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Fire lookout · Ferry County, Washington

Jackknife Mountain Lookout Site

1923 cabin and 50-ft tower; 1940 45-ft L-4 tower; AWS use 1942-43; tower removed 1952; no source describes the site today.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Tower removed in 1952; no source describes what remains

Visit & stay

Gone: site only. The lookout no longer stands, so there is nothing to climb or rent.

Access

Access unknown

We do not know the access rules. Check with the land manager before you go.

Road to the top?
Unknown

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Cab on a tower45-foot wooden L-4 tower (1940); a 50-foot tower was built about 1923 per the 1924 newspaper itemThe design: L-4
Built of
Wood
Built
1923
Height
45 ft (13.7 m)
Elevation
5,080 ft (1,548 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Ferry County, Washington
Coordinates
48.72361, −118.26520
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-jackknife-mountain

View from the cab

What the lookout saw from its cab: every ridge out to about 93 miles, the named peaks in sight, and other fire lookouts within view, worked out from terrain data in your browser.

This lookout is gone. The view is reconstructed from its recorded site and its recorded height.

Downloads about 4.5 MB of terrain data the first time.

Or see what it could see on the map: the ground in its line of sight.

History

Then and now

  1. 1923 BuiltRanger Foote built a cabin and a 50-foot tower in fall 1923 per the May 1924 newspaper item and WillhiteWeb; the Register instead says a camp was set up in 1924Sources: firetower.org, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com, willhiteweb.com
  2. 1927 AlteredMr. Hougland built an enclosure on the tower; a February 1928 item says last fallSources: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com, willhiteweb.com
  3. 1929 StaffedRandolph Riley stationed on the lookout during summer 1929Sources: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com, willhiteweb.com
  4. 1934 EventPanoramic photos taken September 28, 1934; WillhiteWeb says there was some kind of ground structure belowSources: firetower.org, willhiteweb.com
  5. 1939 EventConcrete poured for the footings of a round timber towerSource: willhiteweb.com
  6. 1940 Replaced by a new structure45-foot wooden L-4 tower with L-4 cab builtSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  7. 1942 StaffedAWS use; activated August 27, 1942; deactivated July 1, 1943Sources: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com, willhiteweb.com
  8. 1944 StaffedHelen Gilbert the lookout until illness in August; Ollie Mae Gilbert took over; October 1944 Colville Examiner names bothSources: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com, willhiteweb.com
  9. 1945 StaffedBeverly Nixon and Roberts Reed named as lookoutsSources: firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  10. 1948 StaffedBetty and Donald Frances named as lookouts; last named lookouts in the sourcesSources: firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  11. 1952 RemovedRegister and WillhiteWeb say removed; Fire Lookout says destroyedSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, willhiteweb.com
  12. No record between 1952 and 2012
  13. 2012 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterDate registered per FFLOS detail page: November 17, 2012Source: FFLOS register entry
  14. TodayGoneThe lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left.

Old maps of this spot

USGS topographic maps from the years a lookout stood may show it, often as a small symbol labelled “Lookout”. See the old topo maps around it on the Firefinder map, or find every scanned sheet of this spot on USGS TopoView (click the spot there to list them, with dates and downloads).

Story

Researched 9 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Jackknife Mountain is a former lookout site on the Colville National Forest, in Ferry County, Washington.1 It sits about 12 miles northwest of Kettle Falls.2 The Register lists the U.S. Forest Service as administrator.1

Sources date the first cabin and tower two ways. A May 1924 item quoted on Forest Lookouts says Ranger Foote built a cabin and a tower there the previous fall.3 That tower stood 50 feet tall, with a 14-foot base and a six-foot platform at its top.3 WillhiteWeb dates the work to fall 1923.4 The Register says a camp was set up on the site in 1924.1

A February 1928 item reports that Mr. Hougland added an enclosure to the tower the previous fall.3 Randolph Riley was stationed on the lookout during the summer of 1929.3,4 Panoramic photos were taken in 1934, and WillhiteWeb says there was some kind of ground structure below.1,4

WillhiteWeb says concrete was poured for footings in 1939, and a 45-foot wooden tower with an L-4 cab went up in 1940.4 The Register also gives a 45-foot wooden L-4 tower for 1940.1

WillhiteWeb says the AWS used the site in 1942. The Forest Lookouts page gives the service dates as August 27, 1942 to July 1, 1943.4,3

In 1944 Helen Gilbert was the lookout until illness sent her to a hospital in Colville in August. WillhiteWeb says Ollie Mae Gilbert took over her duties that week.4 An October 1944 Colville Examiner item says women manned fire lookout points that year and names Ollie Mae and Helen Gilbert at Jackknife.3 In 1945 the lookout was Beverly Nixon and Roberts Reed, and in 1948 Betty and Donald Frances.4,2

The Register and WillhiteWeb say the 1940 tower was removed in 1952.1,4 Fire Lookout says it was destroyed that year.2

The Register posts a 2012 site photo credited to Ron Kemnow, but its text does not describe what the photo shows.1 WillhiteWeb credits a Ron Kemnow photo too, without a description.4 No source I read says what stands on the mountain now, or whether the site is open to visitors.1,2,3,4

  1. Jackknife Mountain Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org), http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/jackknife-mountain-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Jackknife Mtn. Fire Lookout Tower, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/jackknifemtn.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Jackknife Mountain, Forest Lookouts (washingtonlookouts.weebly.com), https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/jackknife-mountain.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Jackknife Mountain Fire Lookout Site, WillhiteWeb.com, http://www.willhiteweb.com/washington_fire_lookouts/jackknife_mountain/lookout_092.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Jackknife Mountain Lookout panoramic 9-28-1934 (N)
Jackknife Mountain Lookout panoramic 9-28-1934 (N) (1934)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Jackknife Mountain Lookout panoramic 9-28-1934 (SE)
Jackknife Mountain Lookout panoramic 9-28-1934 (SE) (1934)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Jackknife Mountain Lookout panoramic 9-28-1934 (SW)
Jackknife Mountain Lookout panoramic 9-28-1934 (SW) (1934)Photo: National Archives-Pacific Northwest Region, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Jackknife Mountain Lookout site 2012
Jackknife Mountain Lookout site 2012 (2012)Photo: Ron Kemnow, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source

Photos keep their own rights and are shown with credit. Is one of these yours? You can ask for a different credit or for removal.

Sources

  1. Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (FFLOS) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, what it is built of, register numbers, agency, ownership, dates, photos, links Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved (American Resources, Inc.); facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  2. Forest Fire Lookout Association (FFLA) - US lookout lists Gave us: type, status, register numbers, links Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  3. firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page Gave us: links firelookout.com · No licence stated on the site; facts only (coordinates, elevation, built/destroyed years, design, agency). Photos mirrored with the site's stated credit. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  4. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- western US (Ron Kemnow's weebly sites) Gave us: links Ron Kemnow's Forest Lookouts sites (westlookouts, californialookouts, idaholookouts, montanalookouts, oregonlookouts and washingtonlookouts .weebly.com) · No licence stated; facts only (county, land manager, status word, coordinates where the page's own map widget gives them, township-range-section, height and design hints, links). The site's own newspaper quotes, citations and narrative are not reproduced. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  5. WillhiteWeb.com: Washington Fire Lookouts Gave us: links WillhiteWeb.com · No licence stated; names and page links only (the site's photos and text are not reproduced). · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  6. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, status, agency, dates, links, fact-check Firefinder research (sources cited in the story footnotes) · Our own research notes; each fact cites its source in the lookout's story

More about this lookout elsewhere

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