ARIZONA LOOKOUTS
MOUNT BALDY
Coronado National Forest
January 9, 1914: "Mt. Baldy and Escudilla are two fire lookout points used to the best advantage by rangers in locating fires, both being connected with telephone -- the latter having on it highest point a fifty foot lookout tower and a ranger's cabin." (The Copper Era and Morenci Leader)
May 28, 1914: "Up to a few days ago the Supervisor was unable to station a lookout on Mount Baldy on account of the depth of snow near the summit; however a lookout man is now on this point." (St. Johns Herald and Apache News)
May 28, 1914: "Up to a few days ago the Supervisor was unable to station a lookout on Mount Baldy on account of the depth of snow near the summit; however a lookout man is now on this point." (St. Johns Herald and Apache News)
May 17, 1918: "Miss Hanna Crosby, of Eager, was the guest of St. Johns friends the first of the week. Miss Crosby has been engaged by the Forestry Department to take charge of the lookout station at the top of Mt. Baldy this season and will begin her duties on May 15. Miss Crosby's appointment to this important post is due to the scarcity of help caused by the demand for more men 'over there.' She is a typical Arizona girl, an expert with her cow pony and lariat, and of course there is no such word as fear in her vocabulary. The altitude of Old Baldy is nearly 12,000 feet. It is a wild and isolated place, where fierce wild animals abound, and would be shied at by a timid, nervous girl, but Miss Crosby is not that kind and she expects to derive much pleasure from her work and experience as lookout sentinel.--St. Johns Observer." (The Coconino Sun)
June 4, 1921: "Ed. S. Black was down from Old Baldy Monday and reported that the work on the new trail leading up to the lookout station was progressing in a very satisfactory manner. The trail is about fifteen feet wide with a fifteen per cent grade. There are eight or ten men at work on this job--all of them being good fire fighters as well as trail builders." (The Border Vidette)
June 11, 1922: "Fire of unknown origin and proportions, located near Duquesne, in the Patagonia mountains, was reported this morning to local forest service officials from the lookout station on Mt. Baldy, and steps were taken to rush men from that point to bring the flames under control as rapidly as possible. The fire is located, according to best information available, on the east slope of the Patagonia, which section of the mountain range is heavily wooded.
According to the report here, the fire was first spotted about 9:30 and effort was made to get in touch with a neighboring forest lookout station. This failed, so the report was relayed immediately into the local headquarters. Up to a late hour this afternoon, no further report had been received from any of the neighboring lookout stations." (Tombstone Epitaph)
September 1, 1922: "Arrangements are going forward for the construction on the top of Old Baldy, one of the highest peaks in this section, of a glass house for the fire lookout. According to Assistant Forest Supervisor McKenzie, this lookout station overlooks more territory than any other in the district. The watchmen have been hampered in their work in the past by the excessively high and cold winds that constantly sweep the top of the hill, even in the summer time.
At present there is at the lookout station a cabin in which the man may spend a part of his time but the necessity for looking constantly in every direction makes the cabin impracticable as it now is.
For this reason a requisition has been sent in for eleven glass panes which will be packed to the top as soon as they arrive and will be installed in the walls of the cabin, which is 8 by 8 feet.
These panes will make every side of the structure open for observation and will practically make it a glass house while at the same time the ranger will be afforded shelter from the winds:
Another improvement will be the digging of a cistern in the solid rock at the top of the peak. This cistern will be made about seven feet deep and about four feet square. In the early spring it will be filled with snow and will be later replenished by the rainfall.
It is stated by the foresters that water in a cistern of this kind, which is concreted and sealed, will keep fresh and in excellent condition for as long as eighteen months in very high altitudes." (Prescott Evening Courier)
June 9, 1925: "An added lookout will be placed on Mt. Baldy, heretofore manned by one guard. Because of the need for packing wood and water to the crest, the guard was forced to leave the station unmanned for a part of the time and the new guard will do away with the need, the two men working alternately, day and night. Baldy, while slightly lower than Miller Peak, commands a view of the major portion of the Coronado forest and is one of the strategic points of the fire preventative campaign, the supervisor said." (Arizona Daily Star)
April 5, 1928: "Baldy is fitted with a new derby!
A caravan of sturdy little burros will commence this morning a long trek up the slopes of Mount Baldy, in the Santa Rita mountains, carrying on their backs parts for the forest service's new wooden lookout building that is to crown the mountain's shiny dome.
The new lookout building is to be a cabin with a cupola for the lookout, who has not yet been appointed. In the cupola will be maps, instruments and other equipment for the lookout.
The parts for the new structure have already been cut, to avoid the packing of useless material to the top. When the parts are hauled to the crest of Baldy they will be assembled under the direction of Ranger I. B. Lash, who has charge of the work, according to an announcement made yesterday at the offices of the Coronado national forest.
Yesterday afternoon, the material was sent out by truck from Tucson as far as Madera canyon.
The building, which will cost about $800, will be ready for use in about a month." (Arizona Daily Star)
July 28, 1928: "Lightning struck eight times in the same place, on the new lookout cabin on Mount Baldy, the other night.
And each time the bolt was taken charge of by the lightning rod, and neatly routed into a rock-hewn cistern containing two feet of water.
A report of the lightning rod's 100 per cent efficiency was turned in yesterday to the Tucson office of the Coronado national forest, by Ranger O.J. Olson, of the Santa Rita district." (Arizona Daily Star)
October 7, 1928: "Lightning may never strike twice in the same place, as the saying goes but the forest service lookout cabin atop Mount Baldy near here (Tucson) is one exception. In a recent storm the cabin survived eight distinct electric shocks, a lightning rod saving it each time." (Twin Falls Daily News - Idaho)
