GRANT COUNTY
ANTELOPE MOUNTAIN
Malheur National Forest
17S-35E-33
17S-35E-33
1929: A 20-foot timber tower with an L-4 gable roof cab constructed. This tower had no catwalk. (Malheur National Forest Archives file)
October 3, 1930: "A new road built to Antelope Mountain Lookout." (East Oregon Ranger)
1934: A 16-foot by 18-foot garage / storage constructed. (Malheur National Forest Archives file)
1957: The floor covered with masonite and tower bolts tightened. (Malheur National Forest Archives file)
1960: Bottom guy wire lowered to avoid tripping over wire at head of stairway in southeast corner. Lightning protection brought up to standard. (Malheur National Forest Archives file)
November 1961: "On Wednesday, November 8, 1961 the ADR and FCT made a field inspection of the Antelope Mountain Lookout site. Existing seen-area maps for the Antelope L.O. and adjacent Antelope Tree E.L.O. were checked for accuracy. A tree located on the ridge just north of the L.O. was climbed to a height of 50 feet in an attempt to simulate seen-area conditions from a proposed lookout to be constructed there. The field observations and studies resulted in the following comments and recommendations:
(1) A point some 300' north of the present tower, but 60 feet lower in ground elevation, provides a suitable site for the construction of a new tower. Such a tower would need to be 80' to 100' high, however, to afford a seen-area better than the one from the existing L.O. Also, the increased coverage would be limited to that relatively small area (600-1,000 acres) immediately North and East of Antelope Mountain.
(2) The removal of existing trees north and east of the lookout has greatly improved the present seen-area.
(3) Construction of a new 40'-50' tower on the site of the existing 20' L.O. would afford maximum detection at the most reasonable cost. This project should be considered our 1st priority for such construction, since Antelope is our southern-most lookout and covers the driest portions of the district and is a weather station and provides good communication coverage. This is an old type lookout constructed in 1928. The present guying system is a safety hazard. Two guy lines are attached just under the eaves and it is impossible to negotiate the catwalk without ducking under the guys. The second wire comes through the catwalk and presents another safety hazard. (Justification Statement)" (Malheur National Forest Archives file)
September 1964: "Prepare Antelope L.O. #4200 for painting, and paint interior & exterior of same. Also paint stair & catwalk railings safety color. Project Materials: Paint, grey, exterior; Paint, light green, interior; Paint, Orange for air marking. Estimated cost of materials: $24.00. Contributed manpower, 32 hours, by lookout." (Malheur National Forest Archives file)
FY 1965: Painted exterior and interior. Cost $50.00. (Malheur National Forest Archives file)
June 1966: "Antelope Mountain Lookout was inspected on June 6, 1966, by Don O'Brien who is a local carpenter.
Following are the items he found in need of repair or replacement:
Exterior
Window caps and trim Cracked and decayed
Window and door frames Cracked and decayed
Shutters Replace
Door Replace
Roof Replace
Guys (A hazard) Replace fasteners at building
Treads and Risers Replace
Stringers (stairs) Replace
Interior
Door and window trim Replace
Linoleum Loose
Windows Weather strip
Walls Cover with plywood
(Condition Survey) (Malheur National Forest Archives file)
June 6, 1974: "Invitation For Bids: Description of Work. Disassemble lookout building and tower at Lake Butte, move and reassemble, as per plans and specifications, on the new site. Disassemble and dispose of lookout building and tower at Antelope." (Malheur National Forest Archives file)
June 21, 1974: Amount of bid: $14,850.00, bid awarded to Emmert Industrial Corp., Clackamas, Oregon. (Malheur National Forest Archives file)
1974: "Special Project Specifications" "General: The project consists of moving an existing 30 foot lookout tower and flattop lookout house structure complete located on Lake Butte in Section 30, T.11S., R.32E., to Antelope Mountain, located in Section 33, T.17S., R.35E. Lake Butte is located approximately 45 air miles or 60 road miles from Antelope Mountain, as shown on the vicinity map. Remove and dispose of existing 20 foot lookout tower and house at Antelope Mountain. The Government will plow the snow off the roads to both the Lake Butte and Antelope Mountain sites.
The Government estimates the total weight of the lookout at Lake Butte to be approximately 22,500 pounds, broken down as follows: House - 12,000 pound; Tower - 10,500 pounds. These weights are provided for estimating purposes only. The Government makes no warranty, express or implied, as to the exact weight of the lookout.
Construction Requirements & Specifications: The contractor shall be responsible for moving and disposing of existing lookout structure at Antelope Mountain. This work shall be done before the installation of the lookout structure from Lake Butte. All material in the structure becomes the property of the Contractor.
The Contractor shall be responsible for dismantling the existing lookout structure at Lake Butte, moving the dismantled sections to the new location at Antelope Mountain, and reassembling the structure in conformity with its original configuration and the drawings. The degree of dismantling shall be governed by the Contractor's method of moving. The choice of method is the Contractor's responsibility. The Contractor will be responsible for repairing at no additional cost to the Government of all damage to the structure resulting from his operations.
The lookout shall be assembled on Antelope Mountain so the door to the house is facing east.
All concrete work shall conform to the requirements of Division 200, as amended.
The lightning protection system must be reinstalled at the Antelope Mountain site as shown on the plan L-22101. The Contractor must provide and install any additional supplies or materials necessary to properly ground the lightning protection system as shown on plan L-22101.
The Contractor will be responsible for removing all furnishing from the lookout house, hauling them to the next site and replacing them in the lookout house.
Road Work: Road widening, tree cutting, or stump removal which the Contractor feels is necessary to accommodate equipment, shall be performed incidental to the contract. There shall be advance agreement between the Contractor and the Contracting Officer concerning the nature of this work, brush disposal and cleanup.
The Contractor shall guy the lookout at the Antelope Mountain site as shown on the plans. The Contractor shall furnish any additional guy wire required.
All work on this contract must be completed by July 15, 1974.
Cleanup: Existing concrete footings and guy anchors at Lake Butte and Antelope Mountain must be cut or broken off below existing ground level, or dug out and disposed of at a site designated by the COR, and the remaining holes filled with dirt to ground level." (Malheur National Forest Archives file)
July 18, 1974: "It was agreed that a pre-work conference would be held in John Day on August 1, with a start work order issued and effective the same day.
It was also agreed that because the needs of the Government have changed we would extend the completion date of the contract to September 1, 1974." (Malheur National Forest Archives file)
September 11, 1974: Approval was granted to change the guy anchor design. (Malheur National Forest Archives file)
Row 1, image 1: Tower loaded on lowboy at Lake Butte. 9/23/1974
Row 1, image 2: House being moved down Lake Butte Road. 9/24/1974
Row 1, image 3: House moving up Antelope Mountain Road. 9/27/1974
Row 2, image 1: House coming around a detour on Antelope Mountain Road. 9/27, 1974
Row 2, image 2: Truck stuck at detour on Antelope Road. 9/27/1974
Row 2, image 3: House being lifted by a 60-foot boom, not enough height. 10/1/1974
Row 3, image 1: House being lifted by 60-foot boom, unable to reach top of tower, 10/1/1974
Row 3, image 2: House being lifted by an 80-foot boom. 10/1/1974
Row 3, image 3: House being lifted with the 80-foot boom. 10/1/1974
Row 4, image 1: House almost in place atop tower. 10/1/1974
Row 4, image 2: Another view of preparing to lift house. 10/1/1974
Above photos courtesy of the Malheur National Forest Archives
Row 1, image 2: House being moved down Lake Butte Road. 9/24/1974
Row 1, image 3: House moving up Antelope Mountain Road. 9/27/1974
Row 2, image 1: House coming around a detour on Antelope Mountain Road. 9/27, 1974
Row 2, image 2: Truck stuck at detour on Antelope Road. 9/27/1974
Row 2, image 3: House being lifted by a 60-foot boom, not enough height. 10/1/1974
Row 3, image 1: House being lifted by 60-foot boom, unable to reach top of tower, 10/1/1974
Row 3, image 2: House being lifted by an 80-foot boom. 10/1/1974
Row 3, image 3: House being lifted with the 80-foot boom. 10/1/1974
Row 4, image 1: House almost in place atop tower. 10/1/1974
Row 4, image 2: Another view of preparing to lift house. 10/1/1974
Above photos courtesy of the Malheur National Forest Archives
October 10, 1974: The Certificate of Final Inspection was signed. (Malheur National Forest Archives file)
October 14, 1974: "Contract change order: 1 - Forest Service will repair damage to metal roof flashing, and replace broken locking hasp on trap door. 2 - Forest Service will complete the disposal of the old lookout, slash disposal along both the Antelope road and the Lake Butte road. Reasons for changes: 1 - Contractor's request (Forest Service has a need to repair other items on roof and can perform this work also). 2 - Burning conditions do not permit disposal at this time, F.S. will perform at later date." These changes reduced the contract amount by $100.00. (Malheur National Forest Archives file)
1992: "Antelope Mountain lookout and surrounding buildings are in excellent condition and not in need of any major repairs at this time. If this lookout is maintained at the appropriate level, it should have a life expectancy of 25 to 30 years. (Lookout Activity Review) (Malheur National Forest Archives file)
September 21, 2004: A visual inspection was performed on both the lookout and the garage. (Malheur National Forest Archives file)