LANE COUNTY
GOLD POINT
Willamette National Forest
18S-3E-34
18S-3E-34
c.1920: A 90 foot lookout tree established.
August 2, 1925: "The lookout at Gold Point has built a crow's next in the top of a tall tree." (Morning Register)
September 23, 1925: "Hoisting heavy pieces of timber 50 or 60 feet up into a tree to build a 'crow's nest/ at his station on Gold Point in the Cascade national forest was the task which has just been completed by Frank Verdier, forest fire lookout on that point.
Mr. Verdier's station is surrounded by tall trees and it was necessary for him to climb a tree each day and cling to its branches while he took observations. He concluded that he could do better than that and set about building himself a platform near the top of a tall fir where he had a good view of all surrounding mountains.
Single-handed, Mr. Verdier hoisted the timbers by means of ropes and securely spiking them to the tree, laid a floor of small saplings. It was a long and laborious task, he told Supervisor Nelson F. Macduff yesterday, but it was finally completed a short time before he was called off duty a few days ago." (Morning Register)
July 20, 1927: "Samuel L. Miller of Corvallis is a lookout fireman on Gold Point in the Cascade National forest, during his summer vacation. Mr. Miller is a senior in forestry at O.A.C." (Corvallis Gazette-Times)
1928: A 37-foot tall tower erected. (The History of West Boundary Ranger District, 1937)
1936: A 35-foot timber tower with a 14x14 cab constructed.
Activated: August 11, 1942; Deactivated: September 22, 1943. Eugene Filter Center.
1942: An Air Warning Service cabin built.
October 30, 1942: "A miraculous escape from death was reported by Joe Neet, ranger of this district. Mr. and Mrs. Neet and a crew have been camping at Gold Point, building a cabin for the lookout at that place. A big fir tree, loosened by recent rains, fell without warning upon the cook tent. The men were just in the act of sitting down to eat when the big tree fell directly upon the tent crushing the table, contents and stove, in fact everything within the tent. Luckily the men scrambled to safety by a narrow margin. Mr. and Mrs. Neet had left camp about 10 minutes before for supplies, or they might have been killed, especially Mrs. Neet, since she had been hurt previously by a horse." (The Eugene Guard)
September 22, 1943: AWS Station 'Charlie 9-9' was inactivated with recommendation to retain. AWS constructed a small sleeping quarters at the site. (Report of Aircraft Warning Service Stations, May 1, 1944)
1959: "The 20-foot tower at Gold Point was replaced with a prefabricated treated timber structure." (Annual Report, 1959)
1968: The lookout removed.
STATION DESCRIPTION
DESCRIBED BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1953 (CTH)
THE STATION IS LOCATED ABOUT 18 MILES EAST OF LOWELL, 14 MILES
NORTH OF OAKRIDGE, AND 8-1/2 MILES SOUTHEAST OF THE FALL CREEK
RANGER STATION ON THE CREST OF A MOUNTAIN KNOWN AS GOLD RIDGE.
THE TOWER IS CONSTRUCTED OF POLE LEGS, HAS A WOODEN CROWS-NEST,
AND A STAIRWAY IN THE CENTER. IT IS 35 FEET IN HEIGHT. THE
POINT LOCATED WAS THE CENTER OF THE BASE. IT WAS LOCATED BY A
TRAVERSE CONNECTION TO TRIANGULATION STATION GOLD POINT AND
THE DISTANCE WAS FOUND TO BE 6.44 METERS (21.13 FEET).