SANTA BARBARA COUNTY
MOUNT SOLOMON
Santa Barbara County Forestry Department
February 15, 1934: "Mount Solomon, one of the highest points of land immediately near Santa Maria valley, will become the site of a new forest lookout station when funds for building the station are obtained, County Forester Frank Dunne said today.
The county forestry department will furnish a man for the post during fire seasons, according to Dunne.
Cooperation of the State Division of Forestry for construction of the station is being sought." (Santa Maria Daily Times)
The county forestry department will furnish a man for the post during fire seasons, according to Dunne.
Cooperation of the State Division of Forestry for construction of the station is being sought." (Santa Maria Daily Times)
April 13, 1934: "County forestry department lookouts will man a new station to be constructed soon on Mt. Solomon, south of Santa Maria, by the federal government, it was announced by the forestry department yesterday.
At an elevation of approximately 2,000 feet, the new station will command a view of all surrounding country, including Santa Maria valley, Cuyama valley, Sisquoc district, the Manzana, San Antonio country and Santa Ynez valley.
About $2500 will be spent for the station, including all instruments, officials said." (The Lompoc Record)
April 20, 1934: "Lease: Union Oil Co. of Calif., to County of Santa Barbara portion of property in T 9-33. 200 ft by 200 ft on top of what is known as Mt. Solomon, 10 years for purpose of constructing and maintaining fire lookout, etc." (The Daily Times)
April 27, 1934: "One lookout now is being constructed on Mount Solomon." (The Lompoc Record)
May 11, 1934: "Bard Davison, who has served under County Forester Frank A. Dunne, as a county fire patrolman, for the last several years, has been slated by the county forester for the position of lookout at the new observation station being completed on the top of Mt. Solomon, overlooking Santa Maria, Cuyama and Los Alamos valleys. The station, which will be completed within the next two weeks, has a site at an altitude of 2,000 feet and is ten miles southeast of Santa Maria." (Santa Ynez Valley News)
June 27, 1934: Solomon Peak lookout station, constructed by the state under supervision of the federal forestry service, is about 95 per cent completed and will be ready for use by July 15, according to an announcement made yesterday by the Santa Barbara office of the U. S. Forestry service." (Santa Maria Daily Times)
June 29, 1934: "Mr. and Mrs. Bard Davison and sons have moved to Mt Solomon, where Mr. Davison will have charge of the lookout station during the dry season." (Santa Ynez Valley News)
August 23, 1934: "Visitors to the new station see the newest type fire finder bin operation. It is known as the Osborn allidade. Not only does this delicate instrument give the location of the fire, but if the blaze is on a mountain side, almost the exact grade and elevation can be determined by measuring on a tape. Through binoculars the observer can detect fires from 175 to 200 miles away by airline." (Santa Maria Daily Times)
June 25, 1936: "Mr. and Mrs. Dan Curryer have returned from Reno, Nev., where they were married Monday.
Curryer is going directly to Mt. Solomon, where he has been appointed as lookout by the county forestry department." (The Daily Times)
July 15, 1936: "Lookout Dan Curryer on Mount Solomon, reported poor visibility this afternoon. Clouds hung about his lookout, making it difficult to survey the surrounding country for smoke, he said." (Santa Maria Times)
July 20, 1936: "Sam Davidson is acting lookout on Mount Solomon today and tomorrow, while Dan Curryer takes his regular monthly two day leave." (Santa Maria Daily Times)
July 28, 1936: "Dan Curryer, lookout on Mount Solomon, has discovered that pole cats are not always black and white. A few nights ago, awakened by a scratching noise in his bedroom, he investigated and found a little brown and black animal.
It looked perfectly harmless, however, so he left it in it corner and went back to bed.
Yesterday, Dan's dog cornered the same animal outside, and Dan attracted by the barking, decided to poke the animal out of its hiding place with a broom.
'It was pure luck,' he said, reporting the incident, 'that I was properly distant from the skunk." (Santa Maria Daily Times)
August 24, 1936: "Ed Graff has succeeded Dan Curryer as lookout in the Mt. Solomon station south of Santa Maria." (Santa Maria Daily Times)
May 18, 1939: "The Mt. Solomon lookout, only county lookout in northern Santa Barbara county, is being cleaned and repainted by Charles Barnes, Los Olivos, appointed lookout for the season." (Santa Maria Daily Times)
December 23, 1948: "Grandma Bessie Hampton, 54, has climbed down from her glass-enclosed watch tower for another winter.
For four summers now, she and her dog Rover have maintained a 24-hour-a-day vigil atop Mt. Solomon, 1,336 feet above the ocean. She turns her spyglasses on the surrounding forests between Pacific Coast highway 101 and the sea, reporting suspicious smoke to the fire warden.
Grandma, who boasts 12 grandchildren, got in training with 12-hour shifts at a war-time aircraft warning post. She opens the fire tower about May 15 and closes it in November each year.
Now she's set for a winter of traveling." (Kokomo Tribune)
