IDAHO COUNTY
ANT HILL
Clearwater National Forest
35N-8E-29
35N-8E-29
1931: A L-4 lookout house constructed atop a ten-foot round native timber tower.
1946: Because of duplication in seen areas the lookout condemned and burned.
1981: "In 1931 Bill Dennison and Fred Baldwin, under direction of Lochsa District Ranger Fred Shaner built trail #225 from Fish Creek to Ant Hill. As soon as the trail was passable, carpenters Earnest Hartman and Harry Chenoweth set up a camp near the point and began work on the 10 foot high tower while packers moved in hardware, windows and pre-cut lumber for an L-4 lookout cabin.
The site was selected for the tower was at a point where the ridge drops off sharply in a westerly direction into Ant Creek. The two carpenters poured the four concrete piers on which the tower would stand, cut and skidded logs for the structure, and began setting it up.
After the tower was completed, the cabin was assembled atop it in short order. Following the 1933 season, Ant Hill was abandoned. Seen area from lookouts established at Boundary Peak and Frenchman Butte that year pretty much duplicated what could be seen from Ant Hill.
The deserted tower stood with rotting timbers and peeling paint until 1946 when it was condemned and burned during a forest wide cleanup of surplus buildings." (Louis Hartig, 'Historic Facilities of the Lochsa Ranger District' - 1981)