JACKSON COUNTY
ROUND TOP
South West Oregon Fire Patrol
33S-2W-16
33S-2W-16
December 15, 1949: "Construction of a forest fire lookout tower on Roundtop mountain in the east fork of Evans Creek area to replace the lookout at Railroad Gap was announced today by the state forest patrol here." (Medford Mail Tribune
August 15, 1950: "Flying 'discs,' or 'saucers,' made a new appearance in Jackson county last Saturday, according to Mr. and Mrs. Bud Oliver who man the state forestry lookout on Round Top mountain, about 28 miles north of Medford.
Oliver said that two of these mysterious objects were seen about 1:30 p.m. hovering over his lookout, before taking off at a great speed toward the south." (Medford Mail Tribune)
1950: "14 x 14 - given by USFS & was used on Round Top." "20' tower - 14 x 14 house - part salvaged material." (Southwest District Annual Report)
1956: "Building maintenance: Interior painted." (Southwest Oregon District Annual Report)
June 8, 1958: "Mrs. Jim Winningham will accept a state lookout post at Roundtop in the Evans creek area, and will be accompanied by her husband." (Medford Mail Tribune)
October 28, 1958: "Mrs. Jim Winningham returned Saturday from her state forestry summer lookout post on Round Top in Evans Creek area." (Medford Mail Tribune)
1958: "Building maintenance: Misc. repairs." (Southwest Oregon District Annual Report)
June 9, 1959: "The seventh lookout for the southwest district, state department of forestry in Jackson county, was manned this morning by Mammie Winningham on Round Top in the Evans Creek area, the forestry department reported.
She was the lookout at Round Top last year." (Medford Mail Tribune)
1959: "Building maintenance: Installed gas range, misc. repairs and painting." (Southwest Oregon District Annual Report)
1960: "Building maintenance: New garbage pit dug." (Southwest Oregon District Annual Report)
October 3, 1961: "Miss Mary Savage has returned to school after spending the summer at the Round Top Forest service lookout in the Evans Creek area. Miss Savage is a second-year student at Oregon Technical institute, Klamath Falls, where she is training to become a dental assistant." (Medford Mail Tribune)
October 15, 1962: "Aerial reconnaissance in the southwest district of the state department of forestry revealed some damage to the roofs of Round Top and Burnt Peak lookouts. Crews were sent into them today." (Medford Mail Tribune)
1962: "Building maintenance:Repaired roof and installed window screens." (Southwest Oregon District Annual Report)
1963: "Building maintenance: Repaired shutters and installed gas light." (Southwest Oregon District Annual Report)
1964: "Building maintenance: Dug new garbage pit, installed new outhouse, repaired cab door, painted floor and replaced first flight of stairs." (Southwest Oregon District Annual Report)
1965: "Repaired shutters and installed gas light." (Southwest Oregon District seasonal report - 1965)
1971: Roundtop Lookout was checked on May 10 to assess winter damage, if any. On the morning of May 18, Tom Davis and Paul Sparks returned to the lookout to do maintenance work. The following vandalism has occurred since May 10: Forced entry through the door, stole one, 2 1/2 pound dry chemical fire extinguisher; one LPG light; one LPG Astrol 'A' refer and twelve feet of 3/16" copper tubing. Estimated cost to replace and repair is $213.00
1973: In consideration of the sum of $1000.00 the State entered an agreement with Gene Ash to construct a lookout building on Round Top Lookout site from materials furnished by the State, as directed and supervised by the State. The work was to be performed between June 4 and July 14.
1973: A 24-foot treated timber tower with a 14x14 Amort style flat-roof cabin constructed.
1973: "A new lookout cab was constructed on Round Top to replace one that the years had rendered unsafe." (Southwest Oregon District Annual Report)
July 4, 1993: The lookout broken into and a shotgun stolen.
August 27, 1995: "Rue Brown is finally getting to teach herself to play the flute this summer.
She's also catching up on a few books, including 'Gone With the Wind,' and there is her needlepoint to work on.
After a decade of fire-breathing summers, the veteran fire lookout finally has time on her hands.
'This has been a wonderful summer for us,' said Brown, a fire spotter in Round Top Lookout, an Oregon Department of Forestry facility about 20 air miles northeast of Medford.
'Having a cool summer with rain has made it easier on everyone,' she added. 'Its been great.'
Indeed, this is August, and the grass atop the peak is unseasonably green, particularly after nearly a decade of drought.
But that doesn't mean those who keep an eye out are any less vigilant. Her flute plays second fiddle to her job of watching for fires.
Last month she spotted a column of smoke in the Sardine Creek drainage after a lightning storm. She has also called in several grass fires on the Rogue Valley stretching far below.
'We're still having fires,' she said, adding, 'Just not like we've had them in the past.'
A former dental assistant, Brown, 39, born and raised in Miami, hired on as a fire lookout a decade ago. She works in the families real estate brokerage when she isn't scanning the horizons for fires.
Fire prevention is a family affair. She shares fire lookout duties with her father, Bill Guilliland. Her mother, Ramona Guilliland, also helps atop the mountain.
And her husband, Malcolm, is a firefighter with the Medford Fire Department.
Brown has served on all the fire lookouts in the Rogue Valley area. But Round Top, with its 25-foot tower atop the 4,700-foot peak, is her favorite.
To the north she peers down into the Umpqua Divide, a region often fogged in this summer, thanks to cool morning temperatures.
Her southern exposure oversees the twin Table Rocks, looking like giant pool tables in the far distance.
'I like the remoteness, the solitude,' she said.
Although the summer will soon fade into autumn, the veteran fire lookout isn't about to predict a summer without a major forest fire.
'You never know,' she said. (The Register-Guard)
1998: "Rebuilt catwalk on Round Top Lookout." (Annual Report, Southwest Oregon District)
2017: A camera detecting system replaced the normal method of observation.