MEAGHER COUNTY
WILLIAMS MOUNTAIN
Lewis and Clark National Forest
13N-6E-4
13N-6E-4
October 14, 1937: "Not satisfied with the height of mountain peaks on which lookout cabins are customarily placed, the forest service is now taking steps to place such stations in the Lewis and Clark national forest on 50-foot towers, it was revealed a few days ago.
Raising the lookout cabins 50 feet, it was found, will in practically all cases enable the lookout to see fires near them as well as those some distance away.
Main supports for the towers are four 50-foot logs, from 18 to 20 inches in diameter at the base and not less than 10 inches in diameter at the top. Inside the bracing which joins the log upright, winding stairways lead to the top, where the 14-foot square lookout cabin is mounted. Extending entirely around the outside of the cabin are 2-foot catwalks.
Four towers have been completed or are nearing completion in the Lewis and Clark forest, all are in the little Belt mountains. One of these stations is located on Williams mountain" (Big Timber Pioneer)
Raising the lookout cabins 50 feet, it was found, will in practically all cases enable the lookout to see fires near them as well as those some distance away.
Main supports for the towers are four 50-foot logs, from 18 to 20 inches in diameter at the base and not less than 10 inches in diameter at the top. Inside the bracing which joins the log upright, winding stairways lead to the top, where the 14-foot square lookout cabin is mounted. Extending entirely around the outside of the cabin are 2-foot catwalks.
Four towers have been completed or are nearing completion in the Lewis and Clark forest, all are in the little Belt mountains. One of these stations is located on Williams mountain" (Big Timber Pioneer)
July 1, 1938: "Joseph W. Nawrocki and Arnold H. Chloupeck have started work for the summer. Mr. Chloupeck will be lookout on Williams mountain." (The Independent Record)
July 28, 1941: "Hazards of an assignment as a forest service lookout atop a mountain peak include the following:
1. Flies. 2. Woodpeckers.
Lookout Bill Jones on Williams mountain had to bring in a quantity of creosote to coat the legs of his tower. Flies were getting into the cracks and woodpeckers, seeking the flies, made Jones' perch unusually precarious." (The Billings Gazette)
August 10, 1946: "Lookouts at Williams mountain in the Tenderfoot district and at Porphyry peak on King's hill reported a fire this side of Ringling near Black Butte, and the county crew, supervised by Sheriff Mike Bergan, was taken out to fight it." (The Independent Record)
Removed