MOUNT HOUGH
Plumas County - Plumas National Forest - 25N-10E-8
June 23, 1910: "From a point on the Indian Valley road a short distance north of Clear Creek, the Forest Service have built a trail to Crystal Lake and Mount Hough. A lookout station has been established on the mountain, thus giving the forest rangers stationed at that point an opportunity to observe nearly every part of the county. Along the trail mentioned, a telephone line has been built, thus giving the new lookout station connection with all points on the telephone line erected by the Forest Service throughout the county. If a fire starts in any part of the county, it can be readily detected and the proper warning given to the forest rangers nearest thereto. T.H. Conde is temporarily acting as ranger at the Mount Hough station." (Plumas National Bulletin)
June 14, 1911: "The two lookout peaks--Claremont and Mount Hough--will be maintained. Each station is equipped with telephone connection with headquarters here, a compass, high power glasses and fire location maps laid off in courses of two degrees." (Plumas Independent)
July 10, 1911: "The Forest Service has erected a good sheltered look-out station there this year. Previously they had only a telephone station at that point." (Plumas National-Bulletin)
July 10, 1913: "Assistant Forest Supervisor Durbin, accompanied by Wm. Malcolm and E.C. Hard, went up to Mount Hough Monday to commence the work of building a fire lookout station on that peak. The Forest Service will build several of these stations this season at various points in the Plumas Forest." (Feather River Bulletin)
August 28, 1913: "Forest Supervisor and Mrs. W.G. Durbin went up to Crystal Lake Sunday. While at the Forest Service lookout station, they saw three fires start from the thunderstorm which prevailed on the afternoon of that day." (Plumas National-Bulletin)
July 15, 1915: "The United States forest service is erecting a new fire lookout station on the summit of Mount Hough, 12 miles north of Quincy. The old station has been dismantled, and the new building will be much larger, having two stories instead of one. The structure will have living quarters in the lower story, while the upper half will be used by the lookout while on duty watching for fires in the forests. The upper story will have glass windows on all sides, giving an unobstructed view toward every point of the compass. It is reported that a similar improvement will later be made in the lookout station on Claremont." (Feather River Bulletin)
June 29, 1916: "H.S. Myton has taken charge of the Forest Service lookout station on Mount Hough, where he will remain during the summer." (Feather River Bulletin)
June 4, 1919: "Jess West of Oroville, who lately returned from overseas service with the Forestry Regiment, arrived here the latter part of last week to take a position with the Plumas National Forest Service as 'lookout' on Mt Hough. He went to the high mountain station Monday, and will be quartered there until Fall, keeping a close watch for forest fires." (Plumas Independent)
October 23, 1919: "Mr. West who is the Lookout man this year was very glad to see and meet this interesting party and made their visit very pleasant." (Plumas Independent)
October 30, 1919: "Jess West who has been in charge of the Mt. Hough Lookout station during the summer months finished his work there the first of the week and has returned to town. Mr. West will spend the winter in Oroville." (Plumas Independent)
June 8, 1920: "Jesse West, Mt. Hough lookout, has gone to the summit accompanied this season by the wife whom he recently married." (Reno Evening Gazette)
October 27, 1921: "C.P. Clement, well known newspaper man, who has been stationed all summer at the Forest lookout station on Mt. Hough, returned to Oroville several days ago. Mr. Clement will be with the Ellamore Ice Cream Co., of Marysville to handle the publicity end of the enterprise." (Plumas Independent)
June 7, 1923: "George M. O'Brien, of Vina, took his station as lookout on Mount Hough June 4. He was lookout on Big Bear last year. This is O'Brien's third year with the Plumas Forest Service and Mount Hough is the second lookout station to be opened this far this year." (Feather River Bulletin)
September 27, 1923: "G.M. O'Brien, forest service lookout on Mt. Hough, was at Quincy a few days last week, the first time he has been absent from the peak since June, the rain of Friday night giving him a welcome respite. O'Brien says that the thermometer on the hump registered two degree below freezing Friday morning and when he left later that day there was an inch and a half of snow on the ground with more falling." (Plumas National Bulletin)
October 11, 1923: "G.M. O'Brien, fire lookout on mt. Hough on the Plumas National Forest, saw a cub bear climbing the mountain trail Tuesday and started to throw rocks at the youngster. He ceased his pitching practice, however, when the cub climbed a tree and, with its whines, brought upon the scene Mama Bear.
Mrs. Bear didn't start trouble but her steady gaze in O'Brien's direction, and her air of truculence, decided the lookout man to relieve Mrs. Bear of the necessity of solving her problem by giving her all the territory she seemed to grave.
As O'Brien proceeded toward his station he ran into another cub, obviously one of the family, but, knowing of the proximity of its mother, he remembered he was supposed to get to the peak and watch for fires and so overcame his natural inclination to stop and play with the little fellow." (The Plumas National Bulletin)
Mrs. Bear didn't start trouble but her steady gaze in O'Brien's direction, and her air of truculence, decided the lookout man to relieve Mrs. Bear of the necessity of solving her problem by giving her all the territory she seemed to grave.
As O'Brien proceeded toward his station he ran into another cub, obviously one of the family, but, knowing of the proximity of its mother, he remembered he was supposed to get to the peak and watch for fires and so overcame his natural inclination to stop and play with the little fellow." (The Plumas National Bulletin)
May 22, 1924: "Charles Bishop, of Berry Creek, last Tuesday took his position as lookout on Mount Hough." (Feather River Bulletin)
June 18, 1925: "Monday the Forest Service office at Quincy escorted to Mt. Hough station the lookout for the season, William Smith. Smith is an ex-forest ranger and should prove a capable man in his position." (The Plumas National-Bulletin)
August 5, 1926: "Sunday Mr. and Mrs. Fred Carpenter and Mrs. R.A. Burnett all of Quincy made a trip to Crystal Lake and the Mt. Hough Lookout station. They found this a most delightful drive, with words inadequate to describe their pleasure. The lookout, John McKeown, reports having had 272 callers during the month of July. He has a number of pets, different varieties of birds and two deer, which call every morning at his cabin for breakfast." (Feather River Bulletin)
July 25, 1929: "Of late several of our town folk and tourists have been making the trip to Mt. Huff to view the beautiful Crystal Lake. So far Mrs. M.K. Leavitt of Quincy, who is 82 years young leads the list in the registration book at the lookout station." (Plumas Independent)
September 12, 1929: "A brush fire was spotted Friday on the edge of the hill south of Quincy by Lou Chase of the Mount Hough lookout station. An investigation proved to be a brush fire in front of Mrs. Hall's cottage, caused by ashes being thrown out. Jim Kelton has the distinction of being the first to turn in an alarm on the new electric siren, which soon brot out a crowd to extinguish the blaze." (Plumas Independent)
August 28, 1930: "Louis Chase takes his privilege of voting seriously enough to come to Quincy from the Lookout station on Mount Hough to cast his vote." (Feather River Bulletin)
November 13, 1930: "L.C. Chase, Forest Service lookout man on Mt. Hough, Monday morning was dismantling his interior equipment preparatory to abandoning the station until next spring.
Placing a ladder against the outside of the building Chase climbed to the roof to remove the stovepipe chimney. As he stepped from the ladder onto the roof the ladder slid out from under him and Chase tumbled to the ground, alighting upon his left shoulder and striking his head against the rocky ground with sufficient force to inflict a wound that required three stitches to close." (The Plumas National-Bulletin)
November 13, 1930: "Lou Chase, who has been engaged as fire lookout at Mt. Hough all season, came to town the first of the week for a rest after his lonely vigil. He fell from the roof of the observatory on the day of his departure and injured his shoulder besides cutting a gash in his head over the left eye." (Plumas Independent)
April 8, 1931: "L.C. Lane (Chase), who is stationed during the fire season at the Mt. Hough lookout, left yesterday for San Francisco where he will enter the Marine Hospital. Louis suffered a sprained shoulder when he fell off the lookout building the day he was closing it up for the 1930 season." (Feather River Bulletin)
April 23, 1931: "Lou Chase, one of the government fire lookouts stationed at Mt. Hough last year, is in the city this week receiving treatment for an injured shoulder, which he received last fall when he fell from the roof of the lookout station, when taking down a stovepipe, preparatory to leaving the quarters." (Plumas Independent)
May 21, 1931: "Clarence Woolsey has been posted on Mt. Hough, temporarily taking the place of Louis C. Chase, who is ill at a San Francisco hospital." (Feather River Bulletin)
May 28, 1931: "L.C. Chase, Mt. Hough guard, went up to his post today. He goes on duty officially Monday." (Feather River Bulletin)
November 5, 1931: "Louie Chase has returned to his home at Meadow Valley after a season spent on the lookout station at Mt. Hough. He report that nearly a thousand visitors registered at the station this summer." (Plumas Independent)
November 5, 1931: "There was no 'depression' in the number of visitors to the Mt. Hough lookout, according to L.C. Chase, who is down for the winter.
Louis' register shows 917 persons called on him this summer. This is a banner year, the average since the lookout was established being about 8000." (Feather River Bulletin)
November 3, 1932: "Louis C. Chase, lookout man on top of Mt. Hough during the fire season, came down from his lofty perch the first of the week and has returned to his home at Meadow Valley, where he will spend the winter months." (Plumas Independent)
June 15, 1933: "Lou Chase, lookout man for the Mt. Hough station, went on duty the first of the week, to keep a watch for forest fires within his vision." (Plumas Independent)
October 18, 1934: "George O'Brien, lookout man for the Forest Service during the summer months at the Mt. Hough lookout station, came to town Tuesday for the winter, the storms having made the fire lookouts no longer necessary." (Plumas Independent)
October 24, 1935: "George O'Brien, popular Mt. Hough fire lookout during the summer season, has gone to Oroville for the winter." (Feather River Bulletin)
August 13, 1936: "George O'Brien, lookout man from the Mt. Hough station, came down to town on a brief business mission last Thursday. During his absence, A.A. Miller of the Forest Service was in charge at the hill top." (Plumas Independent)
June 3, 1937: "George P. O'Brien left Friday afternoon, bound for the Mt. Hough station where he will spend the summer as Look-out man for the Forest Service. He got off to an early start in the reporting business, having located a fire in the Nelson Point area at noon of the following day." (Plumas Independent)
June 16, 1938: "Dave Stewart has replaced Geo. O'Brien as lookout on Mt. Hough, the latter having recently accepted employment in town." (Plumas Independent)
August 4, 1938: " "Pete" called a big whistling marmot to lookout man, Dave Stewart, when he arrived for his summer vigil on Mt. Hough, in the Plumas National Forest, this spring. Whereupon Stewart replied, 'Pete, yourself', and ever since that moment 'Pete' has been the marmot's name.
The friendship thus started has ripened, according to Stewart, until now Pete, who is about the size of a full grown Thomas cat, brings two buddies (or Mollie) with him right up to the Lookout station, and accepts food direct from Stewart's hand. At lunch-time Stewart calls 'Pete' and the marmots appear. 'Pete' is just one more name added to marmots as they are already known also as woodchucks and ground hogs." (Plumas Independent)
September 22, 1938: "Dave Stewart, lookout man from Mt. Hough came to town last week to pay a visit to his barber. Dave reported seeing a fine four pointer down the road, and further down the road, four eager hunters, who were enjoying the opening day of the deer season." (Plumas Independent)
October 8, 1938: "How would you like to watch winter storms howl across the Sierra above the 7,000 foot level?
That's what Davis Stewart, Plumas National Forest lookout man, wants to do. He is seeking permission to spend the winter in his tiny lookout on top of Mt. Hough, overlooking the American and Indian Valley. The lookout is 7,254 feet in elevation and is one of the most important in the forest area." (Lassen Advocate - Susanville)
May 26, 1939: "'Pete,' the woodchuck, member of the family Marmota, that last summer became the friend of Lookout Man Dave Stewart on Mt. Hough in the Plumas National Forest, apparently is glad the long winter months have passed. No sooner had Stewart removed the shutters from the Lookout for the beginning of the new season, than he thought of his old friend, and called, "Pete". He called doubtfully, thinking Pete might have forgotten him, but his doubts were without foundation, for soon, over the stones scrambled the big Marmot, and sitting on his haunches gazed up at Stewart expectantly. Stewart took up the old friendship where it had broken off by tossing Pete a morsel of food. -Plumas News-" (California Ranger)
September 7, 1939: "Dave Stewart, lookout man from the Mt. Hough station, came to town last Thursday afternoon to attend to business matters, having been granted two hours leave from duty." (Plumas Independent)
June 13, 1940: "Dave Stewart, forest service lookout stationed on Mt. Hough, and Elizabeth Reid of Seattle were married at Virginia City Tuesday night. They are spending their honeymoon at the lookout." (Feather River Bulletin)
June 13, 1940: " "PETE" has once again rejoined Plumas National Forest lookout Dave Stewart for his summer vigil on Mt. Hough.
Pete is a lady. And this is the third successive year that she has made herself at home at the lonely station perched atop Mt. Hough. This year as soon as the post was occupied by Stewart in May, she came scampering over the rocks up to the forest guard and gave him a joyous greeting.
Pete got her name because, Stewart declares, that's the only word of English she knows. And too, it might be because a shrill 'peet' is the only thing she can say.
The young lady is apparently looking forward to another summer of Dave's cooking, on which she seems to thrive.
And just to keep the records straight, Pete is a lady all right, but she's a lady marmot. She's Dave Stewart's pet groundhog." (Feather River Bulletin)
July 6, 1944: "Howard Moody, riding a mettlesome steed and driving a Missouri mule loaded with provisions for the lookout station at Crystal lake pulled out of Quincy Tuesday morning." (Feather River Bulletin)
September 21, 1950: ""Hold the phone a minute, there's a big bear downstairs," was the exclamation of Mrs. Walter Shockley interrupting her telephone conversation from Mt. Hough lookout station to Plumas National Forest central fire dispatcher Herbert Hard in Quincy.
Hard keeping the receiver to his ear, heard shouts by the lookout lady followed by the loud banging of a metal dishpan.
Scaring Mr. Bruin away and returning to the phone, Mrs. Shockley exclaimed:
"Well, I don't mind bears calling once in awhile when my husband is home, but I certainly don't care about entertaining them when Walter is away."
Dispatcher Hard explained that the regular lookout, who is Mrs. Shockley's husband Walter, was down over the rugged side of Mt. Hough at that time fighting a lightning fire. The Mt. Hough station is not a tower but a two story wood structure." (Reno Evening Gazette)
Hard keeping the receiver to his ear, heard shouts by the lookout lady followed by the loud banging of a metal dishpan.
Scaring Mr. Bruin away and returning to the phone, Mrs. Shockley exclaimed:
"Well, I don't mind bears calling once in awhile when my husband is home, but I certainly don't care about entertaining them when Walter is away."
Dispatcher Hard explained that the regular lookout, who is Mrs. Shockley's husband Walter, was down over the rugged side of Mt. Hough at that time fighting a lightning fire. The Mt. Hough station is not a tower but a two story wood structure." (Reno Evening Gazette)
May 27, 1965: "Mrs. Wanda Hanson left Tuesday for the Mt. Hough Lookout where she will spend the summer. Her children, Lorraine and Frank will stay at the Hohnecker ranch until school is out and they can join their mother at the Lookout." (Feather River Bulletin)
September 6, 1973: "Mt. Hough lookout, George O'Brien reported a fire between the Indian Valley Railroad right-of-way and Spanish Creek to the Quincy headquarters Friday morning. The fire was extinguished after three acres were burned over." (Feather River Bulletin)
1986: A new replacement structure constructed.