SKAMANIA COUNTY
SILVER STAR MOUNTAIN
Gifford Pinchot National Forest
3N-5E-18
3N-5E-18
September 11, 1929: The Dole fire continues to threaten settlers in the upper Little Washougal district and to menace the Columbia national forest. The fire has swept around the southwest corner of the forest, and the country is so dry that the blaze has progressed to the east in the face of wind from that direction. The lookout at Silver Star reported that should the wind change and advance the fire toward the forest boundary, a steep, timbered ridge will offer the flames a quick headway into the forest. Forest officials are ready to rush in men to backfire from the ridge the moment the fire reaches the boundary." (Morning Oregonian)
Activated: March 11, 1942; Deactivated: October 15, 1943. Portland Filter Center.
October 15, 1943: Aircraft Warning Service Station 'Oboe 1-1' was inactivated. The AWS had utilized existing facilities owned by the Columbia National Forest. Improvements added, using AWS funds, included sleeping quarters and a woodshed. Upon the end of service the Forest Service retained the site for continued use as a fire detection point. (Report of the Aircraft Warning Service Stations, May 1, 1944)
October 2, 1952: "For the last five years Mrs. Anne Donnelly, an R.A. Long High School teacher, has kept the lookout with her two boys, Robert and James. It is a lonely place, and the water has to be packed in from a spring that is not nearby by any means, but few persons have ever been privileged to live with such a magnificent panorama." (Longview Daily News)
September 9, 1954: "Visitors to Silver Star Mountain in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest will now see a new type lookout house atop the familiar 4,350-feet peak. The new house, 15-feet 4-inches square, built to a rustic design, replaces the old 14 by 14-foot standard lookout house built in 1934.
The new building, which was built during July and August, has a flat roof 22 feet square making conventional shutters unnecessary. Marine plywood is being used for siding. Propane gas is used for cooking instead of wood as before. These innovations, if successful will be incorporated as standard into other lookout houses in National Forests of the Pacific Northwest.
For the past seven summer seasons, Mrs. Anne Donnelly, a school teacher from Longview, has occupied the lookout position." (Longview Daily News)
July 11, 1959: "Mrs. Robert B. Donnelly had a three weeks vacation visiting friends in Honolulu and touring other islands in the Hawaiian group before going to the Silver Star lookout station out from Yacolt where she has served as lookout for the past several years," (Longview Daily News)
September 20, 1962: "Vernon Kinney returned home Saturday night from his duties as Lookout on Silver Star Mountain in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest this summer. He expects to return to Cascade College in Portland, Oregon in the near future." (The Arlington Times)
Removed