October, sold by bid for the salvage of the improvements, buildings, underground fuel storage tanks and the radar tower. The Forest Service inherited a good road to the top and a flat area big enough to park a hundred cars.

Between 1956- 1960, after the summit was leveled off, but before the radar tower was removed, the L-4 cab was placed back on the summit, but this time it needed a 40-foot tower to see over the edges into the valleys. The cab on the tower is a gable-roof cab so this seems to match that they used the same (Leacher) cab that had to be removed during the mountain top removal.

In 1963, the lookouts were Mr. and Mrs. Jon Shepard. They left near the end of the season to go back to school to attend WSU at Pullman. For the remainder of the season, the lookout was Al Anderson of Winthrop.

In 1994, the lookout was pressed into emergency service when nearby Goat Peak Lookout had to be evacuated because of a forest fire.

In 1996, the lookout was used to monitor the Elbow Basin fire in the Pasayten Wilderness, and relay radio messages from personnel on the fire.