IDAHO COUNTY
WYLIES PEAK
Bitterroot National Forest > Nez Perce National Forest
31N-12E-33
31N-12E-33
December 24, 1921: "Several new lookout towers have been erected on commanding mountain tops in the Missoula national forest this fall. Spectacular packing feats were necessary to get supplies to Graves and Wylies peaks, two of the most inaccessible points at which lookouts have been established." (The Ogden Standard-Examiner)
1923: A log cabin with a cupola was built.
1925: Lightning protection was installed.
1957: The lookout was transferred from the Bitterroot National Forest to the Nez Perce National Forest.
January 27, 1977: "In a remote area of the Nezperce National Forest on a craggy peak in the Moose Creek Ranger District perches an historic U.S. Forest Service lookout known as Wylies Peak.
The lookout was built in 1923 or 1924 by Floyd Cossit and a crew who rigged a cable to haul logs for the building up onto the rock.
The water supply for the lookout was a spring several feet down the steepest side of the peak.
The lookout was manned every summer until 1934. Now it sits unused, as do most lookouts in area forests since advanced use of airplanes in detecting fires with aerial observers has progressed in the last few years. There are now but 10 lookouts manned in the Nezperce Forest in a normal summer. During a summer of high fire probability, this number increases slightly. But, before 1945 there were 80 lookouts manned on the Nezperce Forest.
Wylie's Peak was recently recorded in the National Register of Historical Sites. The register identifies historical places and recognizes them so that the places won't be destroyed. The Forest Service plans to restore the structure and preserve it for the interest of future generations." (Spokane Daily Chronicle)
1983: The lookout was burned in a structural fire of unsure causes, lightning or vandalism.