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Fire lookout · Ferry County, Washington

Marble Mountain Lookout Site

Ferry County lookout site on Colville NF: rag camp 1922, 30-foot L-4 tower 1944, last lookout removed 1970; register says footings and a guy anchor remain.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Last lookout removed in 1970; the register says a guy line anchor and the last tower's footings are all that remain

Visit & stay

Gone: site only. The lookout no longer stands, so there is nothing to climb or rent. You may still be able to visit the site.

Access

Open to the public. Sources describe a route up Forest Road 6120 on National Forest land and do not say it is gated or closed. No tower remains.

Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
Hiking distance zero to 1.5 miles; 4WD clearance needed for the last stretch, per WillhiteWeb

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Cab on a tower30-foot tower with L-4 cab (1944); the 1926 tower was a 30-foot pole tower with a 6-by-6-foot cabThe design: L-4
Built of
Wood
Built
1922
Height
30 ft (9.1 m)
Elevation
5,864 ft (1,787 m)
Agency
US Forest Service, Colville National Forest
Land
Federal land
Location
Ferry County, Washington
Coordinates
48.90382, −118.37930 sources disagree
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wa-marble-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 4.1 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. 1922 BuiltRag camp with a 20-foot pole platform; start of the siteSources: firetower.org, willhiteweb.com, firelookout.com
  2. 1923 BuiltTower completed by July 1, 1923, per a 1923 entry quoted on the Weebly pageSources: willhiteweb.com, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1923 First staffedStanley Pearse listed as lookoutSource: firelookout.com
  4. 1924 BuiltLog cabin builtSources: firetower.org, willhiteweb.com, firelookout.com
  5. 1926 Built30-foot pole tower with 6-by-6-foot cabSources: firetower.org, willhiteweb.com, firelookout.com
  6. 1927 AlteredGlass-enclosed cab added by Hougland; Willhite dates it 1927, the passage quoted on the Weebly page is dated February 1928Sources: willhiteweb.com, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  7. 1929 StaffedLloyd Bransford listed as lookoutSource: firelookout.com
  8. 1930 StaffedClarence Stovik listed as lookout; Willhite also lists him for 1931 to 1933Source: willhiteweb.com
  9. 1933 FireStovik sighted a smoke on Big Goosmus Creek on June 23; a landowner had set it while getting rid of slash without a permitSource: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  10. 1934 EventConstruction started on a cabin for the lookout's use, per the Republic News-Miner quoted on the Weebly page and WillhiteSources: willhiteweb.com, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  11. 1942 EventAircraft Warning Service use, activated August 3, 1942; sleeping quarters added with AWS fundsSources: willhiteweb.com, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  12. 1943 ClosedAWS use deactivated July 1, 1943Source: washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  13. 1944 Replaced by a new structure30-foot tower with L-4 cab built in 1944, replacing the 1926 towerSources: firetower.org, willhiteweb.com, firelookout.com
  14. 1944 StaffedMrs. Mabel Newton and her daughter from Curlew stationed thereSources: willhiteweb.com, washingtonlookouts.weebly.com
  15. 1945 StaffedLeonard Wang listed as lookout; the last name in these sourcesSource: firelookout.com
  16. No record between 1945 and 1970
  17. 1970 RemovedLast lookout removed; firelookout.com says destroyedSources: firetower.org, willhiteweb.com, firelookout.com
  18. No record between 1970 and 2009
  19. 2009 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered November 18, 2009Source: firetower.org
  20. 2015 Burned1942 outhouse burned in the Stickpin Fire; the lookout itself was already goneSources: firetower.org, willhiteweb.com
  21. 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.

The Marble Mountain lookout stood near Curlew in Ferry County, on Colville National Forest land.1,2 The first structure was a rag camp with a 20-foot pole platform in 1922, and a log cabin followed in 1924.1,3 A 30-foot pole tower with a 6-by-6-foot cab came in 1926.1,4

Sources disagree on when a glass-enclosed cab went onto that tower. Willhite gives 1927, while a passage quoted on the Weebly page is dated February 1928.4,2

Clarence Stovik was the lookout in each year from 1930 through 1933, according to Willhite. Firelookout.com also names Stanley Pearse for 1923 and Lloyd Bransford for 1929.4,3

On June 23, 1933, Stovik spotted a smoke on Big Goosmus Creek. A landowner had set the fire while getting rid of slash on his property without a permit.2

In 1934 a ranger at Curlew started building a cabin for the lookout's use.2,4

The Aircraft Warning Service used the site from August 3, 1942, until July 1, 1943, and added sleeping quarters.2,4

In 1944 a 30-foot tower with an L-4 cab replaced the 1926 structure.1,3 Mrs. Mabel Newton and her daughter, who came from Curlew, staffed the lookout that year.4,2

The last lookout named in these sources is Leonard Wang, listed for 1945.3

The register and Willhite say the last lookout was removed in 1970.1,4 Firelookout.com says the tower was destroyed that year instead.3

The register says a guy-line anchor from the 1926 tower and the footings of the 1944 lookout are all that remain.1 A 1942 outhouse below the summit burned in the 2015 Stickpin Fire, and the lookout itself was gone by then.1,4

A WillhiteWeb photo caption dates a picture of the footings to 2019.4

Willhite suggests approaching from the south on the paved Boulder Creek Road, which runs from Curlew to Orient, then taking Forest Road 6120, which gets pretty close to the summit.4 The last stretch needs 4WD clearance, and the hike runs from zero to 1.5 miles.4

No source we read says whether the road is gated or closed. There is no tower left to climb.1,4

  1. Marble Mountain Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites Register, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wa/marble-mountain-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Marble Mountain - FOREST LOOKOUTS, Washington Lookouts (weebly), https://washingtonlookouts.weebly.com/marble-mountain.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Marble Mtn. Fire Lookout Tower, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/wa/marblemtn.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Marble Mountain Fire Lookout Site, WillhiteWeb.com, http://www.willhiteweb.com/washington_fire_lookouts/marble_mountain/lookout_093.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Photo of Marble Mountain Lookout Site
Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
30' tower guy anchor
30' tower guy anchorPhoto: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
1942 outhouse
1942 outhouse (1942)Photo: Rod Fosback, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Marble Mountain Lookout 1928
Marble Mountain Lookout 1928 (1928)Photo: Rex Kamstra collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Marble Mountain Lookout 1929
Marble Mountain Lookout 1929 (1929)Photo: Rex Kamstra collection, 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.

Where sources disagree

We show disagreements between sources instead of quietly picking one. If you know which is right, please tell us.

  • Sources disagree on the location by 4.5 km (2.8 mi).

    • FFLA: 48.90382, −118.37930
    • FFLOS: 48.92272, −118.43343

    They share a register number.

    The map uses the position from FFLA.

Sources

  1. Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (FFLOS) Gave us: name, county, elevation, what it is built of, register numbers, 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: location, 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: agency, ownership, 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, access, visiting details, 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

Firefinder takes facts (places, dates, numbers) from these sources and writes its own words. See all sources and licences.