LAKE COUNTY
FREMONT POINT
Fremont National Forest
31S-16E-21
31S-16E-21
1931: This site selected to be an auxiliary lookout and a seventy-five foot steel tower is planned.
June 30,1931: " As soon as the Sycan Butte road is completed the road crew will move to Harris Field and build a road to Fremont Point. A telephone line from Pole Butte to Fremont Point will be started when the line to Sycan is finished." (Lake County Tribune)
1931: The new 72-foot all steel Aermotor tower with a 7x7 steel lookout cab had been completed in September. The total dollar figure on this construction $1,575.40.
October 6,1931: " The visit to Fremont Point, about ten miles from the Currier Camp the road turns to the right for the journey to the Summer Lake rim. The tower is new and so is the road as one appreciates before reaching the end of it. A trip of nine miles through tall timber, up hill and down dale over a road which keeps one nodding continually to imaginary neighbors makes us doubt very much the veracity of the mileage indicated on the map. We begin to doubt our selection of roads and proceed in desultory fashion when suddenly the new 80-foot steel tower looms before us. It was a beautiful sight but the most delightful of surprises comes when the top of the rim is reached and Summer Lake and the valley stretches below for miles in a scenic wonder which has no comparison. The recent rains have left a little water in the lake and the rather hazy atmosphere adds glamour to the sight. History tells us that General Fremont reached the top of this rim during his winter trip and the snow was so cold and the wind so frigid he called it winter rim but when he looked down and saw the beautiful valley with its summer greenness and vegetation by the lake he called it Summer Lake and so it received its name.
We turn our attention to the tower which rises over eighty feet above the already very high rim. Stairs reach to the top where the lookout will spend the greater part of his time next summer. The climbing of these stairs is one which should not be tackled by those who are afflicted by dizziness. There are 99 steps to be climbed before the top is reached and all the way one may look through the steel skeleton and see vast areas of territory which after a short time seems to sway before one’s eyes. Ones grip on the railing which aids in ascension tightens perceptibly as each successive platform is reached. At last the top and we enter to find that knees don’t behave as they ordinarily should on climbing stairs. The view from this high point is a reward for the climb and it is very evident why the location was selected as one from which to sight fires. This trip alone is worth an entire weekend of planning. A cabin has been built nearby where the lookout may sleep and eat. He has to haul water here over many a mile for his everyday needs." (Lake County Tribune)
November 1931: "While completing an inspection trip in the Summer Rim country, I happened onto a hunters' camp. The hunters were natives of western Oregon and great lovers of the out-of-doors. This was their first visit east of the mountains; they bagged their limit of deer and were leaving for home. I advised them to take the trip to the top of the rim and gaze upon the High Desert, Summer Lake, and the tiny cars traveling on the Fremont Highway. This they did and that night around the campfire the scenic view from the new Fremont Point Lookout tower was 100%, considered by all to a greater sight than Crater Lake. Maybe southeastern Oregon has more beauty than some of the old timers realize. They will toll their findings to others, which may result in a heavy traffic to Summer Rim.
P.S. Maybe we can get our road surfaced yet! Henry C. Hulett" (Six Twenty-Six) (Note: The above mentioned Summer Rim is actually what is known now as Winter Rim.)
1932: Lightning protection installed on the tower.
1933: A 16x18 garage built. Also the 12x16 living quarters cabin constructed.
1934: Flag pole protection installed. This lookout was equipped with a #6 Osborne fire finder.
1940: The lookout became a fire-weather station, taking observations at 8 am, 12 noon and at 4:30 pm, telephoning the reading to the Paisley Ranger Station at 4:30 pm daily.
1942: A memo from Jack Groom, Paisley District Ranger to the Forest Supervisor indicates the tower is 75 feet tall and that the guys are a 7-strand 3/8 inch cable. The maximum sag for these guys is at three inches.
1944: Helen (Johnson) Farmer, stated in a telephone visit on September 13, 2005, that she was the lookout on Fremont Point in 1944. At the age of 17, she was the youngest lookout on the Fremont that year. An interesting story about the Saturday night she hiked from the lookout down the steep hillside to Highway 31, this was accomplished by going cross-country finding her way through the brush by the light of lightning flashes. At the highway some friends picked her up and off to the dance in Paisley. The next morning she was given a ride back to the lookout. Another time, she tells, that a bear cub was nosing around outside her cabin. Not knowing where momma bear was she decided to close the door and stay inside until she was sure the cub had departed.
1957: The pit toilet rebuilt.
1958: Air markings completed, this station marked F-8.
July 14, 1960: " Frank Ott at Fremont Point lookout is a new man this season. Frank is an Oregonian, which makes him an oddity on the district." (Herald and News)
1972: The Civil Engineers comments on the 1972 lookout condition survey: This is a light weight tower with a seven foot cab. The metal used in the construction of the tower is all galvanized and is holding up good. The row of boards in the staircase have split. All the boards should be checked and the split ones replaced. There has been some damage to the shutters from wind action and paint has peeled off of the shutters. The shutters should be repaired and repainted. The paint is peeling off inside the cab. It should be repainted.
The lookout had a wind gauge which was not very accurate. He was queried as to safety practice in regards to high winds. He stated that there is no policy concerning abandoning tower when winds get up to a critical velocity. The Regional office should be queried as to the recommended wind velocity at which the towers should be abandoned.
It is hard to determine what the strength of guys are on these towers. The northeast guy of this particular tower, it is felt, needs to have a better anchoring.
Living quarters of the tower inspected to-date, this should be number one on the list for replacement. The linoleum on the floor is half gone, the cabin is very crude, etc. This facility should be replaced as soon as possible if we continue to use this as a permanent lookout.
Cab needs replacing, warped due to wind action."
August 31, 1973: "Fremont Point Lookout reports 100th of an inch of 'participation' of rain August 24, 1973. What kind of rain is that?" (Fremont Fragments #18)
1974: One fire reported from this station in the 1974 fire season.
1981: "Grounding cables need to be put in earth, present resistance readings are high. This is true for both the tower and cabin. Loose and broken leads, on present grounding system, broken leads on tower to guy wire system. These are items in need of correction after a lightning protection inspection."
1998: A safety inspection showed that the tower had a number of violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. Noted were the hand and guard rails were to low, The landing flooring was uneven and missing (trip hazard), and the first landing boards were rotten and cracked. Further notes: Unable to access the viewing cab, appears to be in very bad condition, roof appears to have blown off. Also this tower access should be blocked and signed as to entry. Tower needs to be either dismantled or restored.
2001: On the 2001 condition survey the only entry is “Abandoning in place”
2002: The Winter Rim fire destroyed the ground cabin and greatly weakened the tower. This site had been in the recreational rental program.
2003: The lookout tower removed due to structural weakening from the forest fire the year before.
March 2011: An interest has been shown in rebuilding the living quarters cabin.
September 2011: Construction has begun on the foundation for the new cabin. When completed the replica cabin will become a rental unit.
STATION DESCRIPTION
DESCRIBED BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1948 (MTP)
THE STATION IS ABOUT 21 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF SILVER LAKE,
19 MILES NORTHWEST OF PAISLEY, AND 8 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF THE
SUMMER LAKE POST OFFICE. IT IS ON THE SUMMIT OF FREMONT POINT,
A HIGH POINT OF THE HEAVILY TIMBERED RIM THAT OVERLOOKS SUMMER
LAKE TO THE EAST.
THE STATION MARK, STAMPED FREMONT POINT 1948, IS A STANDARD
DISK BRAZED TO THE TOP OF A 2 INCH IRON PIPE PROJECTING 8 INCHES
ABOVE A MASS OF CONCRETE AND STONE 18 INCHES IN DIAMETER AND 8
INCHES HIGH. IT IS IN THE APPROXIMATE CENTER OF THE BASE OF THE
FREMONT POINT LOOKOUT TOWER.