TABLE ROCK
Columbia County - Umatilla National Forest - 6N-39E-3
August 22, 1929: "Construction of lookout house and observation tower on Table Rock Mountain completed." (Centralia Daily Chronicle)
October 1930: "I will give you an example of the speedy kind. On August 22 the lookout at Table Rock reported a fire near Lewis Peak. All regular force being busy, it was necessary to call on our cooperator in Walla Walla, Chas. Hendricks. I called him and told him where the fire was and how many men to take. He had a ration list and fire organization chart. He had his assistant, Frank Hannan, help him. one taking the men and tools and the other the truck and provisions. The janitor for the Post Office building had to walk four blocks to open the fire tool cache. From the time Hendricks received the word from me to the time he had everything loaded in the truck ready to start was 39 minutes. They had ordered the truck, hired the men, got tools from the tool cache, and had provisions by one of the merchants who had one of the ration lists, in the time mentioned above. Charley says he believes he can beat this a little next time as he has had some practice now. Albert Baker" (Six Twenty-Six)
July 26, 1946: "Fire on the bank of the Tucannon river in Columbia county, for a time threatened crops and timber holdings before it was brought under control late Thursday by volunteer fire fighters.
The blaze was first reported by forest service lookouts on the Tucannon and at Table Rock and was believed to have covered at least 100 acres before controlled. According to information received at the Walla Walla forest office the fire was burning over the hill above Marengo and one section was nearing the Corvello district.
There is considerable timber north of the blaze but stubble, stump and brush land constituted most of the area." (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)
The blaze was first reported by forest service lookouts on the Tucannon and at Table Rock and was believed to have covered at least 100 acres before controlled. According to information received at the Walla Walla forest office the fire was burning over the hill above Marengo and one section was nearing the Corvello district.
There is considerable timber north of the blaze but stubble, stump and brush land constituted most of the area." (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)
August 31, 1947: "Table Rock lookout on the summit of the Blues east of Walla Walla, is proving itself to be an ideal reception point. It readily picks up messages sent even from the Corporation guard station, located deep in the upper Umatilla river canyon.
So complete is the service that during standby periods when fires are likely to break out any hour, a key official in each ranger district can carry to his home each evening a small gadget to be plugged into a wall socket, and thereby be tied to the FM radio system in the field. By such means field men can call their central stations, day or night, without maintaining an operator at the headquarters office at night." (Walla Walla Union Bulletin)
September 5, 1948: "Frank Harbert, wild life management student at Washington State was holding down the fort at Table Rock, one of the more important stations in the mountains." (Walla Walla Union Bulletin)
August 17, 1950: "A new lookout house is being built at Table Rock, lookout station for the watershed, a trip there Tuesday by a water department official and the city engineer disclosed.
The two men took a rig up to Table Rock loaded with feed for the patrolman's horses. The lookout is located some 70 miles from Walla Walla about one-half mile off the Skyline road. Elevation is 6,300 feet above sea level.
The new building, built by the forest service, is not quite completed. It is already being used, however. It is located at the head of Mill creek.
The water official said the high points of the mountains from Lewiston, Mt. Emily and the Oregon buttes could be seen from the lookout. A number of deer were seen." (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)
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National Geodetic Survey |
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DESIGNATION - TABLE ROCK LOOKOUT HOUSE
PID - RZ1689
STATE/COUNTY- WA/COLUMBIA
COUNTRY - US
USGS QUAD - DEADMAN PEAK (1995)
STATION DESCRIPTION
DESCRIBED BY US FOREST SERVICE 1936
THIS OCCUPIED STATION IS ON TABLE ROCK, A HIGH FLAT POINT
ABOUT 20 MILES AIR LINE E OF WALLA WALLA, 20 MILES SOUTHERLY
FROM DAYTON AND 8 MILES SW OF GODMAN SPRINGS RANGER STATION.
STATION IS MARKED BY A U.S.F.S. DISK IN A DRILL HOLE IN A BURIED
BOULDER, ABOUT 3 FEET E OF E SIDE OF TABLE ROCK LOOKOUT HOUSE.
CENTER OF LOOKOUT HOUSE IS IN AZIMUTH 103 DEG 04 MIN FROM
STATION. POINT ON CENTER OF LOOKOUT HOUSE MARKED BY U.S.G.S.
DISK STAMPED TABLE ROCK 1936, SAME LEGEND STAMPED ON U.S.F.S.
DISK.
TO REACH FROM TOLLGATE DRIVE N ON GODMAN SPRINGS ROAD 30 MILES
TO JUNCTION WITH TABLE ROCK ROAD, TURN W AND DRIVE UPHILL
ABOUT 0.5 MILE TO HIGHEST POINT AND STATION. TO REACH FROM
DAYTON, DRIVE BY WAY OF GODMAN SPRINGS.
