MOUNT COOLIDGE
Custer County - Custer State Park - 5E-3S-35
August 18, 1921: "L.C. Tinsley, of Custer, also was up Sunday. Tinsley formerly held the fire station on Sheep Mountain, the State Forest Lookout. He is now with the crew on the state road from Sylvan Lake to the game park." (The Weekly Pioneer Times)
September 30, 1926: "Jack Sheehan, in charge of the Lookout mountain ranger station, near here, had no reason to know that the bear which suddenly appeared near his lookout station was a pet animal, so he does not hesitate to say that he was frightened.
While up on a ladder he chanced to cast his eyes downward to the ground and beheld a black bear eyeing him with a contemplative and wistful look, which seemed to indicate that the bear was pondering upon what sort of meal the lookout man would make for him.
Sheehan did not care to get down from the ladder and fight the bear with his bare hands, so he climbed clear to the top of the ladder, and after a while the supposed ferocious animal walked away. Sheehan then descended the ladder and went for the house near his lookout station and phoned to the lodge of the game keeper. When he turned around from the telephone the bear again was right behind him. He climbed the telephone pole from which the instrument projected and from his point of vantage threw lighted matches at the bear, which finally disappeared in the nearby brush, He later learned that the bear was a pet of a woman living in the vicinity and had wandered away from its home." (Deadwood Pioneer-Times)
While up on a ladder he chanced to cast his eyes downward to the ground and beheld a black bear eyeing him with a contemplative and wistful look, which seemed to indicate that the bear was pondering upon what sort of meal the lookout man would make for him.
Sheehan did not care to get down from the ladder and fight the bear with his bare hands, so he climbed clear to the top of the ladder, and after a while the supposed ferocious animal walked away. Sheehan then descended the ladder and went for the house near his lookout station and phoned to the lodge of the game keeper. When he turned around from the telephone the bear again was right behind him. He climbed the telephone pole from which the instrument projected and from his point of vantage threw lighted matches at the bear, which finally disappeared in the nearby brush, He later learned that the bear was a pet of a woman living in the vicinity and had wandered away from its home." (Deadwood Pioneer-Times)
March 31, 1927: "Nearly half the logs needed for the 50 foot observation tower to be erected on Lookout mountain this spring, according to J.C. Dennison, superintendent of the state park, have been hauled to the end of the road on the mountain, about 200 yards from the top. Work will begin as soon as weather conditions permit.
The plans for the tower constructed of logs, call for a structure 20 foot square at the base, tapering to approximately 12 square feet at the top, with two observation platforms, one 25 feet from the base and the other at the top. A system of stairways, short flights with landings at the head of each flight, will be built inside the tower.
From this elevation, near 6,600 feet, Harney Peak, the Needle, and the Badlands can be seen with the naked eye. A powerful telescope will bring out the splendor of these objects and permit one to see a distance of 150 miles into the Badlands district.
The park board and the state school and public lands department are cooperating in this project." (The Weekly Pioneer Times)
April 16, 1927: "Rapid City Journal: A log tower is to be built on Lookout mountain this spring, Superintendent Dennison of the state park has announced. That will appeal strongly to many people who have climbed the sound but spindly looking iron tower that has graced the peak for years. The man halfway up that swaying trestle has much to think about on a windy day. Durned if I'll go down, because that would look like cold feet, but durned if he wants go up because the thing wobbles so. A substantial log tower, produced on the spot, would have been welcomed by many a man in nearly every recent summer." (Deadwood Pioneer-Times)
June 1, 1927: “High on the summit of Lookout mountain, known to the old-timers as 'Sheep mountain,' workmen were constructing a massive rustic tower to soar 50 feet above the second loftiest peak in the Black Hills.” (The Morning Oregonian)
June 16, 1928: "Theodore Shoemaker, State Park Forester, states that the long-contemplated tower on Mt. Coolidge is being built. It will be 60 feet high, 20 feet square at the top. Four huge logs, each 60 feet in length, 20 inches in diameter at the base and 12 inches in diameter at the top, will form the corner pieces to which the side logs will be attached. The entire structure will be built of logs. They are hauled to the top of Mt. Coolidge with trucks, the road being in very fair condition. On the very top will be a room ten feet square, where the lookout can use, if he desires, a stairway, to be constructed from the lower floor to the room above." (The Daily Deadwood Pioneer-Times)
July 16, 1928: " 'Jack' Sheehan, for years lookout on Mt. Coolidge, has been forced to quit for a while to seek relief from ailments that are now making his work on the mountain more than he can perform. Rheumatism is creeping into his bones, and climbing up and down the mountain is too much for him.
Jack was stationed there long before President Coolidge came here, the place being known as Lookout Mountain and Sheep Mountain. For years, every summer, he was stationed on top of the highest peak to watch for forest fires and to notify the chief forester in case one occurred, and he has a wonderful record.
He has gone to Hot Springs to take treatments in the hope that his difficulty will be overcome, and we all hope with him that he will return here perfectly cured. A.H. Herbert, who knew of Jack's condition, left his own work to perform the lookout duties." (Lead Daily Call)
March 30, 1929: "A sixty-foot lookout tower will be erected on top of Mount Coolidge this spring, the park superintendent announced, to be used as a lookout for detecting fires that might break out in the park, and for tourists' observation of the surrounding country.
The tower, to be a skeleton, derrick-type structure, will be built entirely of logs cut in the park. Sixty-foot logs for the uprights have already been prepared." (The Daily Plainsman)
July 3, 1929: "More than 200 persons in automobiles, a record for the season, drove up Mt. Coolidge Sunday to enjoy the scenic panorama. S. Hazelton, in charge of the lookout station said. A 60-foot log tripod is being erected there so as to give visitors an unobstructed view." (Deadwood Pioneer-Times)
October 8, 1930: "It is claimed that the lookout stationed on Mount Coolidge can not only view a large stretch of the Black Hills from his door yard, but with a field glass can watch work on Rushmore mountain, and get a view of the Bad Lands, all without leaving home." (Queen City Mail)
February 22, 1934: “The United States today officially recognized 'Mount Coolidge.'
The peak, in Custer county, South Dakota, sometimes called Lookout mountain or Sheep mountain, had been noted by its new name by the United States geographic board.” (The Morning Oregonian)
July 22, 1939: "At towering Mt. Coolidge in the state park is a primary station manned during the entire season. Clarence Mann is on duty. Living quarters and a concession stand are located at the foot of the tower. The tower is of log construction, being built in 1928 to replace an old steel tower. The lookout on Mt. Coolidge is under the jurisdiction of the state park, but cooperates with the Harney forest in case of fire signals." (Rapid City Journal)
February 18, 1946: "Sealed proposals for electrical wiring of the lookout Tower on Mt. Coolidge, Custer County, will be received at the office of the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish, and Parks, Pierre, South Dakota, until 2:00 o'clock p.m. of the 26th day of February, 1946." (Rapid City Journal)