ONION MOUNTAIN
Josephine County - Siskiyou National Forest - 36S-8W-11
January 1915: "I am very desirous of trying out the new method of constructing telephone lines and hope I may be able to do so this spring on the proposed line to Onion Mountain Lookout point. J.P. DeWitt, District 3 Ranger" (The Siskiyou Bulletin)
August 1915: "Guards Raybell, Stiewig and Campbell constructed about 3 1/2 miles of telephone line from F.R.S. to Onion Mt. About $25.00 was expended for temporary labor in pulling out wire and clearing right of way." (The Siskiyou Bulletin)
1915: A telephone line from Ferrin Guard Station constructed to Onion Mountain.
June 5, 1916: "Walter Sackman will leave the middle of the week for Bald Mountain, to clear trail. When this is done he will act as lookout on Onion Mountain." (Rogue River Courier)
September 27, 1916: "Word was received here this morning that Mrs. Walter Sackman, wife of the lookout at Onion mountain, had become violently ill. Mr. Sackman and J.A. Gaslin are bringing her to the wagon road, where she is to be met by a doctor." (Rogue River Courier)
September 28, 1916: "Mrs. Walter Sackman, who was taken violently ill yesterday at the ranger camp at Onion mountain, was brought in last night and at last reports is improving. She was carried by Mr. Sackman and J.A. Gaslin from the lookout station to the wagon road." (Rogue River Courier)
October 3, 1916: "Walter Sackman returned last night from his lookout station on Onion mountain, where he has spent all summer." (Rogue River Courier)
1921: Mrs. Hamblin, one of three women on the Siskiyou forest to hold the position of lookout.
August 1923: "In the very near future we hope to have a standard lookout house on Onion Mountain, the material and other equipment has been ordered, and construction will start as soon as we can pack the material in." (The Siskiyou Bulletin)
September 27, 1923: "A lookout house on Onion Mountain is being erected by the forest service. The lumber is being taken up the mountain today and the building will be erected as soon as possible. Although fire danger is practically over for the season, the office is not taking any chances on a recurrence of the fires should the weather again become dry suddenly and will not call the men in from their posts until after the first of the month." (Grants Pass Daily Courier)
September 1923: "We are getting construction work started on a standard lookout house on Onion Mountain. The work is proceeding slowly on account of the unusual adverse conditions but if we have any luck will finish it before the snow comes. We also expect to get some work done on the construction of the Onion Mountain-Slate Creek telephone line this month." (The Siskiyou Bulletin)
May 1926: "An SOS from Onion Mountain Lookout on June 2 roused us about 6:00 a.m. Frank Scritchfield was in great distress and calling for a doctor. I picked up Dr. Ogle at Grants Pass, and going by way of Limpy Creek arrived at the lookout 11:30 a.m. After receiving some stimulants Frank was able, with the doctor's assistance, to stagger the 8 miles to the doctor's car. They arrived in town that night at 7 p.m. Doctor's diagnosis was acute appendicitis, but upon operating next day constricted hernia was found. Frank had both feet over the Divide but changed his mind and turned back. He has a fair show now, and we hope to have him on the lookout soon. Ranger Boriga, Galice District" (The Siskiyou Bulletin)
June 4, 1926: "Dr. C.L. Ogle yesterday was called upon to make a trip to the Onion Mountain lookout station to bring Frank Scritchfield to this city for an operation for acute appendicitis. The patient is now at the hos[pital and the operation will be performed today or tomorrow. Dr. Ogle went over 10 miles of forest trail and killed a large rattlesnake on his trip, it being the first one he had ever come across in the woods.--Grants Pass Courier." (Medford Mail Tribune)
December 1927: "Onion Mountain Lookout reported three first discoveries on the Siskiyou National Forest in 1927." (The Siskiyou Bulletin)
1929: About four and a half miles of number 12 wire replaced with number 9 wire on the Onion Mountain telephone line.
July 30, 1929: "Sunday a grass fire on the Hair property across Rogue River from Riverside park attracted the attention of many local people, but Siskiyou Forest Office has just received word that it was viewed from a distance of 16 miles.
J.H. Billingslea, superintendent of the forest, is making an inspection trip of the forests, and he reported that at the same time he was making a report of the fire from the top of Onion Mountain, he saw the fire engine rushing to the blaze." (Grants Pass Daily Courier)
August 1929: "Onion Mountain lookout will now stand a rigid inspection by standard methods. Orval Jess, the lookout, has repainted the station both inside and out and a good job of it he has done too." (The Siskiyou Bulletin)
October 23, 1930: "Supervisor J.H. Billingslea of the Siskiyou national forest reported that Ray Sloan mounted Onion Mountain Thursday to take up his duties as lookout. A repetition of the prolonged fire season of last year, which was not ended until December 8." (Grants Pass Daily Courier)
Fall 1932: "The Onion Mountain lookout turned in 142 fire reports during the past season, most of them for fires on state land. During the latter part of the season the P.A. wondered why the lookout was not turning the usual number of fires and upon checking up was informed by him that he had only two forms 1-R6 left and he was saving them for a fire on the forest. The lookout was immediately instructed to make out his reports on a diary sheet and turn them in anyway." (The Siskiyou Bulletin)
May 1940: "Good seen area in a locality where man-caused fires were located. 1939 point was not manned until 1 and came off October 1. Prior information not available. Suggested dates are believed to be much closer to probable need than the present allotted dates." (Plans, Guard Placement, Siskiyou National Forest)
1943: An automatic radio relay station installed at the Onion Mountain observation post to relay messages from coastal points to Grants Pass
1952: An L-4 lookout house constructed on a 10-foot treated timber tower.
August 11, 1971: "The Galice District features a network of logging roads in addition to trails, in this old gold mining region. The Big Pine Campground with swimming in Taylor Creek, the Onion Mountain Lookout, manned by Mrs. Charles Winger, offers an eagle's view of the region, and the riot of wildflowers are some of the attractions." (The Oregonian)
August 3, 1972: "Sixty-one-year-old Anna Mae Winger spends a lot of time just staring off into space.
But before anyone jumps to conclusions about lonely old-age they should know that Mrs. Winger is a fire watcher at the U.S. forest service lookout tower on top of Onion Mountain near Grants Pass.
This is her sixth year at the lookout." (The World)
September 14, 2014: Flames from the approaching Onion Mountain Fire required numerous water and retardant drops to save the lookout tower and several communications towers and related structures. From "RogueWeather.Com" on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RogueWeatherNow/posts/967955423229994
DESIGNATION - ONION MOUNTAIN LOOKOUT TOWER
PID - NZ1278
STATE/COUNTY- OR/JOSEPHINE
COUNTRY - US
USGS QUAD - ONION MOUNTAIN (1996)
STATION DESCRIPTION
DESCRIBED BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1943 (JCS)
STATION IS THE FOREST SERVICE LOOKOUT ON TOP OF ONION MOUNTAIN,
WHICH IS APPROXIMATELY 12 MILES N OF SELMA, AND 15 MILES NW OF
GRANTS PASS. THE STATION IS NOT MARKED BUT A MARKED STATION,
BALLY ONION 1943, IS LOCATED 125 FEET TO THE S.