Privies, Pastures, 

and Portables 

United States 

Department of

Agriculture 

Forest Service

Intermountain 

Region

HumboldtToiyabe 

National 

Forest 

December 2001 

Administrative Facilities of the 

Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, 1891-1950 

Volume One: Historic Context Statement 

Forest Service Report No. TY-01-1370
Cover: The Ely Ranger District compound originally served as the Supervisor’s Office for the Nevada 

National Forest. Special attention was given to building design, plants, signage and fencing. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities 

on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual 

orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with 

disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large 

print, audio tape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). 

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, 

Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-

5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. 
Privies, Pastures, 

and Portables

Administrative Facilities of the 

Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, 1891-1950

Volume One: Historic Context Statement 

Forest Service Report No. TY-01-1370 

By 

Richa Wilson 

Regional Architectural Historian 

USDA Forest Service 

Intermountain Region Facilities Group 

324 25th Street 

Ogden, UT 84401 

801-625-5704 

rwilson@fs.fed.us 

Preface 

The Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest is developing a historic facilities management plan in compliance

with Section 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act. The work includes the identification and

evaluation of each administrative building that is potentially eligible for listing on the National Register of

Historic Places. Volume One of this report, which serves as the basis for evaluation, documents the 

history of the forest, each ranger district, and the forest’s architectural development. Volume Two contains

information on resource types and distribution, evaluation methodology, and evaluation summaries. 

Copies of this document will be provided to the State Historic Preservation Offices in Nevada and

California. Other depositories include the Humboldt-Toiyabe Forest Supervisor’s Office in Sparks,

Nevada, the Regional Forester’s Office in Ogden, Utah, and the Forest Service Heritage Center at Weber 

State University. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 I 
Acronyms 

AEC Atomic Energy Commission 

APW Accelerated Public Works Program 

AWS Aircraft Warning Service 

AS Administrative Site 

BLM Bureau of Land Management 

CCC Civilian Conservation Corps

CO Conscientious Objector

CPS Civilian Public Service 

DG Division of Grazing (now the Bureau of Land Management) 

DOI United States Department of the Interior 

DR District Ranger

ECW Emergency Conservation Work

ERA Emergency Relief Act 

FY Fiscal Year 

GLO General Land Office 

GS Guard Station 

HNF Humboldt National Forest 

H-TNF Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest 

LTBMU Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit 

MNF Mono National Forest 

NEPA National Environmental Protection Act 

NHPA National Historic Preservation Act 

NF National Forest 

NNF Nevada National Forest

NPS National Park Service 

II PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
NRHP National Register of Historic Places

RO Regional Office (headquarters of a Forest Service region) 

RD Ranger District

RS Ranger Station 

SCS Soil Conservation Service 

SMNRA Spring Mountains National Recreation Area 

SO Supervisor’s Office (headquarters of a National Forest) 

SRNF Santa Rosa National Forest

TNF Toiyabe National Forest 

UNR University of Nevada Reno 

USDA United States Department of Agriculture 

USFS United States Forest Service 

USMC United States Marine Corps 

WPA Works Projects Administration 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 III 
Table of Contents 

PREFACE.............................................................................................................................................................I

ACRONYMS........................................................................................................................................................II

TABLE OF CONTENTS................................................................................................................................... IV

INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................................................1

PURPOSE AND SCOPE..................................................................................................................................................1

FORMAT...........................................................................................................................................................................1

FOREST SERVICE ORGANIZATION AND NOMENCLATURE...........................................................................2

METHODOLOGY............................................................................................................................................................2

RESEARCH AND REVIEW..........................................................................................................................................3

FIELD SURVEY............................................................................................................................................................4

CONTEXT DEFINITION.....................................................................................................................................5

GEOGRAPHIC DESCRIPTION.....................................................................................................................................5

SPATIAL BOUNDARIES...............................................................................................................................................5

TEMPORAL BOUNDARIES..........................................................................................................................................6

MAPS...................................................................................................................................................................7

CHAPTER ONE: 1891-1907, EARLY CONSERVATION OF THE WEST.................................................17

FOREST SERVICE OVERVIEW................................................................................................................................ 17

HISTORICAL SETTING.............................................................................................................................................. 18

MINING...................................................................................................................................................................... 18

RANCHING................................................................................................................................................................ 19

THE FIRST FOREST RESERVES .............................................................................................................................. 20

CALIFORNIA FOREST RESERVES ........................................................................................................................ 21

Stanislaus Forest Reserve ...................................................................................................................................... 21

Tahoe Forest Reserve............................................................................................................................................. 22

NEVADA FOREST RESERVES ................................................................................................................................ 22

Ruby Mountains Forest Reserve ........................................................................................................................... 22

Independence Forest Reserve................................................................................................................................ 23

Charleston and Vegas Forest Reserves................................................................................................................. 25

Toquima, Monitor and Toiyabe Forest Reserves................................................................................................. 26

ADMINISTRATION..................................................................................................................................................... 27

ORGANIZATION....................................................................................................................................................... 27

FOREST OFFICERS ................................................................................................................................................. 28

FIRE MANAGEMENT................................................................................................................................................. 31

SNOW SURVEYING.................................................................................................................................................... 31

CHAPTER TWO: 1908-1929, THE PROGRESSIVE ERA AND THE GREAT WAR................................32

HISTORICAL SETTING.............................................................................................................................................. 32

LAND ADJUSTMENTS............................................................................................................................................... 33

MONO NATIONAL FOREST..................................................................................................................................... 34

MOAPA NATIONAL FOREST (1909-15) AND DIVISION (1915-1929).............................................................. 35

TOIYABE NATIONAL FOREST................................................................................................................................ 36

HUMBOLDT NATIONAL FOREST.......................................................................................................................... 36

CREATION OF THE HUMBOLDT, 1908-17.......................................................................................................... 36

SANTA ROSA NATIONAL FOREST, 1911-17......................................................................................................... 37

IV PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
RUBY NATIONAL FOREST, 1912 – 17....................................................................................................................38

CONSOLIDATION AND ADJUSTMENT, 1917-29.................................................................................................39

NEVADA NATIONAL FOREST.................................................................................................................................40

ADMINISTRATION......................................................................................................................................................41

ORGANIZATION........................................................................................................................................................41

FOREST OFFICERS..................................................................................................................................................42

FIRE MANAGEMENT .................................................................................................................................................45

SNOW SURVEYING....................................................................................................................................................45

EXPERIMENT STATIONS..........................................................................................................................................46

CHAPTER THREE: 1930-1942, THE NEW DEAL ERA.............................................................................. 48

HISTORICAL SETTING...............................................................................................................................................48

CHANGES TO THE FORESTS ...................................................................................................................................48

MONO AND TOIYABE NATIONAL FORESTS.......................................................................................................48

HUMBOLDT NATIONAL FOREST..........................................................................................................................49

NEVADA NATIONAL FOREST.................................................................................................................................49

ADMINISTRATION......................................................................................................................................................50

THE DEPRESSION AND RELIEF PROGRAMS......................................................................................................51

THE BEGINNING ......................................................................................................................................................51

ADMINISTRATION OF THE CCC...........................................................................................................................51

ENROLLMENT...........................................................................................................................................................52

THE CAMPS...............................................................................................................................................................53

CCC AND THE FOREST SERVICE.........................................................................................................................54

NEVADA CAMPS.......................................................................................................................................................55

Camp F-1, Lamoille Canyon..................................................................................................................................57

Camps F-2 and F-5, Paradise Valley .....................................................................................................................57

Camp F-3, Berry Creek ..........................................................................................................................................58

Camp F-4, Kyle Canyon ........................................................................................................................................59

Camp F-6, Galena Creek........................................................................................................................................59

Camp F-7, Reese River ..........................................................................................................................................60

CALIFORNIA CCC CAMPS......................................................................................................................................60

Camp F-396, Coleville ...........................................................................................................................................61

FINAL YEARS OF THE CCC....................................................................................................................................62

THE WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION......................................................................................................63

FIRE MANAGEMENT .................................................................................................................................................64

SNOW SURVEYING....................................................................................................................................................64

EXPERIMENT STATIONS..........................................................................................................................................66

CHAPTER FOUR: 1943-1950, WORLD WAR II AND THE POST-WAR ERA......................................... 67

HISTORICAL SETTING...............................................................................................................................................67

CHANGES TO THE FORESTS ...................................................................................................................................67

TOIYABE NATIONAL FOREST................................................................................................................................68

HUMBOLDT NATIONAL FOREST..........................................................................................................................69

NEVADA NATIONAL FOREST.................................................................................................................................69

ADMINISTRATION......................................................................................................................................................69

CIVILIAN PUBLIC SERVICE CAMPS......................................................................................................................70

THE CAMPS...............................................................................................................................................................71

THE MEN....................................................................................................................................................................72

WORK OF NATIONAL IMPORTANCE...................................................................................................................73

CAMP ANTELOPE ....................................................................................................................................................74

PUBLIC PERCEPTION.............................................................................................................................................77

CAMP CLOSURES.....................................................................................................................................................78

FIRE MANAGEMENT .................................................................................................................................................79

SNOW SURVEYING....................................................................................................................................................79

CHAPTER FIVE: SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES.............................................................................................. 83

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 V 
TOIYABE NATIONAL FOREST................................................................................................................................ 83

MONO SUPERVISOR’S OFFICE............................................................................................................................ 83

TOIYABE SUPERVISOR’S OFFICE........................................................................................................................ 83

Toiyabe Ranger Station.......................................................................................................................................... 83

MINDEN WAREHOUSE COMPOUND.................................................................................................................. 84

RENO CENTRAL REPAIR SHOP............................................................................................................................ 84

HUMBOLDT NATIONAL FOREST.......................................................................................................................... 85

SUPERVISOR’S OFFICES ....................................................................................................................................... 85

ELKO WAREHOUSE COMPOUND ....................................................................................................................... 85

CHAPTER SIX: THE SIERRA FRONT..........................................................................................................87

BRIDGEPORT RANGER DISTRICT......................................................................................................................... 87

BRIDGEPORT RANGER STATION......................................................................................................................... 87

BUCKEYE SNOW SURVEY CABIN......................................................................................................................... 90

CAMP ANTELOPE ADMINISTRATIVE SITE......................................................................................................... 90

CHRIS FLAT GUARD STATION.............................................................................................................................. 91

PIUTE MEADOWS ADMINISTRATIVE SITE......................................................................................................... 91

SWEETWATER RANGER STATION........................................................................................................................ 92

WELLINGTON RANGER STATION........................................................................................................................ 93

WHEELER GUARD STATION................................................................................................................................. 94

OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE SITES.......................................................................................................................... 95

CARSON RANGER DISTRICT.................................................................................................................................. 98

CARSON RANGER STATION................................................................................................................................... 98

CONNELLS CAMP ADMINISTRATIVE SITE ...................................................................................................... 100

DOG VALLEY GUARD STATION ......................................................................................................................... 100

HOT SPRINGS RANGER STATION....................................................................................................................... 102

MARKLEEVILLE RANGER STATION .................................................................................................................. 102

SODA SPRINGS GUARD STATION...................................................................................................................... 104

LOOKOUT SITES.................................................................................................................................................... 104

OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE SITES........................................................................................................................ 106

CHAPTER SEVEN: NORTHEAST NEVADA .............................................................................................108

JARBIDGE RANGER DISTRICT............................................................................................................................. 108

KLONDYKE RANGER STATION........................................................................................................................... 109

MAHONEY RANGER STATION............................................................................................................................. 109

POLE CREEK RANGER STATION........................................................................................................................ 111

OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE SITES........................................................................................................................ 112

MOUNTAIN CITY RANGER DISTRICT................................................................................................................ 114

76 CREEK ADMINISTRATIVE SITE..................................................................................................................... 114

GOLD CREEK RANGER STATION....................................................................................................................... 115

JACK CREEK GUARD STATION.......................................................................................................................... 116

MOUNTAIN CITY RANGER STATION................................................................................................................. 117

OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE SITES........................................................................................................................ 118

RUBY MOUNTAINS RANGER DISTRICT........................................................................................................... 120

ACKLER CREEK ADMINISTRATIVE SITE.......................................................................................................... 121

CLOVER RANGER STATION................................................................................................................................. 121

GREEN MOUNTAIN ADMINISTRATIVE SITE.................................................................................................... 122

HARRISON PASS RANGER STATION.................................................................................................................. 122

LAMOILLE RANGER STATION ............................................................................................................................ 123

MOUND VALLEY RANGER STATION................................................................................................................. 124

RUBY RANGER STATION...................................................................................................................................... 125

SOUTH FORK ADMINISTRATIVE SITE.............................................................................................................. 126

TERRACES GUARD STATION.............................................................................................................................. 127

WELLS ADMINISTRATIVE SITE........................................................................................................................... 127

OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE SITES........................................................................................................................ 128

SANTA ROSA RANGER DISTRICT....................................................................................................................... 130

VI PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
CULTURAL STUDIES OF PARADISE VALLEY...................................................................................................131

THE ROLE OF THE CCC.......................................................................................................................................132

BUCKSKIN SNOW SURVEY CABIN......................................................................................................................133

CALICO RANGER STATION..................................................................................................................................133

LACA ADMINISTRATIVE SITE..............................................................................................................................133

LAMANCE ADMINISTRATIVE SITE.....................................................................................................................134

Lamance Ranger Station ......................................................................................................................................134

Lamance Experiment Station...............................................................................................................................135

Lamance Powder House.......................................................................................................................................136

MARTIN CREEK RANGER STATION....................................................................................................................136

PARADISE VALLEY RANGER STATION..............................................................................................................137

REBEL CREEK RANGER STATION......................................................................................................................138

OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE SITES.........................................................................................................................139

CHAPTER EIGHT: CENTRAL NEVADA.................................................................................................... 140

AUSTIN RANGER DISTRICT ..................................................................................................................................140

AUSTIN ADMINISTRATIVE SITES........................................................................................................................140

Austin Ranger Station...........................................................................................................................................141

Austin Ranger Dwelling.......................................................................................................................................142

BLACKBURN RANGER STATION.........................................................................................................................142

KINGSTON RANGER STATION.............................................................................................................................142

MOHAWK RANGER STATION ..............................................................................................................................143

POTTS RANGER STATION.....................................................................................................................................144

REESE RIVER RANGER STATION........................................................................................................................144

Early Improvements.............................................................................................................................................145

CCC Era................................................................................................................................................................145

The Post-CCC Era ................................................................................................................................................146

Existing Structures................................................................................................................................................146

SAN JUAN CANYON GUARD STATION...............................................................................................................147

OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE SITES.........................................................................................................................147

ELY RANGER DISTRICT..........................................................................................................................................149

BAKER RANGER STATION....................................................................................................................................149

BERRY CREEK RANGER STATION......................................................................................................................150

CHERRY CREEK GUARD STATION.....................................................................................................................151

CURRANT CREEK RANGER STATION................................................................................................................151

ELLISON RANGER STATION.................................................................................................................................152

ELY ADMINISTRATIVE SITE.................................................................................................................................153

Administrative Site Buildings..............................................................................................................................153

Landscaping..........................................................................................................................................................154

Later Developments..............................................................................................................................................154

ELY POWDER HOUSE AND CAP MAGAZINE...................................................................................................154

ELY WAREHOUSE SITE.........................................................................................................................................154

OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE SITES.........................................................................................................................155

TONOPAH RANGER DISTRICT..............................................................................................................................159

HUNTS CANYON GUARD STATION....................................................................................................................159

MEADOW CANYON GUARD STATION...............................................................................................................159

SANDIA DWELLINGS.............................................................................................................................................160

STONE CABIN ADMINISTRATIVE SITE ..............................................................................................................161

TONOPAH STABLES...............................................................................................................................................161

TONOPAH RANGER STATION..............................................................................................................................162

OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE SITES.........................................................................................................................162

CHAPTER NINE: SOUTHERN NEVADA................................................................................................... 165

SPRING MOUNTAINS NATIONAL RECREATION AREA................................................................................165

EARLY RANGER STATIONS...................................................................................................................................165

THE NEW DEAL AND WORLD WAR II................................................................................................................166

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 VII 
KYLE CANYON RANGER STATION..................................................................................................................... 167

KYLE CANYON CAP HOUSE................................................................................................................................ 168

LAS VEGAS RANGER STATION............................................................................................................................ 168

LEE CANYON GUARD STATION ......................................................................................................................... 169

CHAPTER TEN: 1891-1907, PINCHOT PROVIDES DIRECTION............................................................173

SITE WITHDRAWALS.............................................................................................................................................. 173

IMPROVEMENTS...................................................................................................................................................... 174

CHAPTER ELEVEN: 1908-1929, THE PIONEER TRADITION ................................................................176

SITE WITHDRAWALS.............................................................................................................................................. 176

FOREST ENGINEERS................................................................................................................................................ 178

IMPROVEMENTS...................................................................................................................................................... 179

BUILDING DESIGN................................................................................................................................................ 182

SITE DESIGN........................................................................................................................................................... 184

FIRE LOOKOUTS ................................................................................................................................................... 185

SNOW SURVEY CABINS ........................................................................................................................................ 187

CHAPTER TWELVE: 1930-1942, A NEW IDENTITY................................................................................188

FUNDS AND LABOR ................................................................................................................................................ 188

THE DESIGNERS....................................................................................................................................................... 189

STANDARDIZED PLANS......................................................................................................................................... 190

REGION FOUR ........................................................................................................................................................... 191

DWELLINGS............................................................................................................................................................ 192

OFFICES.................................................................................................................................................................. 193

BARNS AND FLY SHEDS....................................................................................................................................... 193

SUPPORT STRUCTURES ...................................................................................................................................... 193

SITE DESIGN........................................................................................................................................................... 193

MATERIALS ............................................................................................................................................................. 194

PAINT........................................................................................................................................................................ 194

REGION FIVE ............................................................................................................................................................. 196

BUILDING PLANS .................................................................................................................................................. 196

SITE DESIGN........................................................................................................................................................... 198

THE PINE TREE LOGO............................................................................................................................................. 198

SPECIAL BUILDING TYPES ................................................................................................................................... 199

FIRE LOOKOUTS ................................................................................................................................................... 199

SNOW SURVEY CABINS ........................................................................................................................................ 200

EXPERIMENT STATIONS...................................................................................................................................... 201

CCC CAMP BUILDINGS........................................................................................................................................ 202

BUILDING RESTRICTIONS..................................................................................................................................... 203

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: 1943-1950, PRE-FABS AND PORTABLES.......................................................204

SITE WITHDRAWALS.............................................................................................................................................. 204

DESIGNERS ................................................................................................................................................................ 204

IMPROVEMENTS...................................................................................................................................................... 205

SITE DESIGN........................................................................................................................................................... 206

REGION FOUR........................................................................................................................................................ 206

REGION FIVE.......................................................................................................................................................... 207

APPENDIX A: TIMELINE..............................................................................................................................211

APPENDIX B: FOREST LANDS ACTIONS................................................................................................218

APPENDIX C: PERSONNEL.......................................................................................................................222

REGIONAL FORESTERS.......................................................................................................................................... 222

INTERMOUNTAIN REGION 4............................................................................................................................... 222

VIII PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
PACIFIC SOUTHWEST REGION 5.......................................................................................................................222

FOREST SUPERVISORS ...........................................................................................................................................222

RUBY AND INDEPENDENCE FOREST RESERVES, 1906-08...........................................................................222

HUMBOLDT NATIONAL FOREST, EST. 1908 ....................................................................................................222

RUBY NATIONAL FOREST, 1912-17 ....................................................................................................................223

SANTA ROSA NATIONAL FOREST, 1911-17 .......................................................................................................223

TOQUIMA AND MONITOR FOREST RESERVES, 1907-08...............................................................................223

TOIYABE NATIONAL FOREST, 1907-32, RE-ESTABLISHED 1938..................................................................223

CHARLESTON AND VEGAS FOREST RESERVES, 1906-08..............................................................................223

MOAPA NATIONAL FOREST, 1908-15.................................................................................................................223

NEVADA NATIONAL FOREST, 1909-57...............................................................................................................223

STANISLAUS NATIONAL FOREST, EST. 1897....................................................................................................224

MONO NATIONAL FOREST, 1908-45 ..................................................................................................................224

TAHOE NATIONAL FOREST, EST. 1899..............................................................................................................224

DISTRICT RANGERS.................................................................................................................................................224

HUMBOLDT NATIONAL FOREST........................................................................................................................224

Ruby District, 1906-08 (Ruby FR), 1908-12 (HNF), 1912-17 (RNF), and 1917-present (HNF)....................224

Mound Valley District, 1906-08 (Ruby FR), 1908-1912 (HNF), 1912-17 (RNF), 1917-22 (HNF) ...............224

Threemile/National District, 1911-17 (SRNF)....................................................................................................225

Rebel Creek District, 1911-17 (SRNF), 1917-22 (HNF) ...................................................................................225

Lamance/Paradise Ranger District, 1911-17 (SRNF), 1917 - Present (HNF)...................................................225

Las Vegas Ranger District....................................................................................................................................225

Jarbidge District, 1909-Present (HNF)................................................................................................................225

Pole Creek District, 1909-19 (HNF)....................................................................................................................226

Gold Creek Ranger District, 1908-73 (HNF)......................................................................................................226

Jack Creek Ranger District, 1908-1930s (HNF).................................................................................................226

Mountain City Ranger District, 1908-Present (HNF).........................................................................................226

NEVADA NATIONAL FOREST...............................................................................................................................227

White Pine District................................................................................................................................................227

Currant District .....................................................................................................................................................227

Spring Valley District...........................................................................................................................................227

Baker District, 1909-57 (NNF)............................................................................................................................227

Ely District ............................................................................................................................................................227

TOIYABE NATIONAL FOREST..............................................................................................................................228

Kingston/Austin District, c.1908-32 (TNF), 1932-38 (NNF), 1938-44 (TNF).................................................228

Potts District, c.1908-32 (TNF), 1932-38 (NNF), 1938-44 (TNF)....................................................................228

Mohawk/Reese River Ranger District, 19??-32 (TNF), 1932-38 (NNF), 1938-44 (TNF) ..............................228

Jefferson/Manhattan District, c.1908-32 (TNF), 1932-c.1934 (NNF)...............................................................228

Tonopah District, 1945-Present (TNF)................................................................................................................229

MONO NATIONAL FOREST..................................................................................................................................229

Carson District, 1940-45 (MNF), 1945-present (TNF) ......................................................................................229

Alpine District, 1908-45 (MNF), 1945-1973 (TNF) ..........................................................................................229

Bridgeport District, 1908-45 (MNF) and 1945-present (TNF)..........................................................................229

Sweetwater Ranger District, c.1910-1945 (MNF)..............................................................................................229

West Walker Ranger District, 1945-73 (TNF)....................................................................................................230

APPENDIX D: ASSOCIATED PEOPLE ..................................................................................................... 231

APPENDIX E: HISTORIC ADMINISTRATIVE SITES................................................................................ 248

Supervisor's Office ....................................................................................................................................................248

Austin.........................................................................................................................................................................248

Bridgeport..................................................................................................................................................................248

Carson .......................................................................................................................................................................249

Ely ..............................................................................................................................................................................250

Jarbidge.....................................................................................................................................................................251

Mountain City............................................................................................................................................................252

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 IX 
Ruby Mountains........................................................................................................................................................ 252

Santa Rosa ................................................................................................................................................................ 252

Spring Mountains NRA ............................................................................................................................................ 253

Tonopah .................................................................................................................................................................... 253

BIBLIOGRAPHY.............................................................................................................................................255

X PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
Introduction 

PURPOSE AND SCOPE 

Federal law requires the Forest Service to identify, evaluate, and protect cultural resources on public lands

under its jurisdiction. These and related requirements are mandated by the National Historic Preservation

Act (NHPA) of 1966 as amended, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1974, the National

Forest Management Act of 1976, the Antiquities Act of 1906, the Archaeological Resources Protection Act

of 1979, and Executive Order 11593. 

The Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest (H-TNF) has nearly 300 buildings that are used for administrative

purposes. Of these, approximately 160 buildings are over 50 years old and are potentially eligible for 

listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NHRP). Referred to as “administrative facilities” or 

“improvements,” these include ranger station compounds, guard station compounds, and snow survey

cabins. Most are located on “administrative sites,” which are lands that have been designated for 

administrative use. In many cases, these sites have been withdrawn from public use. The scope of the 

evaluation is limited to administrative facilities that are at least 50 years old. The project does not include 

other cultural resources such as prehistoric sites, mining cabins, ranches, or other historic resources that 

are not considered administrative facilities. 

The Forest Service receives only 12 percent of the funds needed to maintain its buildings.

1

 The

cumulative effects of this budget shortfall are reflected in the deteriorated conditions of the agency’s

buildings. To address this situation, the H-TNF is developing a historic facilities management plan in 

compliance with the NHPA. All historic facilities were surveyed in 1998-2000 and evaluated against the 

historic context statement. The goal of this work is to develop a programmatic agreement and a 

management plan to efficiently manage and guide activities that affect historic facilities. 

FORMAT 

The identification and evaluation of historic facilities is presented in two volumes. This volume, Volume

One, contains the historic overview and is divided into three sections: general forest history, history of 

administrative units (e.g. ranger districts), and architectural history. Some items are necessarily repeated

throughout this volume for the sake of clarity. Several appendices provide relevant information on

significant events and people. Volume Two contains a discussion of resources types and distribution,

evaluation methodology, and evaluation summaries. The volumes were prepared with the following

objectives in mind: 

• Document the history of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest with a focus on the significant

events, trends and people associated with its administration. 

• Document the history and significance of the Civilian Conservation Corps and Civilian Public

Service Camps relative to the administration of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. 

• Conduct archival research and field verification of historic facilities on the Humboldt-Toiyabe

National Forest. 

 1

 Vaughn Stokes, “Vision of Opportunity,” Engineering Field Notes 31 (January-June, 1999), 2. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 INTRODUCTION - 1 
• Identify the significance and integrity of administrative facilities and evaluate them for National

Register eligibility. 

• Provide a framework to assist in identifying, evaluating and managing other historic resources in

the Intermountain Region. 

FOREST SERVICE ORGANIZATION AND NOMENCLATURE 

The unique identity and culture of the Forest Service are represented by its administrative organization and 

nomenclature. It is an agency within the Department of Agriculture and is directed by a Chief Forester. 

The main office is located in Washington, DC and is logically referred to as the Washington Office or the 

WO. The agency is divided into regions, of which there are nine headed by Regional Foresters. The HTNF is in Region Four, also known as the Intermountain Region, which has its headquarters (the “Regional 

Office” or “RO”) in Ogden, Utah. However, it does encompass land that was once part of Region Five (the

Pacific Southwest Region), which is based in San Francisco. 

Within each region, there are several forests and Region Four presently encompasses thirteen forests in 

Utah, Nevada, eastern California, southern Idaho, and southern Wyoming. At one time, there were many,

smaller forests in Region Four, but a trend toward consolidation resulted in fewer, larger forests. That is

the case with the H-TNF, which has over 6.3 million acres and is the largest national forest outside of 

Alaska. The H-TNF represents a 1994 consolidation of the former Toiyabe National Forest and the 

Humboldt National Forest. It is not a contiguous forest, but is comprised of numerous mountain ranges

throughout Nevada and part of eastern California. 

Each forest has a headquarters known as the Supervisor’s Office (SO) and is administered by a Forest

Supervisor. The H-TNF’s Supervisor’s Office is presently located in Sparks, Nevada. Traditionally, a

forest is divided into smaller administrative units known as Ranger Districts that are managed by District

Rangers. The H-TNF is divided into nine Ranger Districts and one National Recreation Area. The latter, 

located on the Spring Mountains range near Las Vegas, was formerly the Las Vegas Ranger District. In

Nevada, each ranger district consists of one or more separate mountain ranges that are often referred to 

as “divisions.” 

Certain terminology may sound peculiar to a person who is not familiar with the Forest Service. For 

example, “on the forest” is used in place of “in the forest.” The terms “ranger station” and “guard station”

have two meanings. They can refer to a specific building, usually one that served as a home and/or office 

for a forest ranger or guard, or they can refer to a compound that includes several buildings. 

METHODOLOGY 

Identification and evaluation of historic facilities were carried out in accordance with National Register

Bulletins. Forest archeologists and qualified volunteers provided assistance. Exhaustive research was 

completed in support of the historic context statement and every known historic facility was surveyed.

Finally, facilities were evaluated using the Secretary of the Interior’s criteria. Evaluation procedures are 

discussed in Volume Two. 

INTRODUCTION - 2 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
RESEARCH AND REVIEW 

Detailed research on each historic administrative facility on the H-TNF was conducted. This included an 

investigation of active and closed (inactive) files in the SO and each district office. Many closed files for the

Toiyabe National Forest are located in the Sparks office. The majority of closed files for the Humboldt

National Forest are located in Elko with the archeologists. The most useful information was found in files 

with the following designations: 

1680 History Program 

2500 Watershed Management 

2700 Special Uses Management

2760 Withdrawals 

5420 Purchases and Donations

6440 Real Property 

7300 Buildings and Other Structures 

Relevant documents (letters, building inventories, etc.) were copied and placed in new files created for 

each site. These files will remain with in the archeology vault in Elko. 

Other valuable sources of information in the Forest Service offices included photo files, land status maps,

and improvement atlases. Research was also conducted at the Forest Service Heritage Center, which is a 

repository for Region Four’s archival documents located at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. In

addition, some critical documents were retrieved from the National Archives and Records Administration

(Pacific Region) in San Bruno, California. 

The H-TNF has some administrative buildings that were constructed from standard Region Five plans.

Dana Supernowicz’s 1989 report titled "Contextual History of Forest Service Administration Buildings in the

Pacific Southwest Region" was used in the identification and evaluation of those buildings. Similar studies

from other regions were referenced. They include Gail Throop’s 1979 thesis, "Utterly Visionary and 

Chimerical: A Federal Response to the Depression," and Administering the National Forests of Colorado: 

An Assessment of the Architectural and Cultural Significance of Historical Administrative Properties (1996) 

by Ralph Hartley and James Schneck. 

Research of general Forest Service history, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Civilian Public Service 

Camps (CPS), snow surveys, and other topics was completed at the University of Utah, University of

Nevada Reno, Northeast Nevada Museum, Nevada State Historical Society, Central Nevada Museum,

Elko County Library, and Humboldt County Library. In addition, numerous websites were searched and 

proved useful. These include websites on lookout towers, the CCC, the CPS, and the New Deal, as well 

as the websites of the USFS History Collection at Duke University, the Forest History Society, the Library

of Congress, and of other national forests. Two formal oral histories were completed. These

supplemented personal communication with Forest Service staff, retirees and local community members

regarding specific sites and buildings. 

It should be noted that minimal research of experiment stations and lookout towers was completed. The 

H-TNF had several of these facilities in the past, but there are presently no historic experiment stations or

lookout towers on the Forest. Some information about these building types is included to provide a context 

for those that have been removed or are no longer within the boundaries of the H-TNF. 

As research data was synthesized and written, draft excerpts of the historic context statement were sent to

H-TNF employees and retirees for verification. Many people responded with additional information that 

proved useful. For peer review, drafts were given to colleagues in the private sector and to heritage staff of 

the Forest Service, Bureau of Reclamation and US Fish and Wildlife Service. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 INTRODUCTION - 3 
FIELD SURVEY 

As part of an intensive survey program, fieldwork was conducted to check research findings, record

significant data, and evaluate current conditions and integrity. Most of the work was carried out in late 

summer of 1998 and during the summer of 1999. Each administrative building that was known or

suspected to have a construction date of 1950 or earlier was surveyed. Each was photographed with a 

digital camera and with a standard camera containing black and white film. Data was recorded on

individual survey forms and site plans were sketched to illustrate the relationship of buildings to each other 

as well as to significant landscape features.

After fieldwork was completed, survey data was entered in a Microsoft Access database. This allowed 

easily manipulation of data, as well as the generation of queries and reports. The database can be

incorporated with forest databases and used to create GIS layers, which will facilitate management 

decisions.

INTRODUCTION - 4 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
Context Definition 

GEOGRAPHIC DESCRIPTION 

Most of Nevada is located in the Basin and Range province, which is characterized by isolated mountain

ranges and broad, flat valleys or basins. These ranges, with mountains having elevations of 8,000 to

13,000 feet, typically run north to south for 40 to 80 miles and may be 5 to 15 miles wide. The ranges are

regularly spaced about 15 to 25 miles apart with playa lakes found in many valleys between them.

Volcanic intrusions left deposits of valuable minerals such as gold, silver, lead and copper and are

responsible for the extensive geothermal activity in the Great Basin. 

The valleys in this province contain some of the driest area in the country, receiving less than three inches 

of rain annually. Most of the precipitation comes during the winter months in the form of snow. The Great 

Basin, a major subdivision of the province, includes most of Nevada and refers to a drainage that leads to

interior basins rather than the ocean. Drainage of northeastern Nevada occurs through the Snake River 

system while that of the southeast is through the Colorado River system. In the west, the Sierra Nevada

Mountains in California drain into the Walker, Pyramid and Carson lakes via the Walker, Truckee and 

Carson rivers. The largest river in Nevada is the Humboldt River, to which the Ruby and East Humboldt

ranges drain, turning south to the Humboldt and Carson sinks. 

Because of the scant precipitation in the Great Basin, the flora of Nevada is minimal and primarily 

xerophytic. Vegetation of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest consists primarily of pinyon-juniper 

forests. Rivers are lined with willows and cottonwoods while fir, pine, and spruce are typically found at 

higher elevations. In the southern part of the state, creosote brush, greasewood, mesquite, cacti, and 

Joshua trees dominate the lower elevations. 

SPATIAL BOUNDARIES 

The survey area covered the H-TNF, which, at 6.3 million acres, is the largest national forest outside of

Alaska. The Forest is not contiguous, but is comprised of individual mountain ranges throughout Nevada

and on the Sierra Nevada of eastern California. These ranges were designated as National Forest lands 

to protect watersheds against excessive grazing and logging. They are grouped into nine ranger districts 

and one national recreation area and include: 

Austin Ranger District

Monitor Range (north end)

Paradise Range 

Shoshone Mountains

Toiyabe Range (north end)

Toquima Range (north end) 

Bridgeport Ranger District

Excelsior Mountains (partial) 

Pine Grove Hills 

Portion of the Sierra Nevada

Sweetwater Range 

Wassuk Range (partial) 

Wellington Hills

Carson Ranger District

Portion of the Sierra Nevada

Carson Range 

Ely Ranger District 

Grant Range 

Mt. Moriah 

Quinn Canyon Range 

Schell Creek Range 

Snake Range (excluding Great Basin NP) 

Ward Mountain Division of the Egan Range 

White Pine Range 

Jarbidge Ranger District

Jarbidge Mountains 

PRIVIES PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 CONTEXT DEFINITION - 5
Mountain City Ranger District 

 Independence Range 

Ruby Mountains Ranger District 

 East Humboldt Range 

Ruby Mountain Range 

Santa Rosa Ranger District 

 Santa Rosa Range 

Spring Mountains National Recreation Area 

Spring Mountain Range 

Tonopah Ranger District 

 Antelope Range 

Hot Creek Range 

Monitor Range (south end)

Toiyabe Range (south end)

Toquima Range (south end)

Some administrative facilities of the H-TNF are not located within forest boundaries. These are usually 

ranger district offices and warehouses located in towns or just outside the forest boundary. 

TEMPORAL BOUNDARIES 

This historic context statement covers a period beginning in 1891 when the Creative Act was passed to 

allow the establishment of Forest Reserves. It is relevant to include those early years to achieve an

understanding of Forest Service development and culture, even though the lands that now comprise the HTNF were not withdrawn until several years afterward. The cut-off date of 1950 corresponds with the 

requirement that resources be 50 years or older (except in special cases) before they are considered

eligible to the National Register of Historic Places. 

The period is divided into four subsets that represent relevant shifts in the culture, patterns, and events of

the Forest Service at the national, regional and local levels. They are: 

1891-1907, Early Conservation of the West 

1908-1929, The Progressive Era and the Great War 

1930-1942, The New Deal Era 

1942-1950, World War II and the Post-War Era 

CONTEXTDEFINITION - 6 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
Maps 

Locations of administrative sites are located on the following ranger district maps. National Forest System

lands are shown as shaded areas. 

ELY RD

MOUNTAIN CITY

& JARBIDGE RDs

RUBY MTNS RD

SANTA ROSA RD

CARSON & 

BRIDGEPORT RDs 

AUSTIN & 

TONOPAH RDs

SPRING MTNS NRA

RD: Ranger District 

NRA: National Recreation Area 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 MAPS - 7
Carson (north) and Bridgeport (south) Ranger Districts 

MAPS- 8 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
Mountain City (west) and Jarbidge (east) Ranger Districts 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 MAPS - 9
Ruby Mountains Ranger District

MAPS- 10 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
Santa Rosa Ranger District 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 MAPS - 11
Ely Ranger District 

MAPS- 12 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
Austin (north) and Tonopah (south) Ranger Districts 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 MAPS - 13
Spring Mountains National Recreation Area

MAPS- 14 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
PART ONE 

Forest Overview
Previous page: Forest Supervisor Syd Tremewan (front row, 2nd from left) with other personnel of the

Humboldt National Forest, c. 1910. 

FORESTOVERVIEW - 16 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
Chapter One: 

1891-1907, Early Conservation of the West 

 

FOREST SERVICE OVERVIEW 

As early as 1871, Congress considered legislation that addressed the management of forests on public

lands in response to growing concern over the depletion of the nation’s natural resources. In 1875, the

American Forestry Association was formed and upon that group’s lobbying, the Division of Forestry was 

created in the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 1881. 

It was not until 1891 that the Forest Reserve Act was passed, 

allowing the President to designate areas as Forest Reserves,

which were administered by the Department of the Interior’s 

(DOI) General Land Office (GLO). On March 30 of that same

year, President Harrison established the country’s first forest

reserve, the Yellowstone Park Timberland Reserve. Other 

reserves were soon created, often in response to petitions 

presented by individuals or groups seeking protection of timber,

range and watersheds. Upon receipt of the petition, an

inspector from the GLO would examine the area before making

a recommendation to the President regarding designation. 

Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot, 1907

Only ten days before completing his term in 1897, President 

Cleveland created 13 forests on Washington’s birthday, thus 

doubling the amount of reserve area. He did this without local 

or congressional consultation and, as a result, there was a 

public outcry in the West. This was exacerbated by the lack of

a proper investigation of the reserves and of any administrative

procedures, thus leaving the reserves closed to use. The 

situation led Congress to pass the Organic Act on June 4, 

1897. In addition to clarifying administrative policies, the Act 

opened the reserves, which had previously been closed, to use 

and provided for their thorough examination. 

At the turn of the century, both the DOI and the USDA had forestry divisions and the two were sharing 

forestry duties. While the DOI was in charge of administering the forest reserves, the USDA’s Bureau of 

Forestry focused on gathering data about forests and forestry. Gifford Pinchot, appointed the Chief of the

USDA’s Bureau of Forestry in 1898, advocated the transferal of all forest administration and management

to the USDA. He argued that such a move would correct the inefficiency experienced by forest users 

when dealing with the GLO. Gifford also believed that the unqualified force of politically appointed forest

officials should be replaced with trained and experienced men. The transferal came about on February 1, 

1905; a month later the Bureau of Forestry was renamed the United States Forest Service. 

President Theodore Roosevelt temporarily withdrew an area of timber in Washington State on January 7,

1907. Although Roosevelt restored the land to public domain after political pressure and intense lobbying,

a Senate bill prohibiting presidential creation of national forests in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana,

Wyoming, and Colorado was passed. This effectively transferred the President’s authority to create forest

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 FOREST OVERVIEW - 17
reserves in much of the West to Congress. Just before the bill was signed into law, Roosevelt created new

reserves and enlarged existing ones for a total of 16 million additional acres. One of these “midnight 

reserves” was the Toiyabe Forest Reserve, created on March 1, 1907. The law, passed on March 4, also

changed the name of “Forest Reserves” to “National Forests” in an effort to shed the perception that the

forests were closed to use. 

Pinchot was a friend of Theodore Roosevelt’s and fellow advocate of the conservation movement. He 

played an important role in developing the technical field of forestry, shaping national conservation policies,

and laying the groundwork for the administrative structure and philosophy of the Forest Service. His

combined approach of conservation and the promotion of “multiple uses” of the forests’ resources, rather

than strict preservation, was quite popular. By 1904, ranchers in northeast Nevada pursued this concept of

land management as a solution to declining range and watershed conditions. 

Many books have been written about the early conservation movement in this country and the subsequent

establishment of the Forest Service. For detailed information about the agency’s early legislation and

development, readers are encouraged to refer to the following: 

Boerker, Richard H. D. Our National Forests. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1918. 

Dana, Samuel Trask. Forest and Range Policy: Its Development in the United States. New York:

McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1956. 

Robbins, William G. American Forestry: A History of National, State, and Private Cooperation. Lincoln:

University of Nebraska Press, 1985. 

Steen, Harold, K., editor. The Origins of the National Forest: A Centennial Symposium. Durham, NC: 

Forest History Society, 1992.

Steen, Harold K. The U.S. Forest Service: A History. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1991. 

HISTORICAL SETTING 

MINING

The primary activities of nineteenth-century Nevada were mining, logging and ranching. The 1859

discovery of the Comstock Lode, which produced $300 million of silver in its first twenty years, was the first

of several mining booms and led to a flood of people and an increased demand for natural resources. 

[This] marked one of the richest silver strikes in North American history, and began a 

population influx to Northern Nevada and the Truckee Meadows which would rapidly 

accelerate the demands for the region's natural resources, particularly lumber and water.

. . . The discovery of silver in Northern Nevada marked the beginning of an era of 

environmental degradation unparalleled in the state's history, denuding vast expanses of

forests, eroding the now-barren hillsides, polluting rivers and streams with sawdust and

logging debris, [and] diverting waters vast distances from their natural flow . . .1

 

Timbers were needed to build mineshafts, mills and railways, wood and coal were necessary for ore

reduction, and fuel was needed for heating and cooking by the great numbers of people in the industry. In 

 1

 Nevada Division of Water Planning, “Truckee River Chronology,” http://www.state.nv.us/cnr/ndwp/truckee/truckee2.htm and 

http://www.state.nv.us/cnr/ndwp/truckee/truckee3.htm, (29 February 2000). 

FORESTOVERVIEW - 18 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
the 1860s and 1870s, lumbering operations exploded on the Sierra Front with the establishment of new 

lumber mills, flume systems, paper and pulp mills, and railroads. Mills at Truckee Meadows, Verdi, and 

Truckee, California provided millions of board feet to the mines and railroads. The Sierra Nevada Wood 

and Lumber Company built a 4,000 foot-long tramway at Lake Tahoe in 1880, marking the beginning of

severe deforestation of the Lake Tahoe Basin. The operation closed in 1896 after most of the suitable 

trees were logged.2

 In twenty years of operation, the Comstock mines alone had used two million cords of

wood.3

Mining also occurred outside the Comstock area and led to the creation of mining camps throughout the

state. After the Comstock, the most significant activity in the latter half of the nineteenth century occurred

in White Pine County, in and around Ely.4 While Virginia City held the largest population (11,359) in 1870, 

there were 7,189 people in White Pine County.5 Some of the camps there were supplied with lumber from

mills on the Snake and Mount Moriah ranges. These mills were located along Williams, Strawberry, Snake 

and Lexington creeks of the Snake range and in Henry and Williams canyons on the Mount Moriah range.6

Southern Nevada also saw mining and logging activity, eventually leading to the establishment of a railroad 

town at present-day Las Vegas. Timber resources on the Charleston Mountain and Sheep ranges were

used to supply mining camps and ranching communities by providing lumber, mining timbers and charcoal

for smelters.

7

 Kyle, Lee and Clark Canyons were important sources of timber and several sawmills were 

built to take advantage of the supply. 

Settlers, encouraged by the passage of the 1862 Homestead Act and the 1877 Desert Land Act, arrived in

droves as mining, logging and railroad operations increased. Migration was facilitated with the connection

of the Central Pacific Railroad with the Union Pacific Railroad at Promontory Summit, Utah in 1869. As

travel became easier, the population of Nevada grew from 14,000 in 1861 to 62,000 in 1880.8

 

In the late 1870s, ore production from the Comstock and White Pine mines decreased. Along with it came 

a twenty-year depression from 1880 to 1900 and a significant drop in population as miners left to find new

treasures. At the turn of the century, a new mining boom began with the discovery of promising ore in Nye

and Elko counties. 

RANCHING 

By the 1860s, ranchers were driving cattle into Nevada to provide food to the mining communities. It was 

not until the lull in activity, from 1880 to 1900, that ranching and agriculture replaced mining as the state’s

main economic pursuits. This was particularly true around Winnemucca and Elko in northeast Nevada

where the Humboldt River supported such activities. 

Cattle ranching was the primary pursuit, but it was not long before sheep were given a good deal of

attention. Sometimes called “hooved crickets” because of their grazing habits, the sheep were not popular

with the cattle ranchers. Transient sheep, those owned by non-residents, were a particular point of

 2

 Ibid. 

3

 Thomas G. Alexander, The Rise of Multiple-Use Management in the Intermountain West: A History of Region 4 of the Forest Service,

USDA Publication FS-399, (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1987), 9. 4

 Ibid., 7. 

5

 Gary A. Horton, “An Historical Perspective Of The State's Geologic, Geographic, Hydrologic, Resource, Socioeconomic, And 

Environmental Development,” http://www.state.nv.us/cnr/ndwp/nv-hist/nevada.htm, (February 2000). 6

 Harlan D. Unrau, Basin and Range: A History of Great Basin National Park Nevada, Historic Resource Study, (n.p.: U.S. 

Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1990), 238. 7

 Kathy Moskowitz, "A History of the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area, 1998" TMs [photocopy], p. 2, Las Vegas Office, 

Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 8

 Horton, “An Historical Perspective.”

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 FOREST OVERVIEW - 19
contention among the locals. Before long, the number of sheep surpassed that of cattle in Nevada, as

demonstrated in the following numbers: 9

1870 1880 1890 1900 

cattle 31,516 172, 221 210,900 386,249 

sheep 11, 018 133,695 273,469 887,110 

The decrease in adequate rangeland for cattle ranchers corresponded with an increase in their animosity 

toward the sheep outfits. Ranchers were pacified in 1897 when sheep were banned from forest reserves 

by federal order. Two years later, this ban was lifted, but the sheep were regulated – a situation that

became permanent in 1901.

10 Matters did not improve, however, and tensions between cattle ranchers 

and sheep owners escalated. 

Overgrazing continued to be a problem, particularly in the Ruby, Humboldt, and Paradise valleys.

11 In his

1905 report on the proposed Ruby Mountains Forest Reserve, Inspector Franklin W. Reed noted the

impact of grazing on water resources, stating: 

[The settlers] also realize that the overstocking of the range by sheep, which has been 

going on for the last few years, is causing considerable damage to the protection cover of

aspen and chaparral and threatens in time to destroy it entirely with the result that instead 

of regular run-off and a steady supply of water for their ranches, they will have heavy

freshets in early spring and periods of drought along in the summer. Some of the more

observant claim to have noticed that the destruction of the protection cover, the thinning

out of the aspen thickets by the browsing of the sheep, and the burning of the chaparral

by the herders to facilitate the movement of their herds has already advanced far enough

to affect the regularity of the run-off.12

At the time of Reed’s report, between 80,000 and 100,000 sheep grazed on the Ruby Mountains as

opposed to approximately 6,000 cattle.13 An estimated 96,000 transient sheep were kept on the Toiyabe 

Range in 190614 and between 1855 and 1910, Mormon settlers grazed as many as 12,000 sheep on the 

Charleston Mountain range.15

Overgrazing, deforestation and regional water rights were serious concerns at the turn of the century.

Populist views espousing the "the greatest good for the greatest number” gained strength after Theodore

Roosevelt became President in 1901. Roosevelt directed his powers toward resource protection, which

included the designation of numerous forest reserves. 

THE FIRST FOREST RESERVES 

The first forest reserves were withdrawn without proper examinations, thus leading to errors in land areas 

and boundaries. Starting in 1903, Forest Inspectors went to investigate, record and report on proposed 

 9

 Alexander, The Rise of Multiple-Use Management, 11. 10 Ibid., 19-20. 

11 Ibid., 19. 

12 Franklin W. Reed, “The Proposed Ruby Mountains Forest Reserve, Nevada, 1905” TMs [photocopy], p. 7, Elko Office, HumboldtToiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 13 Ibid., 11. 

14 Ivan Sack, “Untitled, Oral History Project, University of Nevada Reno,1978” TMs [photocopy], Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National 

Forest, USDA Forest Service. 15 Jack J. McNutt, "Charleston Mountain History, 11 September 1940" TMs [photocopy], p. 3, Las Vegas Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe 

National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 

FORESTOVERVIEW - 20 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
reserves and the interests of the industries and residents involved.

16 

The reports prepared by these men provided an understanding of

local concerns as well as water, timber and range resources. 

Ranger George Thompson surveys the 

boundaries at the head of Buck Creek

(Humboldt NF) in 1907 

The inspectors made recommendations regarding the area of

proposed reserves as well as their administration. They included

men like Franklin W. Reed who came to Elko to examine land in 

northeast Nevada and Clyde Leavitt who examined the Monitor and

Toiyabe ranges in 1906. W.H.B. Kent, headquartered in Los 

Angeles, was in charge of examinations in California and western

Nevada in 1905 and 1906. He was assisted by numerous men,

including R.S. Baldwin at Caliente, W.J. Mosenthal at Carson City,

and L. Von Wernsted and R.B. Wilson at Las Vegas. 

During the first two years of the Forest Service, from 1905 to 1907, 

the area of the national forests more than doubled from 63 million 

acres to 151 million acres. Much of this represented work started 

under the GLO.17 In Nevada, these early reserves were small, often 

encompassing only one of the state’s numerous mountain ranges. 

CALIFORNIA FOREST RESERVES 

Stanislaus Forest Reserve

The Carson and Bridgeport ranger districts of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest contain land that was 

originally part of several early forests, one of which was the Stanislaus Forest Reserve. Located in eastern

California, this California forest was one of thirteen created by President Grover Cleveland on

Washington’s Birthday, February 22, 1897. The 691,200-acre reserve was comprised of areas that later 

became part of the Tahoe, Eldorado, Sierra, Mono and Toiyabe national forests.18 

An army officer by the name of Allen went to Sonora in 1898 and put together a ranger force of four

seasonal employees to fight fires and restrict sheep, which were forbidden on the forest until 1905.19 The 

following year, a man named Langenberg acted as Forest Supervisor. There was no supervisor during

1900, but a Mr. Houghet acted in this capacity in 1901. Grant I. Taggert was the first forest supervisor to

stay more than a year (1902-05); he was followed by S.N.L. Ellis (1905-07).20 By 1902, the Stanislaus had 

four seasonal and two permanent rangers, one of whom also worked on the Tahoe Forest Reserve (see

below).21 The following two years, two more rangers were hired.22 

The forest was divided into four districts by 1905, two of which were on the eastern slope. These

increased to six in 1906, when the first land addition was made.23 This addition consisted of 500,000

acres, including areas around Lower Twin Lake, Devils Gate Pass, West Walker River Canyon, and 

 16 US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, The Use Book. Regulations and Instructions for the Use of the National Forest 

Reserves, (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1906), 154. 17 Alexander, The Rise of Multiple-Use Management, 33. 18 Rebecca Conard, Paula Juelke Carr, Susan Lehman, and Pamela Post, “An Evaluation of Historic Administrative Buildings on the 

Stanislaus National Forest,” (Santa Barbara, CA: PHR Associates, December 1989), 2-1. 19 Conard et. al., 2-1 and 2-3. 20 Pamela Ann Conners, “History of the Stanislaus,” Voices from the Past Series, http://www.r5.fs.fed.us/stanislaus/heritage/voices/ 

(January 2000). 21 Ibid. 

22 Ibid. 

23 Ibid. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 FOREST OVERVIEW - 21
Ebbets Pass, as well as northern portions of the present-day Carson-Iceberg Wilderness Area.

24 

Additional land was added on October 26, 1907.25

Tahoe Forest Reserve

The Lake Tahoe Forest Reserve was established on April 13, 1899. Grant I. Taggert, the Stanislaus 

Forest Supervisor, also administered the Tahoe forest beginning in 1902. At that time, the Tahoe 

consisted of three divisions: the Tallac, Pyramid Peak, and Upper Truckee divisions.

26 By 1904, it 

consisted of 136,335 acres but on October 3,1905, the boundary was redrawn and the name changed to

the Tahoe Forest Reserve. The new land area included the Dog Valley and Marlette Lake areas that are

now part of the Carson District. More land, including the short-lived Yuba National Forest, was added to

the Tahoe in 1906.27

NEVADA FOREST RESERVES 

Ruby Mountains Forest Reserve 

The area of forest reserves nearly doubled from 56 million acres to 107 million acres between 1905 and

1906.28 It was around this time that Nevada received its first forest reserves, with the first being the Ruby 

Mountains Forest Reserve in the northeast corner of the state. In his 1917 land classification report,

Ranger James M. Ryan provided an overview: 

The Ruby National Forest was withdrawn March 29, 1904, in response to applications

from settlers adjacent to the Ruby Mountains . . . Investigation by forest Examiners 

confirmed the claims of the petitioners as to the value of the area for Forest purposes,

and it was accordingly withdrawn on the above date. The withdrawal was made 

permanent by the proclamation of May 3, 1906.29

The petitioners, led by Ruby Valley rancher and attorney Frank Gedney, had met in response to

diminishing grazing resources, which they attributed to the increasing numbers of sheep. Upon Chief 

Pinchot’s advice, he and other ranchers, including E.E. Lutts, F.S. and Billy Gardner, Albert Myers, Billy

and Al Griswold, and Jube Wright, submitted a petition for the establishment of a forest reserve.30 Forest

Supervisor Syd Tremewan later recalled: 

About two weeks later [after submitting the petition], Mr. Gedney went to his office one

morning and found a man standing at the door with a McClellon [sic] saddle in his hand

and a pocket site compass fastened to his belt. He introduced himself as Franklin W. 

Reed and said that he had come to examine the Ruby Mountains for a Forest Reserve.31

Instrumental in the creation of the Ruby and Independence forest reserves, Reed would work his way up

from Forest Assistant to Forest Inspector. He continued to advance and in 1911 was Associate District 

 24 Mark Swift, “Mono National Forest Development, n.d.” TMs [photocopy], Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA

Forest Service. 25 Ibid. 

26 Conners, “History of the Stanislaus.” 27 Swift, Mono National Forest Development. 28 US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, “Highlights in the History of Forest Conservation, 1948” TMs, [photocopy]. p. 5, Elko 

Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 29 1917 Ruby National Forest Land Classification Atlas, Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 30 C.S. Tremewan, "History of the Ruby Mountain Division prior to the creation of the Forest Reserve, n.d." TMs [photocopy], Elko

Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 31 Ibid. 

FORESTOVERVIEW - 22 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
Forester in Ogden. He was with the Washington Office in 1917 and by 1924 was District Forester of 

District 7, with headquarters in Washington, DC. Although Reed eventually resigned from the Forest 

Service, he continued to practice forestry and served as editor of the Journal of Forestry in the 1920s and 

1930s. 

Reed carried out field inspections on the proposed Ruby Mountains Forest Reserve and submitted a report 

in 1905. He noted that there were three large sheep owners using the Ruby Mountains for grazing. Two,

Chauncey Griswold and John Hilton, were residents but the third, Thomas Keogh, was not. According to

Reed, there were bitter feelings against Keogh since he was a non-resident and because stockmen felt he

was crowding them off the range. By this time, the Ruby Mountains were overstocked and the range, as

well as the watershed, was severely damaged.32

Reed recommended the reduction of sheep on the mountains, with the prohibition of transient or

nonresident sheep, stating, “The large majority of the citizens, being cattlemen and owners of ranches

directly dependent on the water supply from the Ruby Mountains, would welcome the immediate total

exclusion of sheep.”33

While recognizing the problem of range depletion, Reed was conscious of its effect on the watershed,

writing “The value of the Ruby Range as a source of water supply is 8 to 10 times its value as summer 

range for stock. The main object in the creation of the proposed reserve will be to protect the 

watershed.”34 He noted that these water resources were primarily located north of Harrison Pass and that 

there was little surface drainage south of the pass.35

For administration purposes, Reed recommended a Supervisor with headquarters at one of the small

railroad stations near the northern end, preferable Wells or Deeth. He also advised the placement of two

rangers with cattle and sheep experience, one on each side of the mountain range.36 Reed reported that

nearly all of the range was accessible by horseback and by wagon roads over Secret, Harrison, and 

Overland passes.

37

Opposition to the proposed forest reserve was limited to the few sheep owners. On May 3, 1906, the 

President created the Ruby Mountains Forest Reserve, encompassing the Ruby Mountains and the East

Humboldt range. Reed temporarily took charge of the reserve, working with Ranger Clarence N. Woods

until he could take over. Woods came to Elko in February 1907 to supervise administration of the forest 

reserve as well as the newly created Independence Forest Reserve. 

Woods was one of the few men to transfer to the Forest Service from the General Land Office. He started

with the GLO in 1902 and spent several years in Wyoming before going to Elko. While on the Ruby

Mountains, Woods spent most of his time in the field, riding the ranges, consulting rangers, locating and 

posting forest boundaries, and allotting ranges to the sheep and cattle outfits.

38 After only ten months, he 

was promoted to Supervisor of the Sawtooth National Forest in Idaho. 

Independence Forest Reserve

Ranchers near the Independence Mountains, located in northeast Nevada,

39 were aware of what was 

happening on the Ruby Mountains and began to see the creation of a forest reserve as a solution to their 

 32 Reed, “The Proposed Ruby Mountains Forest Reserve,” 14. 33 Ibid., 15. 

34 Ibid., 8. 

35 Ibid. 

36 Ibid., 18. 

37 Ibid., 11. 

38 C.N. Woods, “Thirty-seven Years in the Forest Service, 1939” TMs [photocopy], p. 18-19, Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National

Forest, USDA Forest Service. 39 This is sometimes referred to as the North Fork or Jack Creek range. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 FOREST OVERVIEW - 23
problems. The issue of range rights came to a head when a sheep outfit clashed with Dan Wallace.

Although Wallace was a squatter on unsurveyed land, he reportedly had homestead rights, which the 

sheep owners refused to acknowledge. They often grazed on his land and, during an altercation, Wallace

shot a sheepherder in the shoulder. The sheep outfit’s owner put a claim on Wallace’s cattle and horses to 

restrict his finances for a court defense, but neighbor Pink Prunty decided to assist Wallace. Prunty

approached Syd Tremewan and the two raised money and hired Elko attorney Frank Gedney to defend

Wallace.40

Wallace was acquitted and the case served to unify the stockmen. They asked Gedney, with his 

experience on the Ruby Mountains, to draw up a similar petition requesting the creation of a forest reserve. 

Ninety-six percent of the ranch owners and residents of the area signed the petition.41

Franklin Reed carried out the inspection, reporting on the “Proposed North Fork Forest Reserve” in 1906.42 

Noting that most of the lumber had been cut and used in the mining town of Tuscarora, he stated that the

forest’s highest value was as range. While an estimated 2,000 head of cattle and horses used the area in

1905, over 200,000 sheep reportedly grazed there. Most of the latter were owned by residents of Churchill 

and Lander counties. Reed recommended that the North Fork Forest Reserve be created immediately. 

He also recommended an examination of the proposed Bruneau Forest Reserve and the placement of the

North Fork under it as a division. One ranger, based at the North Fork post office, could handle 

administration with the assistance of a guard during the grazing season.

43

Shortly after Reed submitted his report, Forest Assistant R. B. Wilson wrote one on the Bruneau area, 

which was proposed as an addition to the forest reserve. The area encompassed the Bull Run and

Jarbidge mountain ranges in northern Elko County. Wilson wrote, 

The proposed Bruneau Reserve is a grazing reserve with greater difficulties and 

problems present than is usually the case in like areas. The stretch of country locally 

known as ‘The Bruneau’ throughout the State, four-fifths of which is included in the 

proposed reserve is the newest, best, and largest stretch of summer sheep range in this 

part of the United States.44 

As elsewhere, most of the sheep were owned by non-residents or nomadic Basques and created

considerable animosity from the cattle owners.45

Wilson recommended the creation of the Bruneau Forest Reserve, which would include the proposed 

North Fork Forest Reserve. He noted that its immediate establishment would allow administration to begin

before the 1907 grazing season and that “it is absolutely essential to have this reserve under 

administration at the same time as the Ruby Forest Reserve, created in May, 1906.” In his opinion, Elko 

was the best location for headquarters because it was situated along the railroad line between the two

reserves.

46

Since nobody in Nevada had experience in administering forest reserves, Wilson wrote that the Forest 

Service would need to bring in a temporary man with grazing experience until one of the local men proved

to be suitable for the job. He had, at that time, someone in mind: 

 40 C.S. Tremewan, “A Brief History of the Forest Service in Nevada, n.d.” TMs [photocopy], p. 6, Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe 

National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 41 Ibid. 

42 Franklin W. Reed, “The Proposed North Fork Forest Reserve, Nevada, 1906” TMs [photocopy], Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe

National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 43 Ibid., 12. 

44 R. B. Wilson, “A Favorable Report Upon Proposed Bruneau Addition to Independence National Forest, Nevada, June 1906” TMs 

[photocopy], p. 16, Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 45 Ibid., 19. 

46 Ibid., 29. 

FORESTOVERVIEW - 24 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
The Civil Service examination held last May in Elko provides two very good men. They 

are C. Sydney Tremewan of Rowland and Louis Sharp from near Elko. Tremewan owns

cattle and lives within the proposed Bruneau Addition, being the leading spirit in the

agitation for its creation. He is a man of considerable education who should have no

trouble with the office work of a supervisor, stands well in the community, is apparently 

thoroughly honest but is somewhat young for the position yet awhile. Moreover, the fact 

that he owns cattle and can not see anything good in a sheepman is very much against

him. He should receive an appointment and will be very useful as the deputy Ranger in 

charge of the other three Rangers.47

In his 1906 report, Wilson also made recommendations regarding the administrative units and personnel

for the proposed Bruneau Forest Reserve. He stated the number of rangers needed was minimal because 

of easy access, noting that one man could cover the reserve in 4-5 days during the summer. He

supported the placement of four rangers during the grazing season, one of whom would be a deputy 

ranger based at Gold Creek overseeing the other three. The other three would be temporary, as no work 

was needed on roads or trails, ranger cabins or pastures. They would administer three districts: 

• District 1. North Fork Addition with headquarters at the North Fork post office. 

• District 2. With its headquarters at Mountain City, this would be the largest district with the most 

free-use and timber-sale work, grazing, trespass and special privilege business. Therefore, the 

deputy ranger, whose headquarters would be on the southeast end, would assist the district

ranger. 

• District 3. Covered the remaining region east of District 2.48

Regarding potential rangers, Wilson recommended Sharp, noting, “Sharp is an older man with less 

education but more experience in handling men. He knows the Ruby Mountain country but not the

Bruneau and will make an excellent man for deputy ranger on the former.” Wilson recommended a man 

named Short, who also took the exam, as a guard on the Ruby reserve.

49

Despite Wilson’s report, the Bruneau area was not included when the Independence (rather than “North 

Fork”) Forest Reserve was established on November 5, 1906. As on the Ruby Mountains Forest Reserve, 

Franklin Reed and experienced ranger Clarence N. Woods administered the forest during its first year.

Syd Tremewan, inspired to take the ranger exam after hearing Inspector Reed “talk conservation,” was 

hired. In the summer of 1907, he succeeded Woods and, a year later, became Forest Supervisor when

the Independence and Ruby reserves were combined to form the Humboldt National Forest. 

Charleston and Vegas Forest Reserves 

Located near Las Vegas, the present-day Spring Mountains National Recreation Area has a history of

numerous administrative changes, most of which occurred in its first ten years. It began when the

southern part of the Charleston Mountain Range was designated the Charleston Forest Reserve on

November 5, 1906. A year later, on December 12, 1907, the Vegas Forest Reserve was established. It 

comprised the Sheep Mountain Range and the northern part of the Charleston Mountain Range. David

Barnett supervised administration of the two reserves from 1907 to 1908. 

 47 Ibid., 32-33. 

48 Ibid., 30-31. 

49 Ibid., 33. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 FOREST OVERVIEW - 25
Toquima, Monitor and Toiyabe Forest Reserves 

As in other parts of the state, these three forest reserves were established in central Nevada to protect

against overgrazing and damage to watersheds. Forest Assistant Herbert O. Stabler captured the local 

conditions and sentiment when he reported on his examination of the Monitor Range in April of 1906.50 He 

foresaw the future development of mining towns in the area and argued that the reserve should be

established to protect the watershed from deforestation.51 Stabler noted that a good deal of wood had

been cut to power a water plant that pumped water to Tonopah. Wood was also being cut around

Hannapah, a mining town that was in the proposed forest reserve, to power mining operations.52 

Stabler mentioned a few cattle ranches and one sheep ranch owned by Mr. Potts around the Monitor 

Range.53 He indicated that the mountain range was overgrazed and predicted the situation to get worse: 

Sheep have been very profitable of recent years owing to the fact that mining camps in 

the Toquima range have furnished a near-by market for mutton and the drought in 

Australia has caused wool in this country to sell at a good price. Ranchers, now ranging

nothing but cattle, are seriously considering selling out their cattle and buying sheep. 

Such a step has been postponed because of the good market now available in the

mining camps.54

Stabler remarked that, while there was no animosity between the local sheep and cattle ranchers, there

was friction between them and the transient sheep owners who drove an estimated 60,000 sheep from

Elko County to Nye County. Because of this, he recommended that the grazing situation be regulated if

the forest reserve was created.55 Stabler wrote: 

Public sentiment throughout this region is strongly in favor of forest reserves. Stockmen 

favor a reserve because they think it will protect their grazing interests from transient 

sheep and because they do not want one portion of the mountains robbed of the fuel

supply as long as the possibility remains that the wood may be needed to support some 

mining town in the immediate locality.56 

Concluding his report, Stabler astutely remarked that the creation of the Toquima Forest Reserve to the

west would drive many transient sheep to the Monitor Range if it were not similarly protected.57

The examinations and threat of overgrazing led to presidential proclamations establishing the Toiyabe

Forest Reserve on March 1, 1907 and the Monitor and Toquima forest reserves on April 15, 1907. Mark 

G. Woodruff administered the three reserves from Austin until they were consolidated as the Toiyabe 

National Forest on July 1, 1908. 

 50 Herbert O. Stabler, “A Favorable Report on the Proposed Monitor Forest Reserve, Nevada, 1906” TMs, Record Group 95, Subgroup 

Toiyabe National Forest, Alpha Series, 1906-59 (Accn. 95-93-60, Box 7, Folder “LP-Boundaries-General-Toiyabe 1906-1941), 

National Archives, Pacific Sierra Region, San Bruno, California. 51 Ibid., 5. 

52 Ibid., 6-7. 

53 Ibid., 5. 

54 Ibid., 8. 

55 Ibid., 9. 

56 Ibid., 10. 

57 Ibid. 

FORESTOVERVIEW - 26 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
ADMINISTRATION 

ORGANIZATION

Effective administration of the early forest reserves was lacking due to an unclear organizational system 

and no specific authority by Congress. In 1891, Bernhard Fernow recommended a system of

administration, based on Prussian models, that included forest supervisors, rangers on small districts, and 

centrally directed inspectors. It was not until Congress passed the Organic Act on June 4, 1897 that 

administration of the forests was specified. The Act defined the Secretary of the Interior’s authority in

administering the reserves and clarified the purposes of the reserves. 

The DOI administered the reserves, first through its General Land Office (1891-1901) and then through

Division R, the forestry division (1901-1905). The DOI set up a system of Superintendents who oversaw a

state or group of states. They oversaw Supervisors, who were in charge of individual reserves, and 

Rangers, who were located on districts within the reserves. There were also Forest Inspectors who visited 

the reserves to deal with certain issues.58

The DOI’s Division R evolved toward the Prussian model proposed by Fernow and supported by Gifford

Pinchot. In the beginning, the system was fairly centralized, with all approvals coming from the

Washington Office and with an emphasis on inspections and reports. Starting in 1901, forest supervisors 

received more responsibility that not only compensated for minimal funding, but also contributed to a sense 

of proprietorship and an esprit de corps.59 Decentralization also changed the ratio of administrators. In

1898, there were eleven superintendents and a few supervisors. By 1904, there were 5 superintendents 

and 50 supervisors.60

The rangers, who were temporary seasonal employees furloughed during the winter, became permanent

employees. As of 1899, all rangers were furloughed by October 15, but by 1904 over 40% were yearround employees. The position of forest guard was created for temporary employees, most of whom were

charged with detecting fires during the summer months.

61

In 1905, the administration of the forests reserves was transferred from the DOI to the USDA, with Gifford 

Pinchot as Chief. Pinchot set about implementing a more efficient administrative structure. In an effort to

decentralize the Forest Service, he reorganized the field staff into three inspection districts in 1906.

Headed by Chief Inspectors, these three were known as the Northern District (Idaho, Montana, Wyoming,

South Dakota and Minnesota), the Southern District (Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nebraska and 

Oklahoma) and the Western District (Washington, Oregon, California and Alaska).

A year later, in 1907, the three districts were reconfigured into six districts, which were eventually renamed

"regions" to avoid confusion with ranger districts. District Four included eastern Nevada with R.E. Benedict

as Chief Inspector in Salt Lake City. In San Francisco, Chief Inspector Frederick E. Olmsted oversaw 

Region Five, which covered California and parts of western Nevada. 

In Nevada, the logistics of administration were considered when several forest reserves were established 

in 1906 and 1907. The forest inspectors made recommendations in their reports, often noting the

opportunity to administer more than one reserve from one office. In 1906, Forest Assistant R.B. Wilson

recommended that the creation of the Bruneau Forest Reserve be timed to correspond with the 

 58 Alexander, The Rise of Multiple Use Management, 20-21. 59 Donn E. Headley, “The Cooperation Imperative: Relationships Between Early Forest Administration and the Southern California 

Metropolis, 1892-1908,” in The Origins of the National Forest: A Centennial Symposium, ed. Harold K. Steen. (Durham, NC: Forest 

History Society, 1992), 222 and Harold K. Steen, The U.S. Forest Service: A History, 3d ed. (Seattle: University of Washington

Press, 1991), 77. 60 Alexander, The Rise of Multiple Use Management, 21. 61 Ibid. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 FOREST OVERVIEW - 27
administration of the Ruby Mountains Forest Reserve, which was to begin in the spring of 1907.

62 He

noted that since the two reserves were near each other, they could be administered from Elko. Wilson 

suggested a temporary supervisor be brought in, since no one in Nevada had experience with forest

reserves: 

This should be a man of long experience in grazing organization on the forest reserves,

one who is both fair and firm and who will make a good impression on the ranchers from

the start.63 

FOREST OFFICERS 

In the summer of 1898, the GLO employed the first forest officers, most of whom were political

appointees.64 The typical ranger was a male of northern European extraction with practical experience 

from working or growing up on a farm or ranch. He carried out his ranger duties as a secondary job while

continuing to farm or operate a business. Many were illiterate and relied on fellow rangers to write reports 

and letters.65 The ranger was required to provide his own equipment, horse, saddle, food, tent and other 

items needed for the job. In the winter, the rangers were usually laid off and the forest supervisors were 

demoted to rangers although they too were sometimes furloughed.66 As the workload increased, several 

rangers received upgrades from temporary employees to year-round staff in 1904.67 

As Chief Forester, Gifford Pinchot implemented numerous changes when the reserves were transferred to 

the USDA in 1905. A major shift occurred in hiring practices. Pinchot viewed the system of political 

appointees under a corrupt GLO with disdain and set about correcting this by increasing the level of 

professionalism and dedication. A major shift in policy was the requirement of rangers and supervisors to

pass a two-part Civil Service exam. The written portion took two to three hours to complete while the

practical portion tested a man’s skills in packing a horse, using a compass, elementary surveying, 

shooting, and cutting a tree. Syd Tremewan, first supervisor of the Humboldt National Forest, recalled

having to prove his cooking skills and estimating the number of telephone poles that could be cut from an 

acre of Nevada pinyon-juniper area.

68 These tests resulted in a more qualified work force and eliminated

political appointees. 

Pinchot also redesigned The Forest Reserve Manual of 1902 that had been issued to forest rangers.

Designed to fit into a ranger’s pocket, the 142-page Use Book contained all the regulations and instructions

needed by the ranger. It outlined administrative procedures and policies regarding timber and water 

management, mining, farming, construction, and grazing on the forest reserves. 

Pinchot further defined the administrative structure by clarifying certain positions and duties. The 1905

Use Book identified the hierarchy of field officers starting with the Forest Inspector, followed by Assistant

Forest Inspector, Forest Supervisor, Deputy Forest Supervisor, Forest Assistant, Forest Ranger, Deputy 

Forest Ranger, Assistant Forest Ranger, and Forest Guard. The manual explained that the Forest 

Inspectors had, through training and experience, great familiarity with forest reserve business. His duties 

included providing advice to forest officers, inspecting and reporting on the reserves, and making

recommendations to improve their management. 

 62 Wilson, 29. 

63 Ibid. 

64 Gerald W. Williams, “Administrative Units and Reorganization Efforts,” History Line (Summer 1994), 19. 65 Arthur H. Carhart, Timber in Your Life (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1955), 82. 66 Ralph Hartley and James Schneck, Administering the National Forests of Colorado. An Assessment of the Architectural and Cultural 

Significance of Historical Administrative Properties (Lincoln, NE: NPS Midwest Archeological Center, 1996), 8. 67 Alexander, The Rise of Multiple Use Management, 21. 68 Ibid., 39. 

FORESTOVERVIEW - 28 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
The Use Book stated that Forest Supervisors were men promoted from the position of Forest Ranger or

Assistant and were to be residents of the state in which the reserve was located. According to a 1907

public guide titled The Use of the National Forests:

The Supervisor has direct charge of a National Forest. He runs all the business upon it

and is responsible for the work and the efficiency of the force under him. From training

and experience he must be thoroughly familiar with western conditions. To do the work 

he must be sound in body, fit to endure a hard and rough outdoor life. He must be able to

handle men well and deal wisely with all kinds of people. The business requires him to 

have a good working knowledge of timber and lumbering, the live-stock industry, the land

laws, and ordinary office work. His position is a very responsible one, for he manages a

public estate worth many millions of dollars. At present Supervisors are paid from $1,500 

to $3,000 a year, and are reimbursed for actual living expenses when on field duty away

from their headquarters.69

The Forest Assistant was to have “technical qualifications of high order” with formal training in forestry and 

lumbering. He could be placed on any reserve throughout the country and his primary purpose was to

provide technical support. 

The Forest Ranger has received much attention in historical accounts of the Forest Service. A certain

level of romance and myth has surrounded the early rangers, who were truly field men blazing new trails in

the management of the country’s forests. These men were required to be “thoroughly sound and ablebodied, capable of enduring hardships and of performing severe labor under trying conditions.” To

discourage slackers and recreation seekers, it was noted “Invalids seeking light out-of-door employment

need not apply.” The ranger was also prohibited from holding other jobs.

70

The Rangers are the men who carry out the work on the ground. They are directly under 

the Supervisor. They must thoroughly know the country, its conditions, and its people. 

They live in the Forests, often in localities far from settlement and sources of supply. The 

Ranger must be able to take care of himself and his horses under very trying conditions;

build trails and cabins; ride all day and all night; pack, shoot, and fight fire without losing

his head. He must know a good deal about the timber of the country and how to estimate

it; he must be familiar with lumbering and the sawmill business, the handling of live stock,

mining, and the land laws. All this requires a very vigorous constitution. It means the

hardest kind of physical work from beginning to end. It is not a job for those seeking

health or light outdoor work. Rangers are now paid from $900 to $1,500 a year. They 

have to furnish and feed their own horses. The Government builds them cabins to live in

and fences pastures to keep their stock in.

71

The hardiness of these rangers is evident in a description of a trip that Clarence Woods, the 1907 Forest

Supervisor of the Ruby and Independence forest reserves, took in late 1905. Woods, then on the Teton

National Forest, was instructed to investigate a coal company that was reportedly cutting mine props 

without a permit. 

First, he crossed from Jackson over Teton Pass into the Teton Basin where his horses

had wintered and brought them back to Jackson. He expected to ride his horse southerly

along the Hoback River to Kemmerer, then up Hams Fork to the trespass area. Along 

the Hoback, he found the snow so deep that he had to ride in the river through much of

the canyon. He spent one night in lower Hoback Basin and started out the next day on 

crusted snow. By the time he reached the upper end of the basin, the crust was too soft

 69 US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, The Use of the National Forests (n.p.: 1907), 32. 70 US Department of Agriculture, The Use Book (1906), 148-49. 71 US Department of Agriculture, The Use of the National Forests, 33. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 FOREST OVERVIEW - 29
to support his horse. He left the horse on a grassy south slope and walked ten miles to a

ranch where he had dinner. He expected the snow would crust over during the night, so

he went back for the horse. The crust was still too weak, so he left the horse again and

walked eighteen miles to the Horse Creek Ranger Station. He met with Ranger Dick

Smith and the two decided to ski the remaining sixty miles to Kemmerer. After several

days of travel, they lost the trail. Then they followed a drainage to a ranch where they

hired some horses which they ride on to Kemmerer.72

After investigating the coal company, Woods returned to Kemmerer. 

Then, since he was without transportation, he walked for two and half days to the South

Cottonwood Ranger Station, borrowed a horse from the ranger, then returned to Jackson 

by way of the Hoback Basin where he picked up the horse he had left. He reported at the 

end that he "reached Jackson, none the worse for the trip.73

The early Forest Rangers were often in charge of more than one ranger district. They answered directly to

the Forest Supervisor and had authority over Deputy and Assistant Rangers, as well as the Forest Guards. 

Upon reporting for work, the new ranger received some equipment such as a marking hatchet to stamp

timber, pencils, stationery, and a scale rule. He still had to provide the larger items such as his tent, horse, 

saddle, feed, and cooking utensils. He also received The Use Book to guide his work. In the first few 

years of the Forest Service, the ranger’s work consisted of posting forest boundaries and classifying land 

by use. Upon Pinchot’s orders, supervisors delegated more work to the rangers. This successfully made 

the ranger feel responsible for his 

area and taught the public to go to 

the ranger rather than the

supervisor.

Interested locals take the ranger exam near Elko in 1907. 

The position of Forest Guard was 

created in 1902 to assist with the

increased workload during the 

field season.74 By 1906, Forest

Guards were hired when there 

were no qualified rangers who had 

passed the civil service exam or

when work was needed for less 

than six months. The guards had 

the same powers and duties as 

assistant forest rangers. Upon

passing the civil service exam, the

guards could be promoted to

rangers when such positions

became available. 

There was a shortage of qualified men in the early years. In a 1907 recruitment effort, the work was 

described as ideal “for those who like a hard active life in the open.”

75 Although the salaries were low, 

there was potential for advancement within the Forest Service. Applicants were required to be residents of 

 72 Thomas G. Alexander, “Reflections On The Heritage Of Region 4, 1988(?)” TMs [photocopy], Wells and Elko Offices, HumboldtToiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 73 Ibid. 

74 Alexander, The Rise of Multiple-Use Management, 21. 75 US Department of Agriculture, The Use of the National Forests, 33. 

FORESTOVERVIEW - 30 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
the state or territory in which the forest was located, be between the ages of 21 and 40, and to pass the

civil service exam.76 

Ranger salaries in 1905 were $900 per year

77 and rose little over the following years. In 1920, the salary 

was $1,100 – the same it had been in 1910.78 Many could not tolerate the meager pay and, during a 

fourteen-month period in 1918-19, 460 technical foresters resigned. 

Most forest officers developed a sense of proprietorship for their forests, as they had to accomplish great

deeds with limited manpower and funds. They examined and mapped millions of acres, built ranger

stations, roads and trails, and initiated management policies.

79 They lived on or near the forest and were

part of the community. The type of work and decentralization contributed to camaraderie among forest

officers and a high level of dedication. Pinchot proudly reported that his staff “used only 7 percent of

earned sick leave and 66 percent of their annual leave.”

80 Pinchot knew what he was doing and even

required annual ranger meetings to give them “the benefit of each other’s experience, to keep them in 

touch with the entire work of the reserve, and to promote esprit de corps in the service.”81

FIRE MANAGEMENT 

Although the Forest Service was charged with protecting the forest reserves under the Organic Act of

1897, minimal funding and staff prevented the development of fire management strategies. Forest guards 

hired during the field season often detected and reported fires while they were performing their other 

duties. Although Pinchot promoted a policy of fire prevention and suppression, he received little support

until 1910 when disastrous fires swept through Montana and Idaho. 

SNOW SURVEYING 

A certain type of structure on the national forests, the snow survey cabin, is associated with the

development of snow surveying by Dr. James Edward Church. A graduate of the University of Michigan,

Church began teaching Latin and Greek at the University of Nevada in Reno (UNR) in 1892. He left for 

two years to get his doctorate in classics from the University of Munich in Bavaria, but returned to UNR 

where he pursued his love of mountaineering. In 1901, he began to study the water content of the 

snowpack on the summit of Mt. Rose near Reno, Nevada. Church soon developed a method of 

measuring snow that allowed him to forecast the likelihood of flood or drought. Although advanced

techniques and equipment were developed later, Church’s fundamental precepts established the scientific

approach of snow surveys and studies. 

On June 29, 1905, Church established one of the first high-altitude meteorological observatories on the Mt. 

Rose summit (10,778 feet). This marked the beginning of the Mt. Rose Observatory that, through his 

work, became the Department of Mountain Meteorology and Climatology of the Nevada Agricultural

Experiment Station in 1906. By 1907, Dr. Church and his students had built an 8’ x 8’ building on the

summit. They constructed the four-bunk building in Reno, disassembled it and arduously packed it up the

mountain. 

 76 Ibid., 34. 77 Steen, The U.S. Forest Service, 82. 78 Ibid., 142. 

79 Ibid., 85. 

80 Ibid., 83-84. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 FOREST OVERVIEW - 31
Chapter Two: 1908-1929, The Progressive Era 

and the Great War 

HISTORICAL SETTING 

This era, from 1908 to 1929, is marked by technological achievements such as the introduction of the 

Model T Ford (1909), completion of the Panama Canal (1914), the first commercial radio broadcast (1920),

and the first feature-length talking movie (1927). The early part of this period is often referred to as the

“Progressive Era” for its reformist and social justice movements. It is marked by labor laws, the women's 

suffrage movement, prohibition, and early civil rights efforts. Other landmarks of this time include tragic

events such as the worldwide influenza epidemic, World War I, and the Wall Street crash of 1929. 

World War I had an effect on the Forest Service as employees joined the armed forces and fewer people 

were available for the increasing workload. After April 6, 1917 when the United States officially declared 

war on Germany, seventeen Region Four employees had enlisted in military service by August 23. A

regional newsletter reported:

. . . nine have been commissioned as officers or enlisted in the Forest Regiment; three 

have applied for admission to and been accepted for the Second Officers’ Reserve Corps 

Training Camp at the Presidio, San Francisco, California; four have been called into the 

National Army; and one has enlisted in the Second Idaho Infantry.82

Some of the people who joined the war effort in 1917 included Humboldt Supervisor Clarence Favre and 

Clyde Quinn from the Toiyabe National Forest. Former Toiyabe Supervisor M.S. Benedict was

commissioned as a first lieutenant in the Tenth Engineering Regiment (Forestry).

83

Those men who remained with the Forest Service were requested to report alien enemies and terrain

intelligence. The Supervisor of the Mono National Forest, William Maule, got even more involved.

According to his diary, he met with defense committees about resources that would be needed for national

defense. His forest rangers helped notify people to register for the draft and Maule himself was sworn in

as a registration official for Douglas County. He administered "emergency grazing" which allowed

increased numbers of stock on grazing allotments. An entry in his diary indicates that he searched for spy

devices when he traveled through the northeast part of Carson Valley, an "isolated" area where numerous

Germans had settled. He looked for wireless stations, noting there were several hay derricks that could be

used in this way.84

The years immediately following World War I are characterized by increasing affluence fueled by industrial 

expansion and technological developments. These were manifested in the average American home, 

which acquired telephones, plastic products, radios, modern bathrooms and electricity. These advances 

were not lost on the Forest Service. The agency promoted the use of telephones to improve

communications, particularly in fire-prone areas, and increasingly provided electricity and modern 

bathrooms in many of its permanent facilities. 

The introduction of the automobile also had a significant impact around the country. With the advent of this

convenient conveyance, some forest officers used their personal vehicles to conduct business and were 

 81 US Department of Agriculture, The Use Book (1906), 151. 82 “The Intermountain Review Ranger,” 1, no. 9 (September 10, 1917), 14. 83 “The Intermountain Review Ranger,” 1, no. 7 (June 10, 1917), 6. 84 William M. Maule, "Diaries Of William M. Maule, Forest Supervisor, Mono National Forest (Nevada & California) 1909-1938" TMs 

[photocopy], transcribed by Wynne M. Maule, Bridgeport Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 

FORESTOVERVIEW - 32 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
reimbursed three cents for each mile. In 1913, Supervisor Thomas Collins was the first on the Toiyabe

National Forest to use a motorcycle. The first to use an automobile on the forest was Collins’ successor,

Vernon Metcalf, in 1915. Due to the nature of the work terrain, the Forest Service was slow to officially 

adopt vehicles as the main mode of transportation. Some surplus vehicles were transferred to the agency 

after the war, but as of 1921, the Region Four headquarters had no more than two or three trucks while the 

individual forests still had none.85 Officials continued to rely on horses to carry out forest business but the 

automobile eventually altered the way forests were used and managed. 

Increased recreational, mineral and timber use led to a boom in road construction in the 1920s. This

provided rangers with easier access to larger areas and, consequently, their districts were consolidated or

enlarged. The ranger could operate from town, which led to the conversion of year-round ranger stations

in rural areas to summer guard stations. 

The prosperity of the 1920s came to a sharp end in October 1929 with the stock market crash. This event

marked the beginning of the Great Depression and the New Deal era, a significant period in the 

development of the nation's forests. 

LAND ADJUSTMENTS 

The years prior to World War I saw numerous changes to the configurations, sizes and numbers of 

national forests. The large forests on the Sierra Nevada were split into smaller forests to solve the problem

of difficult travel over the crest. The east part of the Sierra National Forest was added to the Inyo National 

Forest, while the Mono National Forest was created from the east part of the Stanislaus in 1908. 

As the first Chief Inspector of District Four, R.E. Benedict sought to increase administrative efficiency by

placing small forests under a single supervisor and splitting up some of the larger ones.86 In Nevada, 

smaller forest reserves were combined into larger national forests with more defined administrative

structures and new names. The Toiyabe National Forest was an amalgamation of three forest reserves, 

while the Charleston and Vegas forest reserves combined as the Moapa National Forest. 

Some of these reconfigurations were brought about by the 1911 Weeks Act, which sought to create a

national unified fire control policy. This significant act authorized cooperation between the Forest Service 

and states to protect watersheds, through the purchase of lands along headwaters. This attention to

watersheds, as a part of fire protection, resulted in the adjustment of forest boundaries. Many boundaries,

which were set along rivers before 1911, were changed to ridgelines or mountaintops, thus allowing a 

drainage area to be administered as one unit.87 The Weeks Act also authorized the Forest Service to

purchase land in the eastern United States, thus resulting in forest reserves created from land that was 

previously privately owned. 

Land exchanges also contributed to forest reconfigurations, as Richard Boerker explained in 1918: 

There has also been a great need for consolidating the National Forest lands where 

these were interspersed with private or state lands. Congress has recognized this need 

and from time to time has granted authority to exchange lands with private owners or

States where such an exchange would be advantageous to the Government through the

resulting consolidation of holdings. Thus by getting the government lands into a more

compact body their administration and protection are materially facilitated in many ways. 

 85 Henry M. Shank, “Forty-Six Years Ago – And Later,” in The History of Engineering in the Forest Service, (Washington, DC: 

Government Printing Office, 1990), 183. 86 Alexander, The Rise of Multiple-Use Management, 34. 87 Gerald W. Williams, 19. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 FOREST OVERVIEW - 33
Before any exchange is made it must be ascertained that the land which the Government

is to receive has equal value with that relinquished, also that the land is chiefly valuable 

for the production of timber and the protection of stream flow.88

To counteract the argument that the government was holding valuable land, forest lands were examined

for agricultural potential. If the lands were judged to be suited for agriculture or unsuited for forest uses, 

they were eliminated from the forest or opened for homestead entry, per the 1906 Homestead Act. 

Between 1912 and 1917, over 127 million acres had been examined and classified and 12 million acres 

were eliminated from the nation’s forests.89 While some work was carried out by crews from the

Washington and regional offices, rangers on the Nevada forests conducted field surveys and wrote

numerous reports in 1916-18. 

Congress passed legislation that supported additions to the national forests. The Clarke-McNary Act of

1924 broadened the authorization for purchasing forested, cutover or denuded lands within watersheds.

The Woodruff-McNary Act of 1928 provided additional funds for land purchases. 

MONO NATIONAL FOREST 

The Mono National Forest was established on July 1, 1908 from parts of four other forests. Most of the

659,546-acre area came from the Stanislaus National Forest (about 470,000 acres on the Sierra eastern

front). Smaller areas came from the Sierra and Inyo national forests in California, established in 1893 and

1907 respectively. The Tahoe National Forest also contributed come of its California area, as well as a

small portion in Nevada. At the same time, it received additional land from the Plumas and Stanislaus 

forests, as well as an area between Mount Rose and Ball's Canyon.

90

In 1909, the area of the Mono National Forest doubled to 1,358,126 acres when the Sweetwater

Mountains, Pine Grove Hills and Excelsior Mountains were added. A few more additions in 1911 resulted

in a total of 1,375,440 acres.91 A 1924 range appraisal noted that the forest boundary encompassed 

1,258,000 acres of Government land and 100,000 acres of private land. By that time, 98,626 sheep and 

5,874 cattle and horses were grazing on the Mono National Forest.92

The Supervisor's Office was originally in Gardnerville, Nevada but in 1918 was moved to Minden. It 

remained there until 1939 when it was moved to Reno. John C. Wells served as the first Forest Supervisor

of the Mono National Forest from July 1908 until October 1909 when William Maule succeeded him. 

Raised on a farm near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Maule attended the University of Pennsylvania where he

majored in biology. Beginning in 1899, he worked as a student assistant in the USDA Division of Forestry 

on the Olympic Peninsula near Satsop. After graduating from the School of Forestry at Cornell University

in 1902, Maule worked in the Philippines where the forestry program was administered by the Department 

of the Army. While there, he served as Forestry Inspector from 1902 to 1904 before he was promoted to

Assistant to the Chief of the Bureau of Forestry. In 1906, Maule returned to the United States for a twomonth assignment in Washington, DC. He was then assigned to the Sequoia National Forest as a Forest 

Assistant. 

On October 21, 1909, Maule became the Forest Supervisor of the Mono National Forest, serving in that

position until he retired in 1938. The diary he kept during his tenure provides valuable details about the

 88 Richard H. D. Boerker, Our National Forests (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1918), 63. 89 Ibid., 62. 

90 Swift, “Bridgeport and Carson.” 91 Connors, “History of the Stanislaus.” 92 William M. Maule, “Range Appraisal, Mono National Forest, 30 August 1924,” Carson City Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, 

USDA Forest Service. 

FORESTOVERVIEW - 34 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
early work, development, and officers on the Mono National Forest. According to his accounts, the Mono

was divided into four ranger districts:

District Headquarters

Alpine Markleeville 

Bridgeport Bridgeport 

Mono Lake Leevining 

Sweetwater Wellington, Nevada

Map that accompanied the 1908 Executive Order creating the Mono National Forest

MOAPA NATIONAL FOREST (1909-15) AND DIVISION (1915-

1929) 

The Charleston and Vegas forest reserves consolidated to become the Moapa National Forest on July 1, 

1908. Forest Guard Harry E. Matthews was promoted to Forest Ranger in January of that year and was 

left in charge of the new forest. He served in this capacity until June 30, 1910 when he resigned. Thomas

J. Collins succeeded him as Forest Supervisor. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 FOREST OVERVIEW - 35
District Forester Sherman recommended the transferal of the Moapa to the Toiyabe National Forest as

early as 1912, noting that it could be administered as part of the Manhattan District (Tonopah).

93 That

year, Collins began serving as the Toiyabe Forest Supervisor, while maintaining his position on the Moapa. 

It was not until July 1, 1915, that the Moapa was officially transferred to the Toiyabe National Forest. 

After one year with the Toiyabe, the Moapa Division was transferred to the Dixie National Forest on May 

10, 1916. The Dixie, created September 25, 1905, had most of its area in Utah and Arizona. In 1918, land

on the Sheep Mountain Range and much of the Charleston Mountain Range was eliminated from the

Moapa Division.

94 Eventually, the name of the Moapa Division was changed to the Charleston Mountain

Division and it would once again become part of the Toiyabe National Forest. 

TOIYABE NATIONAL FOREST 

The Toiyabe, Toquima and Monitor forest reserves, created in 1907, were consolidated as the Toiyabe 

National Forest on July 1, 1908 as part of a region-wide consolidation effort. The following year, the north

ends of the Toiyabe and Shoshone ranges were added, as was the south end of the Paradise Range. 

Adjustments continued as the Toiyabe National Forest absorbed (1915) and then lost (1916) the Moapa 

Division. The Toiyabe experienced several boundary and area adjustments throughout the 1920s. By 

1923, the forest had four rangers covering average areas of 479,000 acres.95 The ranger districts were the

Kingston, Potts, Reese River, and Manhattan districts. 

David L. Barnett was the first Forest Supervisor of the Toiyabe National Forest. After one year, he was 

succeeded by M.S. Benedict who remained until 1911. Other early Forest Supervisors included V. Herbert 

Graff (1911-12), Thomas J. Collins (1912-15, also served as the Moapa Forest Supervisor during this

time), Vernon Metcalf (1915-16), Winifred W. Blakeslee (1916-19), James W. McGowan (1919-25), and 

James E. Gurr (1925-31).

HUMBOLDT NATIONAL FOREST 

CREATION OF THE HUMBOLDT, 1908-17 

As part of the national forest adjustment and consolidation effort, several Nevada forest reserves that were

created in 1906 and 1907 were merged to form larger national forests. In northeast Nevada, the Ruby and

Independence forest reserves were combined on July 1, 1908 to form the Humboldt National Forest with

C.S. "Syd" Tremewan as its Forest Supervisor. 

As mentioned previously, R.B. Wilson prepared a report on the proposed Bruneau Addition to the 

Independence Forest Reserve in 1906. Chief Forester Pinchot viewed it as "mainly a grazing proposition”

and rejected the addition, in spite of Wilson's recommendations, petitions of ranchers and mine owners, a 

supporting letter from Nevada Senator Francis Newlands, and other forest officials' views. In 1908, Forest 

Ranger George C. Thompson prepared a more thorough report, convincing Pinchot that the area had

commercial timber and required watershed protection. Pinchot eventually agreed and the Bruneau 

Addition became part of the Humboldt National Forest in 1909. 

 93 "History of the Toiyabe National Forest, 1822 to 1969, n.d." TMs [photocopy], Sparks Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest,

USDA Forest Service. 94 Ibid., 5. 

95 US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain District Forest Statistics (n.p.: 1923), 11. 

FORESTOVERVIEW - 36 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
In 1909, Forest Assistant William Winter wrote a report on the proposed Elk Mountain Addition, located 

along the north and east of the Bruneau Division. Sheep grazing had increased in the area as sheep 

outfits were denied access to the new forest reserves elsewhere in the state.96 Residents became

concerned about the increased numbers of sheep and desired to protect the drainage basin of the Salmon

River and headwaters of Mary's River from overgrazing. 

In response to local ranchers’ requests, the Elk Mountain Division was added to the Humboldt National 

Forest on June 19, 1912. At the same time, some areas (Rowland, Diamond A, Charleston District) were

eliminated from the forest and, more importantly, the Ruby Mountains were re-designated as a separate 

National Forest. 

Prior to the age of convenience provided by good roads, swift transportation, and extensive

communications networks, forest officials’ administration tasks were constrained by accessibility. Forests 

were split up into numerous districts, sometimes within a division. In 1909, there were two ranger districts 

on the Ruby Mountains Division (Districts 1 and 2) and seven on the Humboldt Division (Districts 3 through

9). 

The Humboldt Supervisor’s Office was originally located in Elko. Forest Supervisor Tremewan described

his first office there as a 12' x 12' room upstairs in the Harrington Building on Railroad Street.97 In the

summer of 1909, he moved his office to the second floor of the Hesson Hardware Company Building on

Commercial Street in Elko.98 Tremewan did not remain in Elko long. In April of 1911, he moved to Gold

Creek upon the direction of the District Forester who felt the headquarters should be closer to the forest 

users.99 This was also in preparation for the establishment of the Ruby Mountains as a separate forest. 

Tremewan resigned in 1913 and was replaced by Scipha Bert “Doc” Arthur, a dentist by profession, who

came from the District Four office.100

In 1916, probably in response to the pending consolidation of the Humboldt, Ruby and Santa Rosa forests,

the Supervisor’s Office was relocated to Elko, occupying the second floor of the Title Guarantee and Trust

Building on Idaho Street.101

SANTA ROSA NATIONAL FOREST, 1911-17 

The designation of the Santa Rosa range as a national forest was a response to sheep migration to the

area in the 1900s. Sheep outfits headed west from the Independence and Bruneau areas after these were

established as national forests in 1906 and 1909 respectively. In 1910, 112 locals responded to the 

situation by submitting a petition for the creation of a forest on the Santa Rosa mountain range. The

petition used rather dramatic language in describing the "influx of tramp herders and non-citizen

shepherds." The petitioners noted that the "evil is being felt so keenly that it is rapidly decreasing the cattle

and horse industry."102 

That year, Regional Land Examiner Herbert E. Woolley prepared a report on the proposed forest. 

Because the area was isolated, he recommended it be designated a separate national forest with

 96 William Winter, “Report on the Proposed Elk Mountain Addition to the Humboldt National Forest, 1909” TMs [photocopy], p. 7, Elko 

Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 97 Victor O. Goodwin, "The Humboldt Forest -- A Kaleidoscope of Men and Events in the Service of the American People, n.d." TMs 

[photocopy], p. 4, Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 98 Ibid. 

99 Ibid., 5. 

100 Ibid., 8. 101 Ibid., 9. 102 “Petition to the Honorable, the U.S. Senators of the State of Nevada, Francis G. Newlands, George S. Nixon, Washington, D.C., 20 

January 1910” [photocopy]. Winnemucca Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service.

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 FOREST OVERVIEW - 37
headquarters in the town of Paradise. Until the headquarters could be established there, Woolley 

suggested that the forest be administered as part of the Toiyabe National Forest until June 30, 1911.

Once a forest supervisor was set up in Paradise, he stated, two permanent rangers and one or two 

temporary men during summer would be needed to administer the forest. He recommended that the two

permanent men be based at Paradise and National.103

In Washington, Chief Forester Graves questioned the legitimacy of the petitioners' intent. He felt they were

seeking protection of their own interests, rather than of the watershed. Woolley responded by agreeing

that, while that may true, the Santa Rosa water sources were in "urgent need of protection" and

designation of the forest was justified.104 District Forester Sherman responded bluntly: 

Personally I would rather very much not to be bothered with the Santa Rosa Forest and 

should it be possible to give the people protection within a year or two through the 

medium of some other law, I would be very glad to see it done. However, I would regret 

to see injury done in a year or two which it might take twenty years to remedy, particularly 

when we have it within your own power to prevent this and when cases identical to this

have been and are properly covered by legal authority already granted us.105

Sherman approved Woolley's recommendation and on April 1, 1911, President Taft created the Santa

Rosa National Forest. Winifred W. Blakeslee was its first and only Forest Supervisor, working from 

Winnemucca until December 1911 when he transferred to Paradise Valley. Blakeslee was an engineer 

and he used his skills well in posting boundaries. He later served as Forest Supervisor of the Toiyabe 

National Forest and worked in the Regional Office as an administrative assistant in the Division of 

Engineering. He died October 15, 1942 after 34 years of service. 

RUBY NATIONAL FOREST, 1912 – 17 

As noted previously, the Ruby Mountains Division of the Humboldt National Forest was separated and

established as the Ruby National Forest in 1912. At that time, lands north of Overland Pass were added.

James M. Ryan, the only Forest Supervisor of the Ruby National Forest, established his headquarters at

Lamoille. In the spring of 1913, he moved his office to a small frame residence on Idaho Street in Elko,

living with his family a short distance east of the office.106 A year later, he moved to Deeth where he rented

an office from Charles Lewis, an old Deeth-to-Charleston freighter.107

Shortly before the forest merged with the Humboldt National Forest in 1917, Ryan carried out land

classification examinations and noted the ranger stations that had been withdrawn: Wiseman, Fort

Halleck, Lamoille, Minola, and Harrison Pass. At that time, the forest consisted of 434,880.94 acres 

(90,950.55 were alienated). It was used by 150 permittees and provided summer range for 35,500 sheep

and 16,400 cattle and horses. 

 103 Herbert E. Woolley, “Favorable Report on the Proposed Santa Rosa National Forest, Nevada, July 1910” TMs, [photocopy], p. 12, 

Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 104 H.E. Woolley to District Forester, 22 September 1910. 105 District Forester E.A. Sherman to The Forester, 21 October 1910. 106 Goodwin, “The Humboldt Forest,” 6. 107 Ibid. and Nevada State Herald, 29 May 1914. 

FORESTOVERVIEW - 38 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
CONSOLIDATION 

AND ADJUSTMENT, 

1917-29 

Under an Executive Order 

signed June 6, 1916, the 

Humboldt National Forest 

absorbed the Ruby and 

Santa Rosa national

forests, effective July 1,

1917. James Ryan was 

offered the Forest

Supervisor’s position. He 

turned it down, choosing to

stay on as a ranger on the 

Ruby Mountains Division. 

The position was filled by

the Toiyabe Forest 

Supervisor, Vernon Metcalf,

in July of 1916. Santa

Rosa Supervisor Blakeslee

transferred to the Toiyabe

to replace Metcalf. 

The rangers’ primary work

was the posting of

boundaries and

classification of lands on

the forest, which now 

consisted of four divisions: 

the Ruby Mountains, Santa 

Rosa, Elk Mountain and 

Humboldt divisions. The

classification activities

resulted in more 

eliminations and additions 

of forest lands. Land

around the south end of the 

Santa Rosa range was 

eliminated in 1917. Two 

years later, a two-mile strip 

between the Elk Mountain

addition and Pole Creek 

that served as a cattle 

driveway was added, while land from the Ruby Mountains Division was eliminated. 

With the 1917 consolidation, the Ruby Mountains Division retained its two districts but the three districts of

the Santa Rosa Division were combined to form two. In 1919, the old Jarbidge and Pole Creek (including

the Elk Mountain Division) districts were merged to form the present Jarbidge district.

108 The Rebel Creek 

and Paradise districts of the Santa Rosa Division were consolidated in 1922 to form the present Santa

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 FOREST OVERVIEW - 39

 108 Goodwin, “The Humboldt Forest,” 12. 

Map of the Ruby National Forest, 1912
Rosa Ranger District.109 In 1923, the Humboldt National Forest had eight district rangers, each covering

an average of 187,000 acres.110

NEVADA NATIONAL FOREST 

As in other parts of the state, overgrazing and conflicts between sheepmen and cattle ranchers arose in

east-central Nevada. The situation was recorded in 1906 by Forest Service examiners and later by a

Forest Supervisor who wrote, “The area now enclosed within the exterior boundary of the [White Pine]

district was fully stocked with sheep and cattle and over run with wild horses at the time the forest was 

created in 1909.”111

Under the direction of L. Von Wernstedt, Forest Service examiners inspected lands in east-central Nevada

for designation as forest reserves. Von Wernstedt reported on the surveys, which took place in 1906,

noting that the agricultural, ranching, and mining activities in the area were on a small scale.112 He also

stated that the ranchers favored the creation of the forest reserves but the sheepmen did not.113

Von Wernstedt proposed that the Ely, Steptoe, Osceola, and Snake forest reserves be created, although 

he noted that there was no “strong argument” or “immediate urgent need” to establish them right away.114 

He recommended that two rangers be based in Ely to administer the forests, one of whom would be an

Acting Forest Supervisor, “preferably a Ranger or a man that could be occupied with planting work when 

not otherwise busy.”115

The Acting Secretary of the Interior temporarily withdrew land for the proposed Osceola Forest Reserve on 

September 1, 1906. This withdrawal represented a consolidation of the Osceola and Snake reserves

proposed by Von Wernstedt and consisted of 270,720 acres on three divisions.116 President Roosevelt 

made the withdrawal permanent on February 20,1909 when he established the Nevada National Forest 

(NNF). The new forest encompassed most of the area that Von Wernstedt had recommended earlier for 

four forest reserves. 

In early 1911, the Forest Service completed more surveys of the Nevada National Forest. As a result,

areas were eliminated or added and boundaries were adjusted to protect watershed and grazing lands, as

well as to provide better fire protection.

117 Another reason was described by Forest Examiner Robert R.

Reynolds in a report dated June 20, 1911:

[The adjustments] consist merely in bringing the present boundaries down to the foot of 

the steep mountain slopes for the purpose of easy administration. While some of the

lands thus included are not intrinsically valuable for forest purposes, and would not come 

in under either rule, yet the reasons for making the additions are perfectly valid and are

approved without exception.118

 109 Ibid., 10a. 110 US Department of Agriculture, Intermountain District Forest Statistics, 11. 111 Foyer Olsen, “History of White Pine Division, 19 March 1941” TMs [photocopy], p. 9, Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, 

USDA Forest Service. 112 Unrau, 239. 113 Ibid. 114 Ibid. 115 Ibid., 240. 116 Ibid., 240-41. 117 Ibid., 245. 118 Ibid., 246-47. 

FORESTOVERVIEW - 40 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
These adjustments, which were signed by the President on October 28, 1912, resulted in the doubling of 

the Mount Moriah Division, eliminations and additions to the Snake, Schell Creek, Ward, and White Pine

divisions, and creation of the Quinn Canyon Division, which included the Troy and Quinn ranges.

119 More

boundary changes were made official by President Wilson on January 25, 1919 when land was eliminated

so that it would be available for homesteading.120 

In 1916, the 1.2 million-acre Nevada National Forest was administered from Ely by a forest supervisor, a 

clerk and four rangers. There were four ranger districts on five divisions: the Schell Creek, Mount Moriah,

Snake Creek, Quinn Canyon and White Pine divisions.121 There were still four rangers in 1923, each 

covering average areas of 304,000 acres.122

The main activities on the forest consisted primarily of mining and stock raising, with an estimated 5,255 

cattle and 50,280 sheep grazing on the forest in 1915.123 In addition, stockmen relied on water from the

forest to irrigate hay fields. The mining communities of Ruth and Kimberley, as well as others at Hamilton, 

Taylor, Osceola, and Tungsten, also needed the water for their operations. 

The NNF saw recreational use in its early years as many campers and sportsman from the mining 

communities took advantage of its “ideal camping sites with fishing and hunting.”

124 On the Snake 

Division, recreational users enjoyed the Wheeler Peak area, which included Lehman Caves. The caves, 

discovered by Absalom Lehman in 1885, were a popular site and were designated a national monument 

on January 24, 1922. By the mid-1920s, the Forest Service had built a campground several miles above

the caves on Lehman Creek.

125 

ADMINISTRATION 

ORGANIZATION

As discussed previously, Chief Forester Pinchot divided the Forest Service into six inspection districts in

1907. As administration from Washington proved cumbersome, Pinchot once again directed a reorganization in an effort to decentralize administration. Effective December 1, 1908, the six inspection 

districts were transformed into field headquarters or “districts” headed by District Foresters.126 Each

headquarters was organized in a manner similar to the Washington Office with a law office, operations

division (which included engineering), grazing division, products division and silviculture division.

127 This

move toward decentralization gave Forest Supervisors more freedom in making decisions. It also led to

changing duties and more paperwork for the field staff.128

The various forests that now form the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest were in Districts Four and Five.

The Intermountain District, or District Four, included Utah and parts of Arizona, Idaho, Wyoming and 

Nevada. With the creation of District Four in 1908, the headquarters was moved from Salt Lake City to

Ogden, which was designated the supply center for all six districts because it was a starting point for the

 119 Larson, 1917. 120 Unrau, 247. 121 Ibid., 248. 122 Intermountain District Forest Statistics, 11. 123 George C. Larson, “History of the Nevada National Forest, 1917” TMs [photocopy], Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, 

USDA Forest Service. 124 Ibid. 125 Unrau, 275. 126 Additional districts were created in 1914 (Eastern District), 1921 (Alaska District) and 1929 (North Central District). In 1934, the 

Eastern Region was divided into two regions. 127 Alexander, The Rise of Multiple-Use Management, 34. 128 Ibid., 37. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 FOREST OVERVIEW - 41
railway shipments heading east, west and north. Prior to that time, all supplies were sent from the

Washington Office, resulting in long delays.

129 

Clyde Leavitt was the first District Forester for the new District Four, serving from 1908 to 1910. He was 

followed by Edward A. Sherman (1910-15), Leon F. Kneipp (1915-20), and Richard H. Rutledge (1920-

38). In District Five, which encompassed California and western Nevada, Frederick E. Olmsted’s title was

changed from Chief Inspector to District Forester with the 1908 re-organization. He continued to operate

from San Francisco, as did his successors: Coert DuBois (1911-19), Paul G. Redington (1919-26), and

Stuart B. Show (1926-46). 

FOREST OFFICERS 

At the forest level, a forest supervisor was often 

assisted by a deputy forest supervisor, an assistant

or an examiner, and a clerk, all of whom were

permanent civil servants. The assistant, who could 

be promoted to examiner, was a technical person

who mapped forest areas, surveyed forest

boundaries, carried out planting work, and managed

timber applications and sales.130 Like the rangers,

he also needed practical experience in riding, 

construction, surveying, and cooking.131

The forest ranger oversaw work on the smallest

administrative unit, the ranger district. Ranger 

districts were created around 1908 and were

organized around grazing units.132 The number of

days the ranger spent carrying out his duties, which

was done on horseback, depended on the size of

his district. By 1915, the average size of a district

was 60,000 acres although they could be larger

when permitted by good travel and

communication.

133 As noted in a 1928 manual: 

Rangers Matthews and Humes, Gold Creek, 

Humboldt National Forest, 1919 

The district ranger is primarily a field man rather than an office worker. Since the district 

ranger is in charge of from 50,000 to over 300,000 acres and his job is primarily a field 

job, it is evident that his work calls for much travel, and that he must expect to spend 

much time away from home.134

The 1915 Use Book stated “The most successful rangers are usually those who have been brought up in

timber work or on ranches or farms, and who are thoroughly familiar, through long residence, with the

region in which they are employed."135 

 129 Ibid., 34. 130 Boerker, 34 and US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, The Use Book. A Manual for Users of the National Forests

(Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1915), 14. 131 Boerker, 35. 132 Gerald W. Williams, 19. 133 US Department of Agriculture, The Use Book (1915), 15. 134 US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, The National Forest Manual: Regulations and Instructions (n.p.: July 1928), 4-A. 135 US Department of Agriculture, The Use Book (1915), 15. 

FORESTOVERVIEW - 42 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
Rangers were still required to pass Civil Service exams. On September 30, 1914, the Humboldt Star

announced exams for Assistant Forest Ranger were to be given at the forest headquarters in Paradise 

Valley, Gold Creek, Ely, Deeth and Austin. Candidates were still required to be between 21 and 40 years 

of age and that “practical experience rather than book learning is the first requirement.” The applicants,

according to the newspaper announcement, should be able to make maps and write intelligibly. Those 

who were hired would receive an annual salary of $1100. If hired on a permanent basis, rangers would be

provided headquarters (cabin, barn and shed) with some agricultural land to raise food for their families

and domestic animals. The ranger exams were discontinued after 1929.

136

The language in the 1928 Forest Manual was a bit more refined than the 1906 Use Book. Instead of 

declaring, "invalids need not apply," the manual directed rangers to be “young, of rugged physique, and in

good mental and physical health.” They needed a certain amount of schooling, preferably a high school 

education, and training, either under another district ranger or in a Forest Service training camp. The

manual emphasized technical training, which could be acquired while working as a guard or assistant 

ranger between school terms. Among his various duties, the district ranger also served as a part-time 

builder who was "skilled in the use of the tools and equipment of a woodsman.”

137 When he was not

carrying out administrative tasks, he was expected to construct improvements and/or “personally supervise

improvement work and other crews.”

138

The 1928 Forest Manual described the recommended life of a district ranger beyond his work duties: 

The district ranger should by all means consider himself a part of the community in which 

he is located and take part in community affairs to the fullest extent compatible with his

duties and the legal and departmental limitations on political activity. He should be 

content to raise his family in the village or isolated locality where the headquarters of

district rangers are often necessarily located. 

As a rule the district ranger’s prestige, and therefore his usefulness, increases with the 

length of stay in, and consequent firmer establishment of himself as part of the 

community. For this reason frequent transfers are not desirable. On the other hand,

transfers may become advisable for several reasons: (1) To a more responsible position 

or more important district, or a district where a man with certain qualifications is needed;

(3) to get a man out of a rut, or prevent his getting into one; (3) to broaden a man’s 

training, for advancement. By successful service on a less desirable ranger district a man

acquires a right to be considered for vacancies on more desirable districts.139

The manual did not mention some of the social hardships that the ranger experienced. He and his wife,

who was often expected to be an unpaid Forest Service employee, typically experienced challenges from 

living in isolation. As a result, some couples divorced or transferred to a less remote location.

140 Rangers'

children developed initiative in creating their own entertainment, but they also suffered from a lack of social

skills.141 

An unsung hero of the Forest Service was the ranger’s wife. Although unpaid, these women were 

expected to carry out many support duties. Many served as camp cooks, clerks, and telephone operators.

After a fire destroyed the Hankins-Gregory store in Jiggs, Nevada, the wife of Ranger Jack Mink acted as

 136 Charles D. Simpson and E.R. Jackman, Blazing Forest Trails (Caldwell, Idaho: The Caxton Printers, Ltd., 1967), 32. 137 US Department of Agriculture, The National Forest Manual (1928), 5-A. 138 Ibid. 139 Ibid., 4-A. 140 R. T. King, The Free Life of a Ranger. Archie Murchie in the U.S. Forest Service, 1929-1965 (Reno: University of Nevada Oral 

History Program, 1991), 193. 141 Ibid., 201. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 FOREST OVERVIEW - 43
postmistress at the Jiggs Ranger Station.

142 Ranger Basil Crane, of the Potts District in central Nevada, 

was gone nearly three weeks out of every month. When his wife did not accompany him, she carried out

unpaid Forest Service work. During the Depression, her duties included picking up the WPA crews in town 

– a chore she didn’t care for since the men were usually scattered throughout the town’s thirteen bars.

143 

Some wives served in the capacity of a deputy or assistant ranger, by preparing reports, inspecting the

forests, and fighting fires. A wife who did not perform these unofficial duties adequately was seen as

holding back her husband and even hurting his career.

144

Some progress was made with the employment of the first female in 1913. Hallie Morse Daggett worked

as a fire lookout on the California forests. More women were hired in this capacity in response to a labor

shortage during World War I and the suffrage movement that led to a woman's right to vote in 1920. The

latter contributed to the Forest Service's decision to open ranger examinations to women in 1921. This 

action was reported in a Region Four bulletin that stated: 

Doubtless the reason for the Civil Service Commission throwing down the bars was the

recent enfranchisement of the women of the country. They may also have reasoned that 

having women lookouts we might also use women Rangers.145

In addition to receiving help from their wives, the rangers were assisted during the field season by

temporary employees such as guards, field assistants or laborers, who were not classified as civil 

servants. More of these seasonal employees were hired as fire control became a priority after 1910.146 In 

1917, there were around 1100 rangers assisted by over 900 forest guards and assistant rangers.

147 

These men were typically local residents who held other jobs during the rest of the year.148

 142 Edna B. Patterson, Louise A. Ulph, and Victor Goodwin, Nevada’s Northeast Frontier (Sparks, NV: Western Printing and Publishing 

Company, 1969), 477. 143 Basil K. Crane, “Dust from an Alkali Flat, 1981'' TMs [photocopy], p. 30, Forest Service Heritage Center, Weber State University,

Ogden, Utah. 144 Lee F. Pendergrass, “Dispelling Myths: Women’s Contributions to the Forest Service in California,” Forest & Conservation History

34, no. 1 (January 1990), 18. 145 US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, District Four, Alumni Bulletin (April 1921), 24, original located at the Forest Service 

Heritage Center, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah. 146 James B. Adams, “Use of Telephone on the National Forests,” speech delivered before the Telephone Society of New York on 16 

February 1915, transcript, p. 24, Forest Service Heritage Center, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah. 147 Boerker, 36-37. 148 Adams, 24. 

Mono Forest Supervisor William Maule, Ranger Henry Atcheson (Bridgeport), Hans Jepson (Clerk), Ranger 

Wallace Green (Leevining), Ranger William Clark (Markleeville), and Furman Prudenciado (Janitor), 1920. 

Photo from Wynne Maule.

FORESTOVERVIEW - 44 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
FIRE MANAGEMENT 

Fire management was given little attention until after the severe fire season of 1910 that killed 85 people 

and burned three million acres in Idaho and Montana. The Weeks Act was passed in 1911, authorizing

and funding federal and state cooperation in forestry and fire protection. That same year, California’s 

District Forester Coert DuBois developed a fire plan with the Stanislaus National Forest as a model. His 

plan included a network of lookout points on mountaintops. He expanded his plan in a 1914 document

titled, “Systematic Fire Protection in the California Forests,” which served as a basis for fire control in

California. 

Fire research and management became more scientific and many of DuBois’ ideas were implemented

outside of California. Nationally, lookout networks were established, often with lookout cabs and towers 

built at key points. Forest rangers and guards constructed telephone lines that linked the lookouts with the

ranger stations. They also placed caches of fire tools around the forests and reached agreements with

local ranchers, companies, mines and settlers to help fight fires.149 

Advances were made in the 1920s. In 1921, a central dispatch system was set up on the Weiser National

Forest to facilitate a quick response to reported fires. The Clarke-McNary Act was passed in 1924 to

supplement the Weeks Act by expanding federal assistance to state forestry programs. More state

forestry programs were established and research stations experimented with fire suppression and 

detection techniques. The 1920s also saw the adoption of standard firefighting techniques in Region Four

with the publication of a fire control manual.150

SNOW SURVEYING 

By 1911, Dr. J.E. Church had refined his technique for predicting summer water supplies by measuring the 

water content of snow. He knew that this information was crucial in an arid state such as Nevada, 

particularly for agricultural pursuits. Church described his innovative measuring instruments, sampling

techniques, and a snow course survey system in a 1926 report: 

The basic principle of snow surveying is the determining of the relative water content of 

the snow cover at the beginning of the spring run-off. This can be done with certainty

only by ascertaining the water content of the snow rather than its depth or the seasonal 

precipitation measured storm by storm. 

The snow sampler, which records the water content of the snow directly on a dial by 

weighing, can be driven to a depth of twenty feet or more, and has penetrated the

deepest snow yet found in the snow study of the Sierra. A specially adapted toothed 

cutter makes it possible to cut thru [sic] thin crusts of ice and penetrate the upper layers of

congealed snow on glaciers. 

Since the snow falls more or less uniformly over wide area, it is necessary only to 

maintain a few snow courses in each basin or group of closely situated basins. These 

courses consist of 20 to 40 measurements, usually 50 feet apart, maintained unchanged

in the same place from year to year. The average water content of several annual

 149 Alexander, The Rise of Multiple-Use Management, 66. 150 Ibid. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 FOREST OVERVIEW - 45
measurements made as the mean from which to estimate the seasonal percentage for 

the current year.151

Through Church’s efforts and the cooperation of numerous state and federal agencies, snow surveying 

spread throughout the Sierra Nevada and the Great Basin in the 1920s. By that time numerous power 

companies and water control entities in Washington, Idaho, New York, Canada, Norway and Switzerland 

had also adopted Church’s innovative techniques to manage their hydrological resources. 

The international significance of Church’s work is indisputable and a 1944 newspaper article described him 

as the “world’s leading snow scientist and inventor of the principal snow survey and forecasting system

used in almost every nation of the world.”

152 Not only did Church serve as Chairman of the International 

Commission on Snow and Ice, but he was also invited by the governments of India and Argentina to set up

snow surveys in those countries.

153

Before he became so well known, Church’s work focused on the watersheds of Nevada. In 1926, he

wrote that some of the basins where snow surveys were first carried out included the Lake Tahoe, Carson, 

and Mokelumne basins.154 That year, the Forest Service issued a permit to Church for construction of a 

snow survey cabin, on the condition that the agency's ranger could use it for administrative purposes. The 

log structure, known as the Buckeye Snow Cabin, still stands in the Hoover Wilderness Area on the 

Bridgeport Ranger District. 

Eventually, many forest rangers carried out snow surveys on the national forests, using skis or snowshoes.

Records indicate that the earliest measurements on the Humboldt National Forest were taken during the

winter of 1918-19 at three stations: Gold Creek, Harrison Pass, and Martin Creek. Two more courses 

were added in 1920-21 at North Fork and Lower Jack Creek, followed by two more in Lamoille Canyon the 

following year.155

EXPERIMENT STATIONS 

In the early 1900s, there was considerable concern about the watershed, range and forest management in

the West. Realizing that research was necessary to form a scientific basis of land stewardship, the Forest 

Service set up several forest experiment stations. The first was established in 1908 on the Coconino

National Forest in Arizona. Other stations were soon created in Colorado, Idaho, Washington, California, 

and Utah.

156

The Utah Experiment Station was established in 1912 in response to serious flooding originating in the

Wasatch Mountains. Charged with a mission to carry out research on watershed management, the station 

was established a few miles east of Ephraim on the Manti National Forest. The Utah Experiment Station 

site was quickly cleared and buildings were constructed to accommodate the researchers. In 1918, its 

 151 J.E. Church, “Nevada Cooperative Snow Surveys, 3 January 1926'' TMs [photocopy], p. 2, Carson City and Elko Offices, HumboldtToiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 152 “Snow Scientist Tells Philosophy,” Reno Evening Gazette, 11 May 1944. 153 Harold E. Klieforth, “James Edward Church: Snowman of Nevada, n.d.'' TMs [photocopy], p. 6-7, Carson City and Elko Offices, 

Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 154 Church, “Nevada Cooperative Snow Surveys,” 3. 155 “M – STUDIES – Snow Surveys,” closed files located in Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 156 US Department of Agriculture, “Highlights in the History of Forest Conservation,” 8. 

FORESTOVERVIEW - 46 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
name was changed to the Great Basin Experiment Station157 to avoid confusion with the experiment 

station at the Utah Agricultural College (Logan).158

Researchers quickly learned that the flooding was tied to grazing and range management, and research

was defined accordingly. In 1928, Regional Forester Rutledge reported, “Range management research is

confined largely to three stations of the Forest Service, - the Great Basin Experiment Station in the 

intermountain region, a smaller station each in New Mexico and Arizona . . .”159 Rutledge described the 

operation of the Great Basin Experiment Station and its sub-stations: 

In the Forest Service a forest experiment station has gradually come to mean a group of

technical men with the necessary clerical and non-technical assistants working on the

problems of the management of forest lands for an entire region. This technical force has 

a convenient central headquarters from which all parts of the region may be reached with

the greatest possible facility. At this headquarters there is or will be located such

permanent laboratories as are needed. Certain phases of the work is done at suitable 

substations where a large number of individual sample plots and investigative projects

may be concentrated in one place. 

This class of work will require the permanent residence of a non-technical force and

housing facilities for a technical force, as well as necessary field laboratory, nursery, and 

such other equipment as are needed.160

In 1928, the McSweeney-McNary Forestry Research Act was passed, authorizing the establishment of

regional experiment stations. Although the other regions had already set up their stations, it was two years 

before Region Four’s Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station was created. 

 157 The Great Basin Research Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995 and is now known as the Great 

Basin Environmental Education Center. 158 Wendell M. Keck, Great Basin Station – Sixty Years of Progress in Range and Watershed Research, USDA Forest Service 

Research Paper INT-118 (Ogden, Utah: USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, February

1972), 1. 159 R.H. Rutledge, “Forest Research,” lecture given at the Idaho Forest School, 1928, transcript, p. 8, located at the Forest Service

Heritage Center, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah. 160 Ibid., 10-11. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 FOREST OVERVIEW - 47
Chapter Three: 1930-1942, The New Deal Era 

HISTORICAL SETTING 

This period is marked by the tremendous effect of the Great Depression on the nation. Although the Wall 

Street crash of 1929 was not felt immediately in non-industrial states of the West,161 it was not long before

people suffered as unemployment rates rose. Under his New Deal administration, President Franklin D. 

Roosevelt implemented numerous relief programs. Federal agencies, including the Forest Service, were

charged with administering these programs, most notably the Civilian Conservation Corps. This resulted in

increased funding and larger labor pools that allowed the Forest Service to construct numerous 

improvements and carry out a significant amount of conservation work.

CHANGES TO THE FORESTS 

During this time, the areas of the national forests increased, with much of the land acquired by purchase. 

President Roosevelt saw public lands as a critical factor in the success of his relief employment programs

and sought authorization to acquire more.162 During the first three years of the New Deal, forest purchase

appropriations were 76% more than appropriations between 1911 and 1932.163

Most of the Nevada forests were expanded according to provisions of the Weeks Act and other land

acquisition acts with the consent of the State. In 1937, 1939 and 1947, the Nevada legislature authorized 

Federal purchases of lands such as the critical watersheds along the Sierra Front above Reno, Verdi,

Carson City and Minden that were overgrazed and deforested. Some Nevada congressmen and the

livestock industry opposed these acquisitions, but much of the public -- especially supporters of watershed 

rehabilitation -- was in favor.164

MONO AND TOIYABE NATIONAL FORESTS 

The Toiyabe National Forest experienced a significant event when it was eliminated on July 1, 1932 and its 

lands were transferred to the Nevada National Forest. Chet Olsen, the Toiyabe’s Forest Supervisor at 

Austin, moved to Ely, which served as headquarters for the consolidated forest.

165 This apparently proved

to be an undesirable arrangement. Six years later, in 1938, the Toiyabe National Forest was reestablished with Alexander McQueen as Forest Supervisor at Reno. The Kingston, Reese River, and 

Potts districts reverted to the Toiyabe, which also gained the Santa Rosa District from the Humboldt

National Forest. 

The Hoover Wild Area was established in 1931,166 but there were few other changes to the Mono National 

Forest in the 1930s. After nearly 30 years as Forest Supervisor, William Maule retired in 1938. His 

successor, D.M. “Kelly” Traugh, moved his office from Minden to Reno where efforts were made to place

 161 Hartley and Schneck, 17. 162 Ibid. 163 Ibid. 164 Alexander, The Rise of Multiple-Use Management, 134-35. 165 "History of the Toiyabe National Forest." 166 The only other wilderness area designated before the Wilderness Act of 1964 was the Jarbidge Wild Area on the Humboldt National 

Forest in 1958. Alexander, The Rise of Multiple-Use Management, 113. 

FORESTOVERVIEW - 48 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
him in the same building as Toiyabe Supervisor McQueen with the idea of eventually consolidating the two

forests. This did not occur immediately. In 1939, the Mono Supervisor’s Office was located in the First 

National Bank Building at Second and Virginia streets. The following year, the two supervisors moved into

the H.E. Saviers Building at 216 W. Second Street.167

As usual, the configuration of the forests continued to fluctuate. On April 1, 1940, lands from the Tahoe

National Forest in Nevada and California were transferred to the Mono National Forest. This action led to 

the creation of the Carson Ranger District from the northern part of the Alpine District and the Tahoe’s 

Truckee Ranger District. As described in one newspaper account, the transferred area included “the Dog 

Valley fireman station, State Line Peak lookout station, the country west of Verdi, and the area of the 

Casey logging operations.”

168 One reason for the transfer is that Nevada stockmen were the primary 

grazers of the ranges there.169

HUMBOLDT NATIONAL FOREST 

During this period, the Supervisor’s Office of the Humboldt National Forest remained in Elko. Forest 

Supervisors were Alexander McQueen (1923-38) and Alfred R. Torgerson (1938-57). The forest was split 

into five ranger districts with the following locations as headquarters:

District Headquarters

Independence Mountain City 

Gold Creek Gold Creek

Jarbidge Jarbidge 

Ruby Lamoille 

Paradise Paradise Valley170

The Paradise District, commonly known as the Santa Rosa Division, was transferred to the newly reestablished Toiyabe National Forest in 1938. There were no other significant changes to the Humboldt 

National Forest during this period. 

NEVADA NATIONAL FOREST 

As mentioned previously, the Nevada National Forest absorbed the Toiyabe National Forest in 1932. The

Supervisor’s Office remained in Ely and it was administered as seven districts: 

District Headquarters

Baker Baker 

Currant Ely 

Spring Valley Aurum 

Manhattan Manhattan 

Potts Potts

Reese River Reese River 

Kingston Austin171

 167 “Forest Offices in New Building,” Reno Evening Gazette, 29 April 1940. 168 “Mono Forest Area Boosted,” Nevada State Journal, 27 March 1940. 169 “Ibid. 170 US Department of Agriculture, Directory Forest Service (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1933). 171 Ibid. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 FOREST OVERVIEW - 49
In 1933, the Manhattan District Ranger position was vacant and records indicate the district may have

been absorbed by the Reese River Ranger District by 1934. The Currant and Spring Valley districts were

re-organized or renamed as the White Pine and Ely districts (date unknown). Another district was added 

on July 1, 1937 when the Charleston Mountain Division was transferred from the Dixie National Forest. 

This was in response to locals who wanted the area to be administered from Nevada rather than Utah.

172 

There were several Forest Supervisors during this period. Chet Olsen served from 1932 to 1934 when he

was replaced by George C. Larson. Larson left in 1938 and Alexander McQueen acted as Forest 

Supervisor for a few months until Alonzo E. Briggs arrived. Briggs remained until 1945. 

During this era, the Forest Service sought to increase watershed protection by purchasing additional land

for the Nevada National Forest. In 1941, former Forest Supervisor Olsen reported: 

Starting in 1938 a land acquisition program was initiated to acquire the Adams-McGill 

Company lands on the White Pine Division. These lands covered a total acreage of 

5,670 acres and were so located that they largely controlled the water on a large portion

of the district. The strategic location of these lands surrounded by Government lands, 

made it evident that they should be purchased and controlled by the Forest Service for 

protection and management.

173

ADMINISTRATION 

In 1930, the District Headquarters were renamed Regional Offices, partly to avoid confusion with the

smaller administrative units known as Ranger Districts. District Foresters became Regional Foresters and,

by 1934, they were supervising ten regions across the country.174 

The Great Depression and subsequent relief programs affected the roles and duties of forest personnel. 

As emergency funds and labor became available, rangers were relieved from construction work and could

direct their attentions to forest planning, protection and management. Some forest officials became

involved with the relief work crews as foremen, supervisors and liaison officers. More emphasis was 

placed on technical ability as a condition of employment. A forestry or range management degree was

required and technical skills were valued over practical experience and general skills.

Some Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) men became enamored with working on the forests and joined 

the Forest Service. Basil Crane, a Toiyabe ranger, served in the CCC at Paris, Idaho before attending 

Utah State Agricultural College where he earned his forestry degree. He began working in 1938 at the 

Potts Ranger Station, later going to the Reese River Ranger Station and Tonopah.175

 172 "History of the Toiyabe National Forest." 173 Olsen, 10. 174 There are now nine regions. There is no longer a Region 7; it was eliminated and divided between Regions 8 and 9 in 1965-66. 175 Crane, 1. 

FORESTOVERVIEW - 50 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
THE DEPRESSION AND RELIEF PROGRAMS 

THE BEGINNING 

As the Great Depression developed, fear and panic gripped the nation. Lines at soup kitchens grew, as

did the number of homeless and unemployed. Work was desperately needed and the population

clamored for relief from its desperate situation. 

Presidential candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt cared deeply for the land and was a staunch supporter of

conservation. As New York governor, he set up a relief program of tree-planting work by 10,000 

unemployed people in 1932. He envisioned a similar program on a much larger scale to combat the 

unemployment situation in the nation, including other relief programs as part of his campaign platform.

Within days of being elected, Roosevelt set about implementing them. One program addressed

conservation work and came to be known as the Civilian Conservation Corps.

The concept of “soil soldiers” or a peacetime army of conservation workers was not new. It was previously 

implemented in some northern European countries and examined in an essay titled “Moral Equivalent to

War” by Harvard professor William James. In response to high unemployment and a severe fire season, 

the State of California implemented a work corps program in late 1931, giving its management to the 

Forest Service.

176 

Roosevelt was responsible for implementing a nationwide program. Chief Forester Robert Stuart and 

some presidential cabinet members helped draft the bill that Roosevelt signed on April 5, 1933. The law 

created the Emergency Conservation Work (ECW) with Robert Fechner as director. Although it was not 

officially named the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) until June 28, 1937, the program was referred to as 

such in its early years. Other relief programs followed and included the Works Progress Administration,

created in 1935. 

ADMINISTRATION OF THE CCC 

Administering the CCC was a complex affair involving multiple agencies. The Department of Labor was 

responsible for recruitment while the War Department was given the duty of training the CCC enrollees.

There were nine corps areas, each commanded by a one- or two-star general. (The nearest corps 

headquarters to Nevada were located in San Francisco and Denver.) The corps areas were divided into

districts, with headquarters at certain army posts. The individual camps were commanded by an army

officer, who was typically a captain or first lieutenant, assisted by junior officers and some camp enrollee 

leaders. At first, the officers were from the regular army, but reserve officers eventually replaced them.

According to one enrollee, the reserve officers “saved the day” because they were glad to have the steady

work and did not try to run things in the army way.177

The CCC men carried out conservation work under the guidance and supervision of the USDA and DOI.

The agencies within these departments chose work projects based on suitability of character and location.

Camp locations were chosen and assigned a number that indicated the type of camp and the sequence of 

establishment. For example, S-51 was on a state forest, F or NF-4 on a National Forest, P-68 on private

land, E-3 an Erosion Camp, NP-6 a National Park and SP-18 a state park. Each CCC company had a

numbering system that referred to the corps area and the order of formation. For example, Company 973, 

which was stationed in Lamoille Canyon, came from Corps Area 9 and was the 73rd company formed. 

 176 Alison T. Otis, William D. Honey, Thomas C. Hogg, and Kimberly K. Lakin, The Forest Service and the Civilian Conservation Corps: 

1933-42, USDA Forest Service Publication Forest Service-395 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1986), 5. 177 Simpson and Jackman, 268. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 FOREST OVERVIEW - 51
The agencies administered the camps in different ways. The Forest Service generally split each camp,

which was led by a superintendent, into two platoons of 95 or 96 men. These, in turn, were divided into 

three sections, each of which was under the guidance of a foreman. The sections were further split into

subsections that were made up of squads of six or seven and were under the charge of camp enrollees.

178

Many of the foremen were Local Experienced Men (LEM). The requirement that these men be locals

reinforced Roosevelt’s intent to stimulate the local economy as well as involve the community. The LEM 

contributed significantly to the success of the CCC, as noted by one author: 

[They] played a significant role in building construction projects, where knowledge of a

variety of trades was essential. The success of many of these projects was, to a great

extent, due to the experience and oversight of the LEMs.

179

ENROLLMENT 

Young, unemployed, single men were allowed to enlist in the CCC for six-month periods and the response 

was immediate. On April 17, 1933, the first camp was set up near Luray, Virginia on the George

Washington National Forest. Within a few more days, 50 camps on the national forests in the eastern and 

southern United States were approved.180 Eventually, there were camps in every state, as well as in

Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. By July 1, 1933, there were 1,265,000 enrollees 

including 15,000 Native Americans. Later, 25,000 war veterans were added.181

Despite concerns from labor unions and cries from the Socialist and Communist parties that the scheme 

was fascist, the CCC proved to be very popular. Within its first three months, the program was recognized

as the country’s largest peacetime government labor force ever. During the second enrollment period,

many men reenlisted and the number of new enrollees was overwhelming. There were over 300,000 men

in 1,500 camps on the forests and parks by July of 1937.

The President issued an executive order in July of 1934 that allowed a larger enrollment of 350,000 men,

50,000 of whom would be from drought areas. In that year, Army Reserve officers replaced most of the 

regular army officers administering the camps. By the end of this two-year period, the program was 

popular enough to warrant its continuation. This was authorized by the Emergency Relief Appropriations 

Act (ERA) of 1935. After becoming law on April 8, the ERA allowed the continued operation of camps until

March 31, 1937 and provided funding for fifteen months. Roosevelt once again expanded the CCC

program by extending the maximum age limit to 25 and accepting 600,000 enrollees. 

The enrollees had to be single, unemployed American citizens. Many were from the inner city and,

according to some, the CCC probably helped them from going to jail. One commander searched his 

company once a week and often confiscated razors, knives, guns and other weapons.

182 The men were

provided with food, housing, and clothing. They also received $30 per month, most of which was 

automatically sent to the man’s family. 

Remedial education raised the literacy rate of thousands of CCC men. While some received a high school

education, a few pursued college degrees. Vocational training was the emphasis and opportunities in

areas such as carpentry, masonry, landscaping, road building, mechanics, and typing were offered. The

 178 John A. Salmond, The Civilian Conservation Corps, 1933-1942: A New Deal Case Study (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 

1967), 87. 179 Hartley and Schneck, 20. 180 Otis, et.al, 8. 181 Ovid Butler, ed., American Conservation in Picture and Story (Washington, DC: The American Forestry Association, 1935), 131. 182 Simpson and Jackman, 277. 

FORESTOVERVIEW - 52 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
education of the CCC men went beyond practical schooling and technical training. The program sought to

build pride and to reward men for taking on responsibility. It also focused on developing a good work 

attitude and maintaining general fitness. The goal was to provide the enrollee with the skills and

disposition to earn a living after leaving the CCC. 

An unfortunate side to the CCC program was the treatment of African-Americans. Although the law 

forbade discrimination in camp enrollment, it was routinely practiced in the North and South. In a manner

reflective of the time, CCC officials in Georgia went as far as stating that “it is vitally important that Negroes 

remain in the counties for chopping cotton and for planting other produce.”183 In response to pressure from

the federal government, Georgia’s officials agreed to obey the law, but soon returned to their discriminatory

practices. 

States were given the mandate to enroll a certain number of African-Americans but were not required to

integrate the enrollees. This led to a number of segregated camps except in areas where there were too 

few African-Americans to form a camp. In those cases, the men were allowed to be part of the white 

camps. It is not surprising that many white communities exhibited their prejudices by protesting against the

location of African-American camps in their areas. 

THE CAMPS

The enrollees were assigned to a main camp, but in the latter half of 1933, a decision was made to 

establish small sub-camps set apart from the main site. Also known as “spike,” “side,” or “stub” camps,

these allowed peripheral work to be carried out at long distances away from the main camps. These spike

camps quickly proved an efficient way to accomplish work. 

In addition to conservation work, there was a social aspect to camp life. There were opportunities for the

men to participate in religious services, plays, dances, choirs, and sports activities. Lamoille Camp F-1 

participated in the Elko County Fair and traded entertainment with local groups. The Humboldt County 

High School band played at the camp and, in exchange, was treated to a movie and banquet prepared by

the CCC men.

Most CCC camps published newsletters, giving them imaginative names such as Reno Stooge and Saga 

of the Sage. Happy Days, the authorized weekly newspaper of the CCC, was published in Washington,

DC. The writers often discussed their work with humor as reflected in this poem by a Rhode Island 

enrollee: 

STUMPS 

I hope that I shall never see, 

A stump outside the CCC; 

A stump whose wire roots are found 

Deep in the earth’s tenacious ground. 

A stump at which I slave away, 

All during a torrid summer day, 

Stumps are dug by guys like me

And others in the CCC. 

 183 Leslie Alexander Lacy, The Soil Soldiers. The Civilian Conservation Corps in the Great Depression (Radnor, PA: Chilton Book

Company, 1976), 74. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 FOREST OVERVIEW - 53
Camp life was not always easy and the men sometimes endured hardships. In the winter of 1936-37, the

CCC men at Reese River Camp F-7 experienced severe weather, although Camp Advisor Paul Murdock

painted a rosy picture of the situation: 

Completely blocked with snow since December 24th

, with all available coal used up and

the nearest railroad being 180 miles away this company has struggled thru [sic] without a 

serious illness of any kind not anyone suffering for want of food or warmth. The answer

to it all is that every member of Company 2512 has carried sage-brush and small willows 

to keep the kitchen fires burning and to provide fuel for their barracks during the colder

part of the day. With the thermometer reading 43 below zero at times we have managed 

to fight off old king winter real well. . . . All in all we have had a real experience which the 

boys can never forget when they return to their homes in Ohio and Kentucky.184

CCC AND THE FOREST SERVICE 

The extent of projects administered

by the Department of Agriculture,

particularly the Forest Service, was 

extensive. The Forest Service

administered about half of all CCC 

camps, most of which worked on

national, state or private forests.185 

The agency also supervised 

projects for other agencies such as

the Navy Department and the

Tennessee Valley Authority. 

For work on the national forests,

the Forest Service procured and

distributed tools and equipment.186 

The agency also provided project 

superintendents who were typically

experienced Forest Service 

men.187 Under them, the CCC 

men carried out a variety of work,

including forest improvement and protection, soil erosion prevention, and wildlife protection. They were

responsible for half of the forest planting carried out in American history and contributed greatly to fire 

protection. They also established tree nurseries, thinned forests, and battled moths, beetles,

grasshoppers, weevils, blister rust and Dutch elm disease.188

 184 Report by Adviser Paul B. Murdock, receipt stamped 20 February 1937, [photocopy], Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National 

Forest, USDA Forest Service. 185 Salmond, 121. 186 Charles Price Harper, The Administration of the Civilian Conservation Corps (Clarksburg, WV: Clarksburg Publishing Company,

1939), 24-25. 187 Simpson and Jackman, 274. 188 Salmond, 122-23.

CCC crew constructing the Duck Creek-Steptoe Road 

on the Nevada National Forest (now the Ely District) in 1933 

FORESTOVERVIEW - 54 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
By April of 1937, there were 38 CCC camps on Region Four’s 23 national forests. This was half the total 

number of CCC camps carrying out work for the numerous agencies in the Intermountain Region.

189 

Regional Forester Rutledge expressed the significance of the CCC to his region in a 1937 radio address: 

This country is primarily one of agriculture and stock raising. Both of these industries

depend upon irrigation and the necessary water supply for their perpetuity. Assured and

constant water supplies mean watersheds that are protected and maintained in good

condition. Where watersheds have been abused and floods have resulted, the CCC 

have stepped in and are applying the necessary remedies. We have as an example the

work in Davis County and the Willard Canyon areas in Utah. The stockman benefits

further because of the many betterments that are being made on his range allotment. So

the tie or close relationship between the farmer and stockman, or agriculture in general,

with Forest Service work and that of our CCC camps is natural, distinct and important. 

But this is not the whole story – the man in the city, the camper, the fisherman, the hunter,

and others, all are influenced by this work. Recreation improvements, fish planting, road 

and trail construction, tree planting, and the one hundred or more important activities

improve the National Forests and make them more usable and valuable as public 

properties.

190

Of particular significance was the CCC’s construction of numerous forest improvements such as ranger

stations, warehouses, garages, overnight cabins, shelters, shops, campgrounds, roads and trails. Region

Four, which suffered from declining receipts from timber sales and grazing permits, benefited more than 

other regions from the CCC funding and labor. Thanks to its small population and influential politicians, 

Nevada ranked higher than any other state in these expenditures at $213 per capita.

191

NEVADA CAMPS 

Nevada Senators Key Pittman and Patrick McCarran, along with Congressman James Scrugham,

prepared a proposal for Congress requesting the placement of CCC camps throughout Nevada.192 It was

approved and Cecil W. Creel, secretary of the Nevada Relief Committee, was appointed as director of the

reforestation work. Creel was instrumental in the establishment of CCC camps throughout the state.193

By August of 1933, Nevada had four camps containing 800 men.194 Two of the camps were on the 

Humboldt National Forest, while one each was on the Nevada and Dixie forests.195 Although known as

Roosevelt’s “tree army,” the nickname was a misnomer as there was little timber work in the state. Most of

the projects requiring CCC assistance were related to grazing and watershed improvements, construction 

of Forest Service buildings, and insect/animal control. During the severe winter of 1936-37, the CCC 

cleared many miles of snowbound roads in Nevada, saving thousands of sheep and cattle.196

 189 R.H. Rutledge, “Radio Talk by R.H. Rutledge over K.S.L., April 2, 1937, 10:15 P.M. On Occasion of Fourth Anniversary

Observance” TMs [photocopy], p. 2, Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 190 Rutledge, “Radio Talk,” 12-13. 191 Alexander, The Rise of Multiple-Use Management, 104 and Russell R. Elliot, History of Nevada, 2d ed. (Lincoln: University of 

Nebraska Press, 1987), 297. 192 Diana L. Neff, “Civilian Conservation Corps. Elko County: 1933-1942,” Northeastern Nevada Historical Society Quarterly (Winter 

1984), 17. 193 Ibid., 18. 194 Stan Cohen, The Tree Army. A Pictorial History of the Civilian Conservation Corps, 1933-1942 (Missoula, MT: Pictorial Histories 

Publishing Company, 1980), 19. 195 Otis, et.al., 35. 196 “Forest Service Aids Livestock Industry in Winter Months,” The Ely Record, 2 April 1937. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 FOREST OVERVIEW - 55
The impact on Nevada was significant with CCC expenditures of nearly $32 million and over 30,700 

enrollees in an average of 18 camps a year.197 Over seven thousand Nevadans were employed, including 

3,761 junior and veteran enrollees, 970 Native Americans, and 2,328 camp officers and work 

supervisors.198 Of the 54 CCC camps established in Nevada, most were administered by the Division of 

Grazing (now the BLM), but the Forest Service was responsible for the following seven. The companies 

that are known to have occupied the camps are included in the list.199

Camp No. Name Post Office Company Dates 

F-1 Lamoille Lamoille 973 5/22/33-11/13/33 

 Elko 973 4/25/34-11/11/34 

 973 5/10/35-10/31/35 

 2512 6/3/36-10/31/36

 1212 5/10/40-7/18/40

 6433 7/19/40-10/24/40 

F-2 Paradise (Site #1) Paradise Valley 1348* 5/27/33-10/26/33 

F-3 Berry Creek McGill 1915 5/29/33-11/6/33

F-4 Charleston Mtn. Las Vegas 974 5/10/33-10/14/33 

 538 4/24/34-10/31/34 

 2537 4/24/36-11/11/36 

 2537 6/5/37-10/31/37

 5441 5/10/38-10/16/38 

 5441 5/5/39-10/7/39

 1530 5/10/40-10/25/40 

 1530 5/10/41-10/31/41 

 1530 5/15/42-7/28/42

F-5 Paradise (Site #2) Paradise Valley 973 11/12/34-5/9/35

 230 7/24/35-1/16/36

 4706 1/17/36-10/12/37 

 1212 10/13/37-5/9/40

 6433 10/25/40-6/13/41 

F-6 Galena Creek Galena est. 1935

F-7 Reese River Austin 2512 9/12/35-6/2/36

 2512 11/1/36-5/31/37

 6433 6/14/41-5/31/42

*Company 1348 was transferred to Camp Hawthorne M-1 and re-named Company 1915. 

Although exhaustive research is needed to identify the work of the main camps and each spike camp, the

following information provides an overview of the CCC camps and work on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National

Forest. 

 197 Cohen, 151-52. 198 Perry H. Merrill, Roosevelt’s Forest Army: A History of the Civilian Conservation Corps 1933-1942 (Montpelier, Vermont: Perry H. 

Merrill, 1981), 153. 199 Don Hobart, “The Civilian Conservation Corps: A Brief Overview, 1993(?)” TMs [photocopy], Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National 

Forest, USDA Forest Service. 

FORESTOVERVIEW - 56 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
Camp F-1, Lamoille Canyon 

The Lamoille Canyon camp was 

established near Elko in May of

1933 with a company of Nevada

men who were eventually replaced

by companies from New York,

Alabama and Tennessee. In 1936 

or 1937, the camp was turned over

to the Division of Grazing. After a 

year, it was again assigned to the 

Forest Service.

The work of Camp F-1 was varied. 

The enrollees cut about 75,000 

fence posts, built the Lamoille

Canyon Road, built log dams in Lamoille Creek to improve fishing and did much fire suppression work. 

They also developed the following administrative sites and campgrounds: 

• Clover Experiment Station 

• Lamoille Ranger Station 

• Thomas Canyon Campground 

• Terraces Campground (?)

Camps F-2 and F-5, Paradise Valley

Little is known about Camp F-2, the first CCC camp in Paradise Valley north of Winnemucca. Company

1348 occupied it from May until October of 1933 when it transferred to Camp Hawthorne M-1 as Company

1915. In November of 1934, Camp F-5 was established at Paradise Valley with the arrival of Company

973. When the second group of men, Company 230, was transferred back to the Second Corps Area in

early 1936, the Forest Service staff expressed sorrow at their departure. The staff was soon consoled by

the arrival of Company 4706 of whose members were also of a “high calibre” and even “more mature.”200

In October of 1937, the makeup of Company 4706 changed as the Kansas men who re-enrolled for the 

tenth period were sent to another company. It was replaced with 160 men of Company 1212, which

arrived from Morristown, New Jersey. Company 1212 remained in Paradise Valley from October 1937 

until May 1940. The base camp of Camp F-5 was in Paradise Valley, but numerous spike camps were set

up at Martin Creek, Canyon Creek, Lamoille Canyon, Reno and Elko. 

Some of the foremen included C.A. Nelson, Dan Hickey, Virgil Pasquale, M. Murphy, S. Worthington, C.

Keller, and Wilbur Timmons. Timmons, a native of Indiana who was paid $2,000 a year, recalled that 

Camp F-5 operated year round. During the winter, they worked at lower elevations, building a dam on the

Little Humboldt and Martin Creek one year. They also built a phone line to a cabin at Hinkey Summit, a

trail at Lamoille to Liberty Lake, and boundary fences.

201

Timmons noticed differences in the enrollees. According to him, the Kansans were good workers, had 

grown up on farms and were better educated, whereas the New Yorkers didn’t know how to drive and

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 FOREST OVERVIEW - 57

 200 Humboldt Hummer, 13 February 1936. 201 Wilbur Timmons, telephone interview by Fred Frampton, 1 August 1990, notes, Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, 

USDA Forest Service., 1990. 

CCC Camp F-1, Lamoille Canyon, Ruby Mountains
many had never been in a truck. He noted that some had never been to school and could not understand

certain things but they went away as better, hard-working men.202

In addition to fighting fires, the men of Camp F-5 battled Mormon crickets and built reservoirs, trails, and 

drift fences. They cleared roads of snow even in 1937 when the camp was under quarantine for scarlet

fever and measles. The Camp F-7 enrollees were also responsible for the following construction projects: 

• Hinkey Summit Road 

• Paradise Valley Ranger Station 

• Terraces Guard Station (on the Ruby Ranger District) 

• Forest Supervisor’s compound in Elko 

• Forest Service warehouse in Reno 

• Lamance Powder House 

• Lamance Experiment Station 

• Martin Creek Ranger Station 

• Paradise Valley Ranger Station 

• Entrance portal for the Santa Rosa Ranger District 

The CCC knew the significance of their work and, after much of the Paradise Valley Ranger Station was 

completed, a Forest Service publication noted: 

It is hoped that with the completion of this project the beauty of the Paradise Ranger 

Station Grounds and building will mark it as a garden spot of this valley, and long remain

as one of the accomplishments of the C.C.C.203

CCC Camp F-3, Berry Creek, Schell Creek Range 

Camp F-3, Berry Creek 

Berry Creek Camp F-3, located near Ely, reportedly operated only in 1933 and built the Berry Creek

Ranger Station. However, the amount of work carried out on the Nevada National Forest suggests that

the camp either existed beyond that time and/or spike camps from other main camps carried out later work 

on the forest. For example, some documents state that spike camps from Lamoille Camp F-1 worked on 

Ward Mountain. A transient relief camp based at Lehman Creek worked with a CCC stub camp to

FORESTOVERVIEW - 58 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 

 202 Ibid. 203 Humboldt Hummer, 13 February 1936. 
complete work on the Snake and Mt. Moriah ranges.

204 Recreational and administrative projects were

constructed by either the Berry Creek Camp or these various work crews. The projects included:

• Ely Supervisor’s Office 

• Ellison Ranger Station 

• Baker Ranger Station 

• Currant Creek Campground

• White River Campground 

• Cleve Creek Campground 

• Roads to campgrounds at Ward Mountain, East Creek, Cleve Creek and Lehman Creek 

• A trail to the Wheeler Peak summit 

Camp F-4, Kyle Canyon 

In 1933, Camp F-4 was established near Las Vegas at Mt. Charleston. The camp, located adjacent to the 

present-day Kyle Ranger Station, operated from this location during the summers until 1942. During the 

winters, the camp moved to lower elevations. The camp structures included tents for sleeping quarters

and a building that served as a mess hall and bathhouse.205 

The men of Camp F-4 constructed trails, firebreaks, snow recreation facilities, campgrounds, and 

administrative structures. Although the WPA also carried out work on the Charleston Mountain Division, it

is believed that the CCC was responsible for the following projects:

206

• Kyle Canyon Ranger Station 

• Deer Creek Road 

• Kyle Canyon water system 

• Kyle Canyon Campground (where the Cathedral Rock Picnic Area now stands; the current Kyle 

Campground was built in 1970) 

• Fletcher View Canyon 

• Deer Creek Camp (now the Mahogany Grove Group Picnic Area)

• Fox Canyon Trailer Campground (now the Foxtail Snow Play Area)

Camp F-6, Galena Creek

The Galena Creek camp was established in 1935 as a transient relief camp, providing quarters for 285 

men who were on the relief rolls. It was transferred to the WPA and put under the direction of the Tahoe

National Forest in 1936. In February of 1939, it was transferred to the Mono National Forest.207 Although 

one historian has identified Galena Creek as a CCC camp, this has not been verified. 

Located south of Reno, the camp was relatively small; there were 38 men there in March of 1940.

208 That

year, the men worked on the Incline-Glenbrook telephone line, which was part of a fire detection system 

around Lake Tahoe. 

The Galena Creek camp closed on January 1, 1941 due to a lack of funds. State representatives fought to

re-open it, but it is not clear if they succeeded.209 The crew was transferred to the Reno CCC warehouse

where “eight or nine of the former twelve men employed at Galena creek” made hundreds of signs.210 A 

 204 Unrau, 276. 205 Jerry Coffman, interview by Richa Wilson and Larry Benham, 29 October 1999, Indian Springs, Nevada, transcript and tape 

recording, Las Vegas Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 206 Moskowitz, “History of the Spring Mountains,” 13-14. 207 “Galena Camp Five Years Old,” Reno Evening Gazette, 21 March 1940. 208 Ibid. 209 “Galena Camp Funds Sought,” Nevada State Journal, 12 February 1941. 210 “CCC Boys Make Mono Forest Signs,” Bridgeport Chronicle-Union, 16 January 1941. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 FOREST OVERVIEW - 59
couple of months later, Camp Idlewild, a CCC camp run by the Division of Grazing, occupied the buildings

at the Galena Creek camp after their barracks were destroyed by fire.

211 Work attributed to the Galena 

Creek camp included the following: 

• Markleeville Lookout 

• Incline-Glenbrook telephone line

• Trail and road maintenance 

• Check dams in Dog Valley 

• Planting of range land 

• Thinning timber 

• Maintenance of the Galena Creek Public Camp 

• Salvaging bricks from the Floriston paper mill for construction of the Carson Ranger Station 

Camp F-7, Reese River 

Reese River Camp F-7, located southwest of Austin, was not established until September of 1935. It was 

placed just north of the Reese River Ranger Station in the present-day pasture. Company 2512 occupied

the camp during the winters of 1935-36 and 1936-37. In the summer of 1936, the company moved to

Lamoille Camp F-1 to carry out work in the higher elevations. Company 6433, which had previously been

at Lamoille Camp F-1 (summer 

1940) and Paradise Valley Camp

F-5 (winter and spring 1941), was 

the last to occupy the Reese River 

camp from June 1941 until May 

1942. In 1938, there were plans to 

move a Native American CCC 

camp from Pyramid Lake to Reese 

River. Although this has not been

confirmed, this may have occurred 

since it is unlikely that the camp

remained vacant from 1937 to

1942. 

While stationed at Reese River, the

CCC men completed the Kingston

Guard Station. They also

constructed several buildings at the 

Reese River Ranger Station and 

built the Big Creek Road.

212 This 1945 aerial view shows the barracks and other structures of CCC Camp F-7. 

CALIFORNIA CCC CAMPS 

The impact of the various relief and job programs in California was significant. These programs reduced

the state’s 1933 forestry budget by 45% and provided much-needed assistance in fire protection and 

FORESTOVERVIEW - 60 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 

 211 “Grazing Service CCC Men Temporarily at Galena Creek,” Carson City Daily Appeal, 1 March 1941. 212 John J. Kincheloe, "Austin Ranger District, n.d." TMs [photocopy], p. 4, Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest 

Service. 
suppression.213 By August of 1933, California had 33,600 men in 168 CCC camps, 129 of which were on 

national forests.214 During the life of the CCC, there were about 100 camps on average and a total of 

166,832 men, mostly Californians.215

Forest Supervisor Maule got personally involved with the organization, locations and projects of the CCC

camps on the Mono National Forest. Within days after the CCC was created, Maule met with Creel at the

University of Nevada Reno, conferred with his rangers about potential sites and work, procured materials,

arranged to rent trucks, and interviewed local men for the foremen positions. He worked with the camp

superintendents to establish the first camps such as those at Piute Flat on the Bridgeport District and

Silverlake on the Mono Lake District. 

The first year saw the establishment of 128 CCC camps on the 19 forests in Region Five. The following

summer, this number had dropped to 37 camps on 15 forests.216 The Mono National Forest lost its camps 

and it was not until the fall of 1939, that it received another CCC camp. 

Camp F-396, Coleville 

When Camp Coleville, also known as Camp Antelope, was constructed in the fall of 1939,217 it was “the 

first time since 1933 that the Mono forest has had a CCC camp under its jurisdiction.”

218 Shortly after the 

camp’s completion in October, 142 men in Company 239 arrived from Sonora, California. New men

replaced the members of Company 239 every six months and, in March of 1940, a local newspaper 

reported, “Forest officials said despite an eastern background, CCC men from the main Coleville CCC 

camp are proving highly satisfactory.”219 Company 239 was replaced in the fall of 1941 by Company 

6461. In the summer of 1942, Camp Antelope was one of the last in California to close. It was re-opened

two weeks later as a Civilian Public Service camp. 

In Region Five, the CCC men carried out a significant amount of fire prevention work. They constructed

lookout towers, fire breaks, telephone lines, fire lines, roads and trails to protect the timber against the

ravages of fire.

220 The men of Camp Antelope completed similar work, often from spike camps. They also 

built the following improvements: 

• Carson Ranger Station (CCC began work but were interrupted by World War II) 

• Wellington Ranger Station 

• Markleeville Lookout 

• Chris Flat Campground reconstruction

• Weighing scales and loading corrals near Wheeler Ranger Station 

• Virginia Creek Road maintenance and bridge construction 

• Hot Creek Corral, 15 miles north of Bridgeport (in cooperation with the Little Walker Cattlemen’s

Association) 

• Carson City-Glenbrook telephone line 

• Planted 5000 Jeffrey pine trees in the Clear Creek area

 213 William G. Robbins, American Forestry: A History of National, State, & Private Cooperation (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 

1985), 144. 214 Cohen, 19. 215 Conard et.al., 2-7. 216 Otis, et.al., 41. 217 "History of the Toiyabe National Forest.” 218 “Mono Forest CCC Camp is Near Completion,” Reno Evening Gazette, 12 September 1939. 219 “Forest Dept. To Oversee Projects During Summer,” Bridgeport Chronicle-Union, 28 March 1940. 220 Otis, et.al., 42. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 FOREST OVERVIEW - 61
FINAL YEARS OF THE CCC 

In its early years, there were efforts to make the CCC a permanent agency. Ovid Butler, secretary of the

American Forestry Association, called for it in 1933 and two years later, the Forest Service drafted a bill in

support of this move. The Forest Service proposed that the structure stay the same but that its 

conservation aspects should be further emphasized. The War Department agreed and the president

drafted a bill to make the CCC permanent. In 1937, the bill received initial approval but in its final vote, 

Congress decided that the CCC would not become permanent and authorized its continuation for another 

two years. Although the CCC was popular, there was concern about its potential military use and as an 

extension of the president’s power. 

The final years of the CCC were signaled by Fechner’s death in 1939, loss of enthusiasm among the 

agencies, the possibility of war and a smaller budget for 1940-41. Desertion was becoming a problem with

one in five enrollees leaving the corps illegally in 1939.221 An inquiry found that this was partly due to the

increasing availability of better jobs in the work force. The later enrollees were also younger,

inexperienced and physically less developed. 

More Americans supported the idea of military training in the CCC camps as the possibility of war loomed.

Not surprisingly, the Army liked the idea but the CCC officials were against it, stating it would be a mistake 

to have a corps that was part civilian and part military. Discussions continued and a compromise was 

reached. By September of 1940, a plan was implemented to provide general defense training in areas 

such as signal communications, radio operation, first aid and cooking. Some CCC companies were 

assigned to construct defense projects on military reservations. This pseudo-military training remained in

place until the CCC was dissolved. 

As the nation’s economy improved, the public’s desire to move away from the age of welfare contributed to

the demise of the CCC’s image. CCC officials recognized this and sought to revise the program’s image 

as a relief organization, but such perceptions were too deeply ingrained. Desertion rates rose, as did 

unrest in some of the camps. Scandals such as a 1939 series of riots in several Pennsylvania camps

contributed to waning support. Higher employment rates and expansion of the armed forces slowly 

replaced the need for the CCC. The Forest Service recognized the changing climate of relief work on the 

eve of the World War Two: 

The advent of the CCC and ERA was accompanied by a heavy cut in the Forest Service

regular appropriations for essential construction and maintenance works and CCC and

ERA funds are now being cut down without being replaced. Means should be made

available so the Forest Service can, through essential work projects, provide at least parttime employment to people who must look to it for a means of livelihood. Forest guards, 

to whom the Forest Service owes a longer period of employment than the usual three

months, men for construction and maintenance in road work and other projects, etc., are 

included here.

222

On June 30, 1942, the Civilian Conservation Corps was eliminated after nine years of existence. By this

time, over half of the 2.5 million enrollees had worked on national, state, and private forests under the

Forest Service’s supervision.223 Many of these men learned to work, received an education and traveled

to new parts of the country. Their skills in cooperation, supervision and discipline prepared many for 

military service during World War II. 

 221 Lacy. 222 “A Forest Program. Background Information for Nevada, 1941(?)” TMs, Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA 

Forest Service. 223 Robbins, 141. 

FORESTOVERVIEW - 62 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
The enrollees weren’t the only ones to benefit from the CCC program. The Forest Service received a large

labor pool that allowed construction of much-needed facilities. The new buildings provided a cohesive and

professional image, while the new or improved roads and trails afforded better access to the forests and its 

resources. The significance of the CCC to the entire nation was recognized by one author who wrote: 

Despite its shortcomings, the CCC was of the profoundest importance. It was important 

because of its effect on the nation’s national resources and the health of its enrollees, and

it is important to the story of reform in the United States. It marked the first attempt by the 

federal government to provide some specific solution for the problems of youth in an

increasingly urban society. In its makeshift, loose way it was a pathfinder, the precursor 

of more sophisticated programs and ideas.224

THE WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION 

Another well-known relief program was the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The WPA started out 

as the Works Division of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA or ERA), which was created 

on May 12, 1933 to support city and state work relief projects. The Works Division was responsible for 

initiating federal projects and supplementing state and local projects.

225 In 1935, it became the Works

Progress Administration, administered nationally by Harry Hopkins and in Nevada by Cecil Creel. 

The WPA became the largest employer in Nevada, 226 providing numerous jobs to artists, actors, writers, 

historians, and musicians. Between 1934 and 1941, there was an average of 2,113,000 WPA enrollees

per year. The majority of WPA funds (78%) paid for public construction and conservation, with the

remainder going toward community projects.

227

The WPA is credited with several improvements on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. In 1935, the

WPA took over the Harris Springs Transient Camp, which had been established by the ERA a year earlier 

in Kyle Canyon on the Charleston Mountain Division. Perhaps the most exciting event for the men was 

President Roosevelt’s visit in 1935. In addition to touring the CCC Camp and the Kyle Canyon Ranger

Station, Roosevelt's caravan drove the incomplete Harris Springs Road. Upon reaching the work crew, the

President asked the foreman about the road's destination. The excited foremen replied that he did not 

know, and Roosevelt promptly ordered a halt to construction since he did not want to waste taxpayer's

money.228

The WPA crew built and occupied a camp in nearby Lee Canyon in early 1936. Originally known as Camp

Pittman, it soon became a children’s camp. It still operates as a children’s camp under the name of Camp 

Lee Canyon. The WPA crew also built the Lee Canyon Guard Station and constructed the Scout Canyon

Road, all on the Charleston Mountain Division. 

Elsewhere in Nevada, WPA crews worked on the Lamoille Ranger Station and the Supervisor’s Office of 

the Nevada National Forest in Ely. In White Pine County, the Forest Service and the WPA cooperated to

build a 21⁄2-mile road from the highway at Murray Summit to the White Pine Ski Area and a 60-car parking

lot. They also built the ski lift and a log building to house its engine. In western Nevada, the WPA built a

 224 Salmond, 221-22. 225 Karen Kumiega, “Markleeville Guard Station Narrative Report and Evaluation, Heritage Resource Report TY-98-1258, 4 September 

1998” TMs, p. 3, Sparks Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 226 Elliot, 298. 227 Arthur S. Link and William B. Catton, The Age of Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1921-1945, vol. 2, American Epoch. A History of the United 

States Since 1900, 4th ed. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1973), 151. 228 Coffman. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 FOREST OVERVIEW - 63
stone ski hut on Mt. Rose.229 Finally, several people worked in administrative positions for the Forest

Service under the WPA program.230 

FIRE MANAGEMENT 

CCC crews contributed significantly to fire detection and suppression efforts. In addition to building 3,470 

fire towers and houses, and miles of roads, trails and fire breaks, the CCC men laid 65,000 miles of

telephone line to support communications.

 231 They were on the front lines of fighting fires, sometimes with

tragic results. On July 28, 1939, five CCC men from Camp F-5 were killed while fighting a fire on the west 

slope of the Santa Rosa range. They were caught when the wind suddenly changed direction and 

changed the fire’s course. The victims were Kansan Ernest R. Tippin and four New Yorkers: George J.

Kennedy, Walter James, Frank W. Barker and Frank J. Vitale. A memorial to the men was erected at the

rest stop two miles south of Orovada off Highway 95. It was donated and erected by the enrollees,

officers, and foremen of the Region Four Forest Service camps. 

CCC crews and funding provided much-needed infrastructure in the Forest Service fire management 

program. The roads, trails, lookouts, telephone lines and other improvements contributed to a system that

quickly proved its worth. As World War II approached, officials began to recognize the value of this system

as a defense measure against enemy aircraft and incendiary devices. 

In the late 1930s and 1940s, the idea of smokejumping was discussed. The goal was to drop firefighters 

with parachutes to be close to the fire. The first smokejumpers successfully went into action in July 1,

1940 on the Nez Perce National Forest.232 Other advances during this period included formal training 

programs and fuel mapping, which classified forest fuels. These supported the national goals, developed 

by Region Five Forester Stuart B. Show, of controlling any fire by 10:00 a.m. of the day after it was 

detected.233

SNOW SURVEYING 

Dr. J.E. Church worked with UNR, the Nevada State Engineer and several agencies to create a 

cooperative program of snow surveying and water forecasting. A drought in 1933-34 emphasized the 

need for a regional, coordinated effort and, in 1935, the USDA’s Bureau of Agricultural Engineer was 

assigned the task.234 Four years later, the USDA’s Soil Conservation Service (SCS) took over the Snow 

Survey Program, retaining it as a cooperative effort between Federal, State, and local agencies, as well as 

private entities and individuals.235

The USDA’s involvement led to an expanded network of snow survey courses and sites on the national

forests. In northeast Nevada, the Forest Service began taking measurements in the winter of 1931-32 at 

the Tremewan and Ryan ranches (both owned by former forest supervisors), Gold Creek Ranger Station, 

and Martin Creek Ranger Station. On the Santa Rosa Division, Ranger Travis and a man named Shaver 

established several snow courses in 1932. These were referred to as the Granite Peak, Lamance Creek, 

 229 Reno Gazette, 29 October 1937. 230 Humboldt Hummer, various issues. 231 Lacy, 122-23. 232 Alexander, The Rise of Multiple-Use Management, 120. 233 Ibid., 121. 234 David E. Johnson, “Keeping Track of the Snow,” in Our American Land. The 1987 Yearbook of Agriculture, ed. William Whyte 

(Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1987), 226. 235 Ibid. 

FORESTOVERVIEW - 64 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
Martin Creek, Upper Buckskin and Lower Buckskin snow courses.

236 By March of 1935, Ranger L.E. 

McKenzie had carried out a significant amount of work in the Ruby Mountains, laying out or extending

courses at the head of Trout Creek, in Lamoille Canyon, and north of Harrison Pass. There were 30

courses in northeastern Nevada by 1938. 

Elsewhere, courses were established on the Nevada National Forest with measurements taken at Murray

Summit, Kyle Canyon, Rainbow Canyon and Lee Canyon. In the Sierra Nevada, surveyors traveled the

Upper Truckee, Echo Summit, Independence Lake, Sage Hen Creek, Carson Pass, Buckeye Forks and 

Sonora Pass survey courses, to name a few. 

There were hazards in carrying out this type of work. Jarbidge District Ranger Karl Wilkinson was killed in

1941 while conducting a snow survey. Wilkinson, his dog, and a miner named Dale Rodies set out on the

morning of February 28 to measure snow on the Jarbidge District at the Bear Creek, Coon Creek and 

Mary’s River snow courses. Their first day’s destination was the Coon Creek snow cabin. As the weather 

deteriorated, the men chose to follow the road that came over the summit from Charleston as this would be 

quicker than going down the slope by the trees. This route required three traverses across avalancheprone areas. The first two were crossed safely, but at the third site, Wilkinson and his dog were swept

away by an avalanche. 

Rodies was also caught up in the snow, thrown against a tree and knocked unconscious. After regaining 

consciousness, he dug himself out and eventually located Wilkinson, who had been killed instantly. 

Rodies was able to ski to Jarbidge despite his severe injuries, the darkness, and the steepness of the 

terrain. Rodies was taken to a Twin Falls hospital and several men went to search for Wilkinson’s body.237

The death of Wilkinson and the severity of Rodies’ injuries led to several changes in the cooperative snow

survey program. Dr. Church showed his concern and involvement in several letters that addressed Rodies 

and issues of safety. Two months after the accident, Church wrote: 

A wide spread effort is being made by snow survey organizations and the National Ski 

Association of America to inaugurate instruction regarding avalanche perils and lay down

rules for detecting and by-passing avalanche areas. Snow motor sleds are being

investigated by the Forest Service to obtain some means of rapid transportation over soft 

snow. More shelter cabins will be built for protection of those who may suffer injuries in

skiing.238 

Church discussed further safety measures in a letter to Forest Supervisor McQueen: 

Since toboggans, web snowshoes, and other safety apparatus must be procured and in 

many cases three men instead of two sent out on snow surveys, it will be necessary to

husband present funds until more can be procured.239

The objective of providing adequate shelter along safer snow courses led to the re-routing of existing

courses and construction of detour routes. The Forest Service received funds from the Experiment Station

to move the snow survey cabins near Coon Creek and to build a cabin in the Reese River Basin. In 

addition, a CCC cabin was moved to Buckskin Mountain on the Santa Rosa range to accommodate snow 

surveyors and plans were made to build a snow survey cabin on the Little Truckee River.240

 236 “2510 Watershed Surveys and Plans,” open files, Winnemucca Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 237 “Details in Story of Slide Which Took Life of Ranger Related by Range Economist,” Elko Daily Free Press, 3 March 1941, 1. 238 J.E. Church, Advisor of Nevada Cooperative Snow Surveys to Henry R. Lee, Auditor of Nevada Industrial Commission, 14 May

1941. 239 J.E. Church to Forest Supervisor Alexander McQueen, 5 September 1941. 240 J.E. Church to Forest Supervisor Alexander McQueen, 5 September 1941. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 FOREST OVERVIEW - 65
EXPERIMENT STATIONS 

The McSweeney-McNary Forestry Research Act of 1928 authorized the establishment of regional

experiment stations. However, it was not until July 1, 1930 that Region Four created its Intermountain 

Forest and Range Experiment Station (IF&RES). At that time, the smaller Great Basin Experiment Station

was designated as a branch of the regional station.241 The IF&RES was significant to the development of 

professional range management in Region Four. In addition, the work of the researchers influenced 

grazing policies of other regions. 

The IF&RES established small sub-stations to carry out experiments. At least two of these were

developed in Nevada: the Lamance Experiment Station on the Santa Rosa Ranger District and the Clover

Experiment Station on the Ruby Mountains Ranger District. These stations consisted of a dwelling and a

garage constructed by CCC crews. 

 241 Keck, 1. 

FORESTOVERVIEW - 66 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
Chapter Four: 1943-1950, World War II and the 

Post-War Era 

HISTORICAL SETTING 

This period, dominated by World War II, is characterized by national defense activities followed by the

initial stages of economic prosperity and stability. These national trends were evident within the Forest

Service. As the United States became more entrenched in the war effort, the agency inventoried its

resources as they pertained to national defense. Forest officials prepared for the war by appointing a fulltime defense coordinator in each regional office, providing advice and assistance to the forest products

industry, permitting emergency grazing, and developing fire protection schemes to protect against enemy 

incendiary devices. In an effort to conserve resources, Region Four promoted such measures as reusing 

carbon paper more often and a “share-a-ride” program.242

Development on the national forests, particularly of range and administrative improvements, came to a halt 

with a couple of exceptions. Timber was logged extensively to support the war effort and an expanded 

system of roads was constructed to facilitate extraction of minerals such as chrome and tungsten for the

war effort. 

Many forest personnel contributed directly by joining the armed forces and participating in defense

activities. Forest Service engineers, as well as many former CCC enrollees, “were a bulwark of the 

Seabees and other construction activities of the Defense Department.”243 With nearly 2,000 Forest

Service personnel joining the armed forces,

244 the agency suffered from a lack of qualified employees and

the remaining staff felt the pressure of fulfilling additional duties. Conscientious Objectors serving in

Civilian Public Service camps alleviated the strain. 

After the war, economic growth and prosperity led to a growing demand for materials and goods, thus 

requiring increased logging, mining and grazing. Stewardship of the land was replaced with commodity

production, which meant increased extraction of forest resources. In some areas, funds and labor were 

channeled to restoring areas, particularly timbered lands, which were subject to destructive practices 

during the war. The backlog of other work, such as maintenance and construction of improvements, also

began to receive attention. 

Recreation resources gained importance as Americans enjoyed economic prosperity and more leisure 

time. The increased availability of gas and affordability of cars facilitated travel and the national forests and 

parks experienced more use. This set the stage for specialized recreation jobs and comprehensive

recreation plans developed in the 1950s. 

CHANGES TO THE FORESTS 

There were few changes on the Nevada, Toiyabe and Humboldt national forests during this period.

Although the years after 1950 are not within the scope of this context statement, information from that time 

is included to give the reader a better understanding of present configurations. The current configuration of 

 242 Alexander, The Rise of Multiple-Use Management, 131. 243 J.J. Byrne, “Brief History of Engineering in the Forest Service,” in The History of Engineering in the Forest Service (Washington, DC: 

Government Printing Office, 1990), 5. 244 Alexander, The Rise of Multiple-Use Management, 131. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 FOREST OVERVIEW - 67
the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest came about when the Humboldt and Toiyabe forests merged in

1994. 

TOIYABE NATIONAL FOREST 

After suffering a stroke, Supervisor McQueen retired from the Toiyabe National Forest on December 31, 

1943. By that time, preparations were being made to eliminate the Mono National Forest, which was in the 

Forest Service's Region Five (based in San Francisco). One historian explained: 

Even though Reno was much closer to San Francisco than to Ogden, the Service

decided to consolidate its operations under Region 4 rather than Region 5 for a number 

of reasons. Most of Nevada was already in Region 4. In addition, although, as the 

disputes over continued Federal regulation of grazing indicated, Nevadans tended to be

antigovernment, ties within the livestock communities in Utah and Nevada were quite 

loose. . . . Furthermore, the personality and experience of Alexander McQueen, Toiyabe

National Forest supervisor, helped considerably. He had worked in Nevada for 20 years, 

serving on all three forests. By contrasts, his Mono Forest counterpart, D.M. Traugh, had

been transferred from California to Reno only in 1938.

245

In 1944, the two forests were administratively combined as the Mono-Toiyabe National Forest. The Mono 

Lake Ranger District of the Mono National Forest was transferred to the Inyo National Forest, but the 

Alpine, Sweetwater, and Bridgeport districts remained. Region Five was apparently not very happy about

losing the Mono National Forest. A former Toiyabe Forest Supervisor later wrote, "You might say there 

was still some friction between the California Region [Region Five] and the Intermountain Region [Region 

Four] because of their issue regarding the Toiyabe and Mono National Forests, in which the Intermountain

Region won the Mono from Region Five,"246

Frank Kennedy was the Forest Supervisor of the newly configured forest, remaining in this position until

1946. On July 1, 1945, the Mono was officially dissolved and the Toiyabe National Forest became the

largest national forest with over three million acres. As part of the consolidation, several ranger districts 

were re-organized. The Austin and Tonopah districts were created from the former Kingston, Potts and 

Reese River districts in 1944. The following year, the Bridgeport and Sweetwater districts were reorganized as the Bridgeport and West Walker districts with the latter's headquarters in Wellington, Nevada. 

The Carson District grew when it received more land from the Tahoe National Forest in 1945. 

The Toiyabe National Forest lost the Santa Rosa District in 1951 when it was transferred to the Humboldt

National Forest, but gained the Las Vegas Ranger District (Charleston Mountain Division) in 1957. That

same year, a third ranger district was created in central Nevada. Known as the Fallon Ranger District, it

was established to decrease the areas of the Austin and Tonopah districts. 

In 1973, the Toiyabe National Forest underwent several changes as ranger districts were consolidated.

The West Walker District became part of the Bridgeport District, while the Carson District absorbed the 

Alpine District. The Lake Tahoe drainage, consisting of land on the Toiyabe, Tahoe and Eldorado forests,

was administratively combined in 1973. Although the land is still part of these three National Forests, they

are administered by the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit in Region Five. 

Additional changes occurred and included the elimination of the Fallon District in 1977, with the Tonopah 

and Austin districts absorbing its lands. In 1980, the Ely District absorbed the White Pine District. Six 

 245 Alexander, The Rise of Multiple-Use Management, 102. 246 Sack, 98. 

FORESTOVERVIEW - 68 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
years later, the Great Basin National Park was carved from forest land on the Snake Division and

stewardship was transferred from the Forest Service to the National Park Service. 

The Nevada legislature passed the Nevada Enhancement Act in 1988, authorizing the transferal of near 

one million acres from the BLM to the Toiyabe and Inyo forests. The Tonopah and Bridgeport districts 

received a significant portion of this land, which constituted the largest addition to Nevada forests since

1909. 

HUMBOLDT NATIONAL FOREST 

With the transferal of the Santa Rosa Division from the Toiyabe in 1951, the Humboldt National Forest had

five ranger districts. The other four were the Independence, Gold Creek, Jarbidge, and Ruby Mountains

districts. When the Nevada National Forest was eliminated in 1957, its ranger districts were consolidated 

and transferred. The Toiyabe received the Las Vegas Ranger District while the re-configured Ely and 

White Pine districts went to the Humboldt.

In the 1950s, there were several changes to the ranger districts. The Independence District was renamed

the Mountain City District sometime after 1954 and the Ruby Mountains District was renamed the Lamoille

District in 1957. Two years later, it was split into the Lamoille and Wells districts. Further alterations were

made in the 1970s. The Mountain City District absorbed the Gold Creek District in 1973, while the Wells 

and Lamoille districts were consolidated as the Ruby Mountains District in 1975. One more consolidation

took place in 1980 when the White Pine and Ely districts were combined. 

NEVADA NATIONAL FOREST 

No significant changes to the Nevada National Forest took place until 1957, when the forest was 

eliminated as part of a “servicewide program to increase the efficiency of operation and to give better 

service to the people who use the national forests . . .”

247 The Las Vegas Ranger District was transferred to

the Toiyabe National Forest while the other ranger districts were consolidated and given to the Humboldt 

National Forest. 

ADMINISTRATION 

The decrease in funds and labor during the war, as well as restrictions on forest resources, caused the

Forest Service to re-evaluate its administrative system. Three regional foresters, including Region Four's 

William B. Rice, carried out a study to determine efficient uses of funds. They concluded that a ranger 

district should have a minimum workload of 2,000 hours per year and a forest should have 18,000-25,000

hours per year. Forest officials developed plans to reconfigure or consolidate forests and ranger districts to

better utilize the reduced budget and staff. 248

The plans, implemented beginning in 1944, resulted in the closure of many ranger stations and an

increased workload for district rangers. As the area of a ranger’s district increased – some were as large

 247 Press Release, 27 June 1957, located in file folder titled, “Reorganizations, R4-1680-92-0039,” Forest Service Heritage Center, 

Weber State University, Ogden, Utah. 248 Alexander, The Rise of Multiple-Use Management, 132. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 FOREST OVERVIEW - 69
as a million acres – so too did his need for support staff, assistants and equipment.249 Region Four, which

built central vehicle repair shops in Salt Lake City, Boise, and Reno during the 1930s, continued its 

practice of centralizing other functions.250 The reconfiguration of several forests (e.g. consolidations of the 

Dixie and Powell forests and the Manti and LaSal forests) included the division of Region Five's Mono

National Forest between the Inyo and Toiyabe forests.251

As forest use gained momentum after the war, more employees were needed. Hiring practices changed

to accommodate Forest Service employees returning from the war. Some veterans, exposed to the Forest

Service during their CCC service, took advantage of the GI Bill. Many studied general forestry while others 

went into burgeoning fields of specialization. As the number of staff increased, management practices 

became more formal and bureaucratic with the adoption of stringent rules for salaries and promotions.

252 

The Use Book, which started as a brief, pocket-sized publication, expanded to six volumes by 1955. 

CIVILIAN PUBLIC SERVICE CAMPS 

World War II had an unusual impact on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in the form of Civilian Public

Service (CPS) camps. The occupants of these camps were Conscientious Objectors (COs) who chose to

do work of "national importance" over going to prison or serving in the military as non-combatants. The 

COs of Camp 37, established at a former CCC camp near Coleville, California, completed a significant 

amount of work on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest and represent a little-known aspect of Forest

Service history. 

Although conscription was instituted during the Civil War, a draftee could avoid going to war by sending a

slave, hiring a substitute, or paying taxes, levies, or fines. Conscription during World War I was less 

lenient. COs from the historic peace churches could serve as noncombatants, but civilian service was not 

an alternative. Objectors not associated with the historic peace churches were not recognized. Many of

these COs were mistreated, tortured, and court-martialed; some even died.253 This inappropriate

treatment resulted in distrust and bitterness between the government, military, churches and individual

COs.254 The situation set the stage for changes in the next war. 

Talk of conscription increased in the late 1930s as world events raised the possibility of war for the United

States. The Mennonites, Society of Friends (Quakers), and Church of the Brethren responded by working

with officials in Washington to develop an improved conscientious objector policy. After much negotiation,

President Roosevelt signed the Selective Training and Service Act in September of 1940. In addition to 

creating a system to draft men into the armed forces, the Selective Service Act recognized conscientious

objection to war as an individual right. It also paved the way for CPS camps from which objectors could

perform civilian work as an alternative to non-combatant service. This idea of alternative service was not 

new. In the 1870s, the Mennonite church of Russia created the Mennonite Forestry Service when the 

Russian czar tried to draft its members for military service. The church operated the service while district

foresters oversaw the work. Unlike American men in the CPS camps, these Russian COs were paid.255

 249 Hartley and Schneck, 31 and Gerald W. Williams, 19. 250 Alexander, The Rise of Multiple-Use Management, 132. 251 Ibid., 133. 252 Ibid., 131. 253 Harry R. Van Dyck, Exercise of Conscience: A World War II Objector Remembers (Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books, 1990), 42. 254 Ibid., 43. 255 Nicholas A. Faust, "Friends in the Forest: A Discussion of the Civilian Public Service Contributions to the National Forest System

During World War Two, 1992" TMs [photocopy], p. 2, Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 

FORESTOVERVIEW - 70 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
THE CAMPS

The Mennonites opened the first CPS camp at Camp Grottoes near Luray, Virginia. Its first COs arrived on 

May 22, 1941.256 Two other camps opened that month: a Quaker-run camp at Patapsco, Maryland and a 

Brethren-run camp at Lagro, Indiana.257 To avoid government control, the peace churches financed the

camps, which they believed to be short-term solutions.258 This did not turn out to be the case -- the camps 

existed until 1946 -- and the churches suffered from the large financial burden. The churches could not

afford to pay the COs and Washington refused to do so. In fact, some COs were asked to make monthly

contributions to the camps. The lack of pay and insurance caused undue hardship, particularly to the onethird of all COs who had dependents.259 To make matters worse, the men were forced to serve for the 

duration of the war, rather than just one year as originally planned. The American Civil Liberties Union

criticized the Selective Service, comparing the forced labor of the camp enrollees with that of prisoners of

war, convicts and enemy aliens.

260

Although the churches paid to run the camps, the Selective Service was in charge of their operation. The 

Service attempted to run the camps with a military overtone, allowing the men to accrue leave and 

punishing them for going AWOL.

261 That approach contributed to the tension and conflict between the 

churches and the government agency. Another problem was the Service's view of the more "radical" COs.

These men were perceived as threats and were sent to one of four camps financed by the government, 

rather than by the churches. The first opened in June 1943 in Mancos, Colorado. The COs and churches

viewed it and the other three camps in California, Oregon and Michigan as more disciplinary and therefore

undesirable.

262 Men in the government camps spent little time on work and the atmosphere was compared

to that of a concentration camp. After May 1944, all new COs were sent to these government camps 

unless they requested placement in a church camp.263

Most of the early camps carried out work for the Forest Service or the Soil Conservation Service.264 Of the

152 CPS camps established throughout the country, 31 were on national forests.265 The Selective Service

paid for transportation to and from the camp while the churches provided operating staff and money. The

Forest Service usually supplied the supervisors, equipment and housing, the latter often being abandoned

CCC camps.

266 Below is a partial list of CPS camps affiliated with the Forest Service. The average length

of operation for these 22 camps was 13.5 months. In contrast, Camp Antelope near Coleville, California

was open 3 years and 9 months. Camps were numbered sequentially as they opened. 

Camp No. Operated By Location Opened Closed

1 Brethren Manistee, MI 6/41 7/41 

2 Friends San Dimas, CA 6/41 12/42

8 Mennonites Marietta, OH 6/41 4/43 

9 Friends Petersham, MA 6/41 10/42

10 Friends Royalston, MA 6/41 10/42

11 Friends Ashburnham, MA 6/41 10/42

12 Friends Cooperstown, NY 6/41 5/45 

 256 Perry Bush, Two Kingdoms, Two Loyalties: Mennonite Pacifism in Modern America (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University

Press, 1998), 72. 257 Van Dyck, 46. 258 Ibid., 45. 259 Cynthia Eller, Conscientious Objectors and the Second World War: Moral and Religious Arguments in Support of Pacifism (New

York: Praeger Publishers, 1991), 65. 260 Karl D. Nelson, "By Reason of Religious Training and Belief. A History of Conscientious Objection and Religion during the Vietnam 

War,” http://members.macconnect.com/~knelson/co/ch2 (1998). 261 Kathy Pitts, “Diary of a Conscientious Objector,” History Line (Summer 1994), 9. 262 Van Dyck, 139-40. 263 Eller, 32. 264 Van Dyck, 136. 265 Faust, 3. 266 Van Dyck, 48. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 FOREST OVERVIEW - 71
13 Mennonites Bluffton, IN 6/41 3/42 

15 ACCO Stoddard, NH 8/41 10/42

16 Brethren Kane, PA 7/41 10/42

17 Brethren Stronach, MI 8/41 6/42 

21 Brethren Cascade Locks, OR 11/41 7/46 

28 Mennonites Medaryville, ID 4/42 5/46 

29 Brethren Lyndhurst, VA 5/42 1/44 

30 Brethren Walhalla, MI 5/42 11/43

31 Mennonites Camino, CA 4/42 12/46

32 Friends Campton, NH 5/42 11/43

35 Mennonites North Fork, CA 5/42 3/46 

36 Brethren Santa Barbara, CA 6/42 4/44 

37 Friends Coleville, CA 6/42 3/46 

42(?) Brethren Wellston, MI 6/42 9/46 

48(?) Brethren Marienville, PA 10/42 11/42 

THE MEN

Ranging from the "political far left to the religious far right," the estimated 43,000 COs represented about 

one-tenth of one percent of draftees. Most men objected to all war on a religious or philosophical basis,

but some specifically opposed war with Japan or Germany. Others, such as Native Americans and Puerto

Ricans, felt no loyalty to the American government while some African-Americans refused to join a "Jim

Crow" army.267

Of the total COs, 25,000 served as non-combatants, 6,000 went to prison, and 12,000 chose to go to CPS

camps.268 Half of the non-combatants were Seventh-Day Adventists. Those in prison were either denied 

CO status or chose not to serve as a non-combatant or in civilian service.269 About three-quarters of the

prisoners were Jehovah's Witnesses who received longer sentences on average (45 months) compared to

other COs (37 months).270 There was mobility between these three groups. Some men transferred from

CPS camps to noncombatant service and others were thrown in jail after going AWOL from the camps or

refusing to work. Some prisoners were paroled to the camps.271

Demographics reflect a wide range of religious affiliations in the CPS camps. The men represented about 

230 churches or religious groups, not including sects.272 Sixty percent were affiliated with the three historic

peace churches.273 Mennonites formed the largest group with 4,610 men, followed by 1,468 Brethren and

902 Quakers. Other religions represented included Jehovah's Witnesses (532), Christadelphians (136),

Methodist (845), Baptist (243), Presbyterian (235), Church of Christ (220), Congregationalist (204), Church

of God (154), Lutheran (124) and Roman Catholics (162).

274 Seventy-six Russian Molokans, a sect that 

broke from the Russian Orthodox Church in the eighteenth century, entered the CPS camps, with several

of them assigned to Camp Antelope.275

An interesting attribute of the CPS men is their level of education. Unlike the younger CCC boys who

entered service with minimal skills or training, most COs were highly educated. There were scientists,

 267 Eller, 51. 268 Ibid., 4 and 49. 269 Van Dyck, 9. 270 Ibid., 40. 271 Ibid., 38. 272 Ibid., 48. 273 Eller, 50. 274 Nelson. 275 Pitts, 9. 

FORESTOVERVIEW - 72 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
artists, doctors, lawyers and other professionals. This may explain their frustration with the type of work

assigned, with many feeling that their talents and skills were not fully realized.

276 In mid-1943, the Forest 

Service's Washington Office wrote to the Region Six Forester, stating that the regional personnel needed 

"to recognize sufficiently the inherent differences between the [enrollees in the] CPS program and the CCC 

program."277 The COs were more diverse, had more education and less experience in manual work. 

They also questioned authority and had a desire to do important work. These factors, in combination with 

the "disdain on the part of many Forest Service officers" created some tension.278 This is discussed in 

more detail below. 

WORK OF NATIONAL IMPORTANCE 

The Selective Service Act specified that the COs' labor be "work of national importance under civilian 

direction."279 Many of the camp enrollees found that the work was menial or insignificant, certainly not of 

national importance. In some cases, the work was intentionally inefficient. There were reports of COs 

breaking rock by hand when dynamite was available, clearing roads with picks and shovels when 

bulldozers were nearby, raking weeds by hand despite the availability of weed burners, and chopping ice 

from tunnels on a road that wasn't used in the winter.

280

Some COs tried to work overseas in medical or relief efforts but the Selective Service prevented them from

doing so. Others offered to work in the country's hospitals or schools, but the Selective Service denied

them the opportunity for fear that the COs would spread "pacifist propaganda."281 They were allowed to

work in mental hospitals, perhaps because certain officials did not perceive the COs as a threat in those

places. 

Not all men felt their efforts were unimportant, especially those in detached units who were assigned to

special projects. The men in these units worked as mental hospital attendants, dairy testers, and human

guinea pigs for scientific experiments. Others worked on farms to compensate for labor shortages caused

by the war. By January 1944, more men worked in these detached units than from the CPS camps.

Although the church administered these special projects, the men were in much closer contact with the 

agency and people with whom they worked. The financial burden of the churches was relieved since they 

typically did not have to provide room and board for these men.282

Those who did remain in the camps got involved with forestry or soil conservation projects. They felled 

trees, cut lumber, built trails and water developments, re-seeded forests and range, fought fires, and

developed campgrounds. On the Toiyabe National Forest, they also constructed and renovated 

administrative buildings. The COs' participation in early smokejumping efforts contributed significantly to

the Forest Service's firefighting abilities. According to former camp director Roy Wenger: 

During World War II, the fledgling smokejumper unit of the U.S. Forest Service was fully 

manned by COs. From 1943 to 1945, 250 COs trained as smokejumpers near Missoula. 

COs coveted the position because the accompanying danger and adventure restored a

sense of nobility to them. . . . It was the best assignment of all the Civilian Public Service 

camps.283

 276 Jim Clark to Kathy Pitts, 15 January 1994. 277 Washington Office to Regional Forester, 1943. 278 Ibid. 279 Eller, 29. 280 Ibid., 69. 281 Ibid., 68. 282 Ibid., 31. 283 Mark Matthews, "Fire was their foe," http://www.umt.edu/kaimin/oldkaimins/04-14-95/ym_and_fire.html (1998). 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 FOREST OVERVIEW - 73
Not all the COs' efforts were directed toward work. The churches provided classes on a variety of topics 

and some camps emphasized certain paths of study such as Fine Arts or Cooperative Living. The

Selective Service allowed COs to transfer to these camps upon request.284

CAMP ANTELOPE 

As mentioned previously, CPS Camp 37 near Coleville, California provided labor for numerous Forest

Service projects. Also known as Camp Antelope, it was established as a CCC camp in October of 1939.

In 1942, the CCC program was discontinued and the camp was vacant for two weeks until the COs 

arrived. The first group of 114 men arrived in June of 1942 and the local newspaper described them as

"young fellows, soft collared with soft hands - principally office men. Very few were of the hardy rough and

ready outside class."285 Although some sources refer to it as the "Mennonite camp," the Quakers ran

Camp Antelope. 

It did not take long for the COs at Camp Antelope to produce a camp newsletter. The first issue of The

Mono Log, printed a month after the camp opened, provided a breakdown of the camp occupants'

previous locations. With the exception of three men from California, all others came from other CPS

camps:

Previous CPS Camp No. of Men 

Patapsco, MD 20 

Coshoctin, OH 19 

Merom, ID 26 

Buck Creek, NC 25 

Cooperstown, NY 19 

Asburnham, MA 9

Royalston, MA 8 

Petersham, MA 8 

Marietta, OH 3 

Within two months, the COs were sent to spike camps around the Mono and Toiyabe forests and work

was underway. According to a newspaper account, 

The camps, in which these young men, all of whom have had at least two years of

college education, and the majority of whom are college or university graduates, are

situated in Dog Valley, Galena Creek, Lake Tahoe, Antelope Valley, and at June Lake.286

While most of the men were in spike camps during the field season, others stayed in the main camp. In

1943, there were seven men working on the camp's small sawmill, ten "well qualified men on the Forestry 

overhead," and ten sick men in camp. One man wrote, "We have a tendency to accumulate all the sick, 

the limited service men, and those who think they have a deficiency, and those who do not get along for 

one reason or another, here in the main camp."287

Before Camp Antelope closed in March 1946, the COs completed a substantial number of projects. Ray 

Breiding, a Forest Service employee, was the camp superintendent. Breiding was a tunnel engineer for 

the City of Seattle and worked on the 80-mile water supply tunnel of San Francisco, before joining the

 284 Eller, 30-31. 285 Minden Times, 5 June 1942. 286 "140 Objectors to War on Nevada Defense Tasks and Fight Fires," Nevada Appeal, 25 August 1942. 287 Wheeler (?), Civilian Public Service Camp No. 37, to Paul Furnas, 17 July 1943, Bridgeport and Elko Offices, Humboldt-Toiyabe 

National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 

FORESTOVERVIEW - 74 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
Forest Service in 1933 as a superintendent.288 He directed a good deal of CPS work, as noted in an 

account of accomplishments for the first year: 

More than the usual amount of trail betterment and maintenance work has been done [in

1942] on our trails, especially on the Alpine, Bridgeport, and Mono Lake Districts, due to 

the available man power at the C.P.S. camp.289

The following is a specific, although incomplete, list of projects. 

Camp Antelope Sawmill. The COs set up a small sawmill at Camp Antelope to cut lumber for Forest 

Service use. The machinery came from the Sequoia National Forest and had a capacity to cut 5,000 feet 

per day. In late 1942, a secondhand planer was purchased, over 40,000 feet of logs were hauled to the

camp, and another 100,000 feet of timber was marked near Leavitt Meadows, Sonora Bridge and Chris 

Flat.290 

Camp Antelope Sign Shop. During the latter half of 1942, the CPS men made over 250 signs for the

ranger districts.291

Carson City Administrative Site. The COs salvaged forty thousand bricks at Floriston to build structures

at the new Carson City Administrative Site.292 These were not constructed until after the war due to

building restrictions. 

Carson-Lake Tahoe Telephone Lane. This 13-mile line was constructed under a cooperative agreement 

with the Glenbrook Company. It was started in the CCC era, but finished by the CPS camp in 1942.

293

Charity Valley Erosion Control Project. Nine small rock check dams and ten gully plugs were built to

minimize erosion on the Alpine District.294

Dog Valley Rehabilitation. Several COs were sent to Dog Valley as a fire suppression crew in 1942.295 

While there, they carried out significant work in rehabilitating the overgrazed Dog Valley. Over the next few 

years, they planted seedlings, built erosion control structures, re-seeded large areas, and completed other 

projects to reclaim the damaged valley. They also began constructing the Dog Valley GS by 1943.296

Fire Suppression. Fighting fires was one of the principal duties of the COs. Crews stationed at June 

Lake, Dog Valley, Markleeville, Galena and other places completed numerous construction projects when 

they were not fighting fires.

Galena Creek Camp. A CPS fire suppression crew remodeled the Galena Creek Camp to house 60

men. The camp had been used as headquarters for a fire suppression crew as well as a Region Five ski 

school and may have been the home of the Galena Creek CCC Camp F-6. The COs "remodeled and

renovated and rearranged the existing buildings during their stand-by time."297 In 1943, there were

eighteen men on two crews at Galena Creek. The men stayed in dormitories, two or three to a room. One

 288 The Mono Log 1, no 1 (July 1942), [CPS Camp Antelope Newsletter], p. 2, Bridgeport Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, 

USDA Forest Service. 289 “Accomplishments on the Mono National Forest in 1942” TMs [photocopy], p. 8, Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, 

USDA Forest Service. 290 Ibid., 7. 291 Ibid. 292 Ibid., 4. 293 Ibid., 3. 294 Ibid., 4. 295 Ibid., 1. 296 Wheeler (?). 297 “Accomplishments,” 3. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 FOREST OVERVIEW - 75
crew went to the Forest Service warehouse in Reno everyday to work. The others worked in the sign shop

at Galena. 

Markleeville Campground. In 1942, a CPS crew replaced a five-man fire suppression crew at

Markleeville.298 Some of the men worked in the backcountry on range maintenance.299 Others developed 

the Markleeville Campground on five acres that were donated by Alpine County the previous year. In

1942, they cleaned up debris, developed and boxed a spring, laid 200 feet for the water system, and cut

1,000 feet and set 550 feet of log barriers.300 They also built stone benches and tables. 

Piute Meadows Administrative Site. An eight-man crew of CPS men, under foreman Dick Hallock, 

constructed the Piute Meadows cabin for the Forest Service. In 1942, they laid the foundation and cut

lodgepole logs, posts and poles for the cabin and the pasture. They used a team of draft horses to drag in

the logs and pull them into place.

301 They finished the structure in 1944, after allowing the logs to season

for one year.

302

Poison Flat Erosion. Nine small log dams, similar to those built in Dog Valley, were built to minimize 

erosion on the Alpine District.

303

Ruby Valley and Paradise Valley Projects. Four COs arrived in 1944 at the Paradise Valley Ranger 

Station to assist Ranger Justice with various projects. Justice assigned one to office duty and two to

general labor. The fourth was an experienced painter, so Justice put him to work painting all of the

buildings at Paradise Valley Ranger Station.304 Justice also supervised the men as they constructed

fences in Paradise Valley and Ruby Valley. A severe snowstorm in 1944 caused the men to be marooned

in Ruby Valley for five weeks without re-supply.305 In July of 1945, a 35-man spike camp was stationed at 

Cold Spring in Martin Basin. Under the direction of Dick Hallock, foreman of the Toiyabe National Forest,

they built a road down the Little Humboldt River from Cold Spring to the Forks Ranch.306

Snow Surveys. CO Jim Clark carried out snow surveys with a ranger on the Sierra's east front between

Lake Tahoe and Yosemite Park.307

Soda Springs Guard Station. A pole corral, 1/8 mile of irrigation ditch, and two miles of pasture fence 

were built at this guard station in 1942.308 Although it has not been confirmed, it is highly possible that a 

CPS crew was involved. 

Sweetwater District Range Development. An eight-man CPS crew reconstructed and renovated range

water developments on the Sweetwater District in 1942. Additional work was expected to continue

through the winter of 1942-43.309

Tonopah Ranger Station. In 1945, the office and garage from the Potts Ranger Station were relocated to

Tonopah. COs converted the office to a two-bedroom home for the ranger and the garage to a

 298 Ibid., 4. 299 Wheeler (?). 300 “Accomplishments,” 5. 301 Jim Clark to Lex, 31 March 1992. 302 "History of the Toiyabe National Forest.” 303 “Accomplishments,” 4 304 Sterling R. Justice, “The Forest Ranger on Horseback, 1967” TMs [photocopy], p. 252, Forest Service Heritage Center, Weber State 

University, Ogden, Utah. 305 Faust, 4. 306 Sterling r. Justice, 266. 307 Jim Clark to Kathy Pitts, 28 December 1993. 308 “Accomplishments,” 4-5. 309 Ibid., 7. 

FORESTOVERVIEW - 76 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
storeroom/garage. Forest Service foreman Pete Sarasola, who was described as an "expert carpenter,"

was in charge of the six-man crew that completed the work during the summer of 1945.310

Wellington Ranger Station. In 1942, the Chris Flat Guard Station building was relocated to the

Wellington Ranger Station where there was a need for another residence. There were plans (in late 1942) 

to remodel and enlarge the building.

311 It is likely that the ten COs who were stationed at Wellington

carried out this work.

312

Wheeler Guard Station. Foreman Pete Sarasola and a CPS crew remodeled the house in the summer 

of 1942. 

Miscellaneous. A ten-man crew on the Bridgeport Ranger District maintained recreation areas, the

ranger station, and worked on trails. Other COs built a sheep corral and a weighing/counting/loading 

station at Pickel Meadows. Some built portable buildings that were used in isolated areas as guard 

stations, deer check stations and other uses. COs also rebuilt a washed-out highway bridge near Masonic 

and built the first 1.4 miles of Monitor Pass, Highway 89, between Coleville and Markleeville. They 

reforested areas near Alturas, California and Verdi, Nevada. Others cut and delivered eight 75-foot high

pines for antenna systems at Forest Service administrative sites in Dog Valley, Carson City, Austin,

Paradise Valley and Markleeville.313

One CO, an astronomer named Albert V. Schatzel, built an observatory at Camp Antelope to monitor 

sunspots and other meteorological data. His records became part of the US National Weather Service,

"as well as an integral part of the nationwide astronomical community."314

PUBLIC PERCEPTION 

In contrast to the constant stream of positive publicity on the CCC, the COs received little to no public

attention. The Forest Service records and newspapers rarely noted the work of these men and most 

people are unaware that such camps existed. The Society of Friends encouraged the COs themselves to

keep a low profile: 

On entering a Civilian Public Service Camp . . . a man becomes a member of a

conspicuous minority group. He can no longer act in a manner which will draw the 

attention of the public without the group being the object of that attention. In exercising

his civil liberties each member of Civilian Public Service should therefore endeavor to

behave in a way that recognizes his full responsibility to the group.315

The men from Camp Antelope took this advice to heart, dressing up to go into town and traveling alone or

in small groups.316 Some local ranchers recognized that the men were providing a valuable service in

fighting fires. To enhance this positive reception, the Forest Service encouraged the COs to work for 

farmers during their furloughs.

317 Many farmers suffered from the labor shortage brought about by the war

and they usually welcomed assistance from the COs. 

 310 Jim Clark to Kathy Pitts, 15, January 1994. 311 “Accomplishments,” 6. 312 Wheeler (?). 313 Faust, 4. 314 Cornelius Steelink to Nicholas Faust, 19 March 1991. 315 American Friends Service Committee, Friends Civilian Public Service Statement of Policy (Philadelphia: 1943), 8. 316 Pitts, “Diary of a Conscientious Objector,” 9. 317 Wheeler (?). 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 FOREST OVERVIEW - 77
General public reaction was mixed with some people persecuting the COs and others supporting them. 

Oddly, supporters often included military personnel.318 In contrast, some Forest Service personnel did not

look too kindly on the CPS men. Ranger Justice, of the Santa Rosa Division, did not have many positive

things to say about the COs who worked for him in Paradise Valley. He said, “Looking back, it is easy to

see they were all Communists, but we did not realize it then.”

319 He described them as lazy, wasteful and 

trash, but he may have been biased since his own son was wounded in the war. Some less-educated 

Forest Service officers may have been uncomfortable with the "intelligentsia" found in CPS camps.320 The

attitudes of university-educated COs toward menial labor may have also offended them. In contrast, COs 

who became smokejumpers earned the respect of most Forest Service staff, one of whom said: 

I was very much surprised. Although unwilling to go into combat, the volunteers were 

willing to risk their lives smokejumping. We thought these men would be hard to handle, 

independent, and real renegades. But they were just the opposite.321

Many of the COs did not look favorably on the Forest Service men with whom they worked. One CO

stationed at Camp Antelope remarked that some of their Forest Service supervisors were difficult, 

particularly one man who had handled prisoners in California.322 Another wrote, "As many professional 

Forest Service people had been drafted, the [Forest Service] foremen assigned to us were not always welltrained themselves. On the whole Forest Service people were very indulgent and for the most part

kind."

323 One CO spoke of his respect for his Forest Service supervisor:

Bill was considerate of his men. He had bossed many a work gang in the past, especially 

in the lumber woods, and understood the psychology of work crews better than many a

college graduate or -- I am sure -- professor. He couldn't spell, his formal education

having stopped somewhere about the third grade, but he could produce on the field. He

knew that, and so did the Forest Service. Many times he had earned more money than

his (about) $150 a month as a temporary Fire Guard . . . But he liked life in the woods, 

preferring that to fighting for house, breath, and food in some defense center gleaming

with fat defense checks.

324

CAMP CLOSURES 

The war's end in 1945 also meant the end of the CPS camps. However, the military decreed that the COs 

could not return home until the GIs did. The discharging process began in October 1945, a few months 

after military discharges began. Camp Antelope closed in March of 1946 and the CPS program was 

terminated in March 1947, eighteen months after the war ended. Many COs remained in prisons much

longer.

325

The peace churches paid seven million dollars to operate the camps and by the time they closed, the COs

had contributed eight million man-days of unpaid work. If the federal government had paid the men and 

operated the camps, it would have cost $18 million instead of the $4.7 million the government 

contributed.326 If the labor and costs are tangible factors associated with the CPS camps, then the morality 

 318 Bush, 91-93. 319 Sterling R. Justice, 252. 320 Faust, 6. 321 Matthews. 322 Jim Clark to Kathy Pitts, 15 January 1994. 323 Norman Rich to Kathy Pitts, 10 January 1994. 324 ""Phifer's CPS Communique #13, n.d.” TMs [photocopy], p.4, Bridgeport Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest 

Service. 325 Van Dyck, 224. 326 Eller, 64. 

FORESTOVERVIEW - 78 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
and beliefs of the COs are intangible characteristics. One writer adequately summarized the social 

experiment, which marked a significant period in Forest Service history: 

In the minds of the men who designed Civilian Public Service, it was a witness of what

pacifism could accomplish, a training ground for pacifist leaders of the future, and an

experiment in Christian living. For some, CPS lived up to this ideal; for others it was a

bitter disappointment. Selective Service, whom the churches had hoped would be a

distant, inconsequential partner in CPS, persistently asserted its ultimate authority over 

the project. For those drafted into the alternative service program, CPS gradually

deteriorated into a series of controversies, with some proudly defending both the concept 

of CPS and its execution, and others demanding its dissolution.327

FIRE MANAGEMENT 

World War II presented an alternative use for the Forest Service’s fire management infrastructure. As

early as 1937, lookout operators in California were trained to spot aircraft. The Forest Service was given 

the responsibility of ensuring that all lookouts were winterized and temporary cabins erected at strategic 

spots. California’s detection program, which became known as the Aircraft Warning Service (AWS),

spread along the West Coast and eventually across the nation.328 

As part of the wartime effort, officers on the Humboldt National Forest proposed, but did not receive

approval for, the construction of numerous lookouts in 1944. The proposed locations included Green

Mountain and Greys Peak on the Ruby Mountains Ranger District, Jack Peak on the Independence 

Ranger District, Merritt Mountain on the Gold Creek Ranger District, and Elko Mountain and Marys River 

Peak on the Jarbidge Ranger District. 

The lack of manpower led to difficulties in fire protection efforts. Women staffed many of the lookout 

towers, but the Forest Service experienced difficulty finding men to fight fires. The CPS crews provided

some labor, although not on the scale of the CCC era, and some forests had to rely on prison crews,

young boys, old men and foreign nationals.

329 Fire prevention efforts were emphasized and promoted with

the introduction of the Smokey Bear campaign in 1944, but labor shortages continued to be a problem. 

More men, including COs, were trained as smokejumpers and mechanical equipment such as bulldozers 

were used to build fire lines. After the war, the Forest Service began to rely more on equipment including 

pumper trucks, helicopters, tank trucks, fire retardants, and radios. 

SNOW SURVEYING 

In the early 1940s, the Forest Service sought to minimize danger to snow surveyors by improving survey 

courses and building more snow survey cabins. These measures quickly became unnecessary as 

traditional snow surveying changed with technological developments after the war. Snowmobiles and 

airplanes eventually replaced the need to travel by skis or snowshoes to dangerous areas. “Snow pillows,” 

which were flat containers filled with antifreeze, were developed to relay the weight, and therefore the

water content, of snow through radio technology known as Snowpack Telemetry (SNOTEL).

330 With these 

advances, the need for people to travel the snow survey courses diminished. Although this trend reduced 

the threat to human life, it also led to the abandonment of snow survey cabins on the national forests. 

 327 Ibid. 328 Mark V. Thornton, “A Survey and Historic Significance Evaluation of the CDF Building Inventory, California Department of Forestry

Archaeological Reports Number 17,” (Sacramento: California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Archeology Office, 

December 1994), 19. 329 Alexander, The Rise of Multiple-Use Management, 148. 330 David E. Johnson, 229. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 FOREST OVERVIEW - 79
FORESTOVERVIEW - 80 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 
PART TWO 

Supervisor’s Offices and 

Ranger Districts
Previous page: The staff of the Nevada National Forest Supervisor’s Office in front of their office in Ely,

1937. 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 82 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
Chapter Five: Supervisors’ Offices 

TOIYABE NATIONAL FOREST 

MONO SUPERVISOR’S OFFICE 

The first Supervisor’s Office (SO) of the Mono National Forest was in Gardnerville, but it was moved in 

1918 to Minden. By 1938, the Mono was acquiring lands from the Tahoe National Forest to the north and

forest officials proposed to move the SO to Reno, where it would be more centrally located. They also 

proposed to locate it in the same building as the Toiyabe National Forest Supervisor’s Office. Stockmen in

Alpine, Mono and Lyon counties were not happy about the proposal because the Minden office was more

central to them.1

 Despite their concerns, the SO was moved to Reno in 1939 with D.M. (Kelly) Traugh

serving as Forest Supervisor. That first year, his office was located in the First National Bank Building at

Second and Virginia streets. 

In 1940, the Mono and Toiyabe supervisors moved their offices to the H.E. Saviers Building at 216 W.

Second Street.

2

 This proved to be a prudent arrangement after Forest Supervisor Alexander McQueen fell

ill in 1943 and could no long administer the Toiyabe National Forest. The Mono Forest Supervisor, Fred 

Kennedy, took over and oversaw both forests, which were eventually consolidated on July 1, 1945. 

TOIYABE SUPERVISOR’S OFFICE 

Mark Woodruff, the first Forest Supervisor of the three forest reserves in central Nevada, established his 

office in Austin. The SO remained there even after the three forest reserves were consolidated in 1908

under the name of the Toiyabe National Forest. The Forest Supervisor occupied a small building in town, 

using it as a dwelling and an office. This site, now known as the Austin Work Center, was further

developed with a warehouse, cellar, and landscaping (see Austin Ranger District History). 

When the Toiyabe National Forest was eliminated on July 1, 1932, its lands were transferred to the 

Nevada National Forest. Chet Olsen, the Toiyabe’s Forest Supervisor at Austin, moved to Ely, which 

served as headquarters for the consolidated forest. After only six years, the Toiyabe National Forest was 

re-established. Rather than return to Austin, the Forest Supervisor established his office in Reno, where 

plans were made to locate the SO in the same building as the Mono SO. At first, it may have been located 

at the Toiyabe Ranger Station (see below), but this has not been confirmed. In 1940, the Toiyabe and

Mono offices were moved to the H.E. Saviers Building at 216 W. Second Street. 

The Toiyabe SO moved several more times, going to 1479 Wells Avenue in 1953 and 1555 Wells Avenue 

in 1958. It moved to the Main Post Office Building at Mill and Center Streets in March of 1966 and is

presently located at 1200 Franklin Way in Sparks. 

Toiyabe Ranger Station 

The Forest Service received a 0.76-acre site from the Department of Commerce on November 18, 1937. 

Located near the present-day Reno airport, it may have been the Toiyabe SO after the forest was reestablished in 1938. Very little is known about the improvements at this site but around 1948, a barn of R4

Plan 13A was moved from there to the Paradise Valley Ranger Station. One former ranger recalled that

 1

 “Plans Made to Move Mono Forest Headquarters,” Bridgeport Chronicle-Union, 8 December 1938. 2

 “Forest Offices in New Building,” Reno Evening Gazette, 29 April 1940. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 83
there was a two-bedroom house, a prefabricated duplex, and a warehouse when he lived there in 1956.

He did not think any of the three buildings were standard Region Four plans.3 Through a land exchange,

the site was transferred to Alice R. Thompson on April 2, 1969. 

MINDEN WAREHOUSE COMPOUND 

Presently, the Minden Administrative Site is located near the Douglas County Airport. This land was 

acquired in a 1983 land exchange,4 in which the County received the original Minden Administrative Site.

The original site, often referred to as the Minden Warehouse Site in historic records, was located on Lot 3,

Block 1, North Addition, Town of Minden. The Farmers Bank of Carson Valley donated the 0.34-acre site

to the Forest Service on November 28, 1933. 

The Forest Service constructed a warehouse on the original Minden site. A historic photo5

 shows that it 

was a narrow, front-gabled building with shiplap siding. According to a 1958 maintenance survey, it was a

steel-framed, five-stall garage with a concrete floor and overhead doors. In 1950, the Mono Forest

Supervisor proposed to build a ranger’s house next to the warehouse.

6

 This may have been carried out 

around that time because by 1977, the site contained a frame residence that was occupied by timber staff. 

RENO CENTRAL REPAIR SHOP 

In 1939, the Nevada State Legislature 

authorized Washoe County to convey five

acres to the Federal Government for Forest 

Service shops. The land, located at 1350

E. Second Street in Reno, was transferred 

on November 29, 1939. It was developed

as a central repair shop for CCC camps in

western Nevada and eastern California, 

similar to those in Salt Lake City and 

Boise.7

 Several buildings were 

constructed, most likely with the help of the

CCC, of Region Four plans developed by 

regional architect George Nichols. 

Around 1956, a house and a garage were moved from the Lamance Experiment Station on the Santa

Rosa Range (north of Winnemucca) to the repair shop site. Beginning in February of 1957, they served as

the Reno Work Center of the Intermountain Forest & Range Experiment Station until September 1958

when the work center moved to the new Max C. Fleischmann College of Agriculture building. 

Negotiations were underway in 1984 to exchange the site for another that would allow the Toiyabe

Supervisor’s Office and warehouse compound to be in one place. At that time, there were nine buildings:

a two-story office with basement, a garage, a carpentry shop, a gas house, an auto shop, a warehouse, a

personnel office, a maintenance shop, and a storage shed. The Forest Service relinquished the land and 

removed the buildings. A parking garage is presently located on the site. 

 3

 Personal communication with John Kincheloe, 17 March 2000. 4

 Douglas County Deed Book 783, p. 815, recorded 11 July 1983. 5

 Located in a scrapbook with the Forest Archeologist, Sparks Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 6

 Forest Supervisor C.E. Favre to Regional Forester, 19 June 1950. 7

 Alexander, The Rise of Multiple-Use Management, 132. 

These buildings, originally constructed at the Lamance Experiment 

Station on the Santa Rosa District, were moved to Reno around 1956. 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 84 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
 

HUMBOLDT NATIONAL FOREST 

SUPERVISOR’S OFFICES 

Several forests in northeast Nevada, headquartered in various places, eventually became part of the

Humboldt National Forest. James Ryan administered the Ruby Mountains National Forest from Lamoille, 

Elko and Deeth, while the Santa Rosa National Forest SO was located in Paradise Valley. It is likely that 

Ely served as the SO for the Nevada National Forest when it was established in 1909. The Forest 

Supervisor was based there as early as 1912 and in the 1930s, an SO compound was constructed.

For most of its existence, the SO of the Humboldt

National Forest was located in Elko. As early as 

1906, the town was recognized as an ideal location

from which the forest reserves in northeast Nevada

could be administered. This was attributed to the

town’s location along the railroad line and between the

Independence and Ruby Mountains forest reserves.

8

The first Forest Supervisor, Syd Tremewan, described 

his first office in Elko as a 12' x 12' room upstairs in

the Harrington Building on Railroad Street.9

 In the

summer of 1909, he moved his office to the second

floor of the Hesson Hardware Company Building on

Commercial Street.10 

With the decision to establish the Ruby Mountains as 

a separate forest, District Forester E.A. Sherman 

chose to move the Humboldt SO to Gold Creek where 

it would be closer to the forest users. Supervisor

Tremewan moved to the newly developed site in April

of 1911. When it became apparent that the Ruby

National Forest was to be consolidated with the Humboldt National Forest again, the headquarters were

moved back to Elko in 1916. It was in the Title Guarantee and Trust Building on Idaho Street. 

The next major move occurred during the Depression after relief crews completed the Federal Building at

the corner of Third and Commercial streets in Elko. Now referred to as the Post Office, the building

housed the SO on the second floor. A separate warehouse compound was developed to accommodate 

vehicles, equipment and horses. 

ELKO WAREHOUSE COMPOUND 

This half-acre warehouse compound is located at the intersection of Eighth and Fir streets in Elko. The

Forest Service purchased a 0.11-acre area on the south side of Fir Street (Lots 3-4 of Block 69, First 

Addition, City of Elko) in 1934 from Milo and Etta Taber.11 In 1936, the Elko Securities Corporation sold

 8

 Wilson, 30. 

9

 Goodwin, “The Humboldt Forest,” 4. 10 Ibid. 

11 Elko County Deed Book 47, Page 190. 

The Humboldt Supervisor's Office was located in this

building in Elko, 1917 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 85
the Forest Service a 0.26-acre parcel (Lots 18-22 of Block 91) on the north side of Fir Street.12 This was

supplemented in 1988 when the City of Elko donated some land totaling 0.14 acre along Eighth Street13 in 

exchange for a Forest Service warehouse on River Street.14

The first building was constructed in 1931 on the south side of Fir Street. It was a 24’ x 40’ metal-clad

warehouse with a concrete floor and a rodent-proof tent room. Little else was done with the site until the

mid-1930s when CCC crews became available. In 1935, they improved the warehouse and began

construction of a garage (R4 Plan 33B), which they completed in 1937. A post-and-rail corral for horses 

was built in 1936. Under foreman Jack Abegglan, a crew of eight CCC enrollees built a gas and oil house 

(R4 Plan 95-A), equipment shed (R4 Plan 35M), loading ramp and warehouse fence in 1938.15 

In 1946, the dwelling from the Terraces Guard Station was moved from Lamoille Canyon to the warehouse

compound. Constructed by the CCC in 1936, it was placed in town to accommodate the Jarbidge District 

Ranger who worked from Elko during the winters. The house was placed on a full basement and

remodeled in late 1946 and early 1947. A small utility building was placed behind the house in 1946 to

serve as a storehouse for the dwelling. Its original location is unknown, but its construction is typical of 

Forest Service buildings during the CCC era. 

 12 Elko County Deed Book 48, Page 313. 13 This consisted of Lot 23 and the westerly 5 feet of Lot 24 of Block 91, and Lot 2 and the westerly 5 feet of Lot 1 of Block 69. Elko

County Deed Book 613, Page 582. 14 The Forest Service leased the lot on River Street from the City of Elko beginning in 1952. That year, a warehouse was moved from 

Camp Antelope in Coleville, California to the site. 15 Humboldt Hummer, newsletter of the Humboldt National Forest, 17 December 1937, Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, 

USDA Forest Service. 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 86 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
Chapter Six: The Sierra Front 

The two districts on the Sierra Front, the Bridgeport and Carson districts represent much of the former

Mono National Forest and part of the Lake Tahoe National Forest. They became part of the Toiyabe

National Forest in 1945. 

BRIDGEPORT RANGER DISTRICT 

When the Mono National Forest was created in 1908, it was divided into four ranger districts: the Mono

Lake (now part of the Inyo National Forest), Sweetwater, Bridgeport, and Alpine districts. In 1945, the

Sweetwater and Bridgeport districts were reconfigured into the West Walker and Bridgeport districts, and

were transferred to the Toiyabe National Forest. The Bridgeport District absorbed the West Walker 

District, which had its headquarters in Wellington, Nevada, in 1973. 

Land within the present-day Bridgeport Ranger District was administered by several other forests in the 

past. In addition to the Mono National Forest, the Stanislaus and Sierra forests once managed portions of 

the district. Three sections in the upper Virginia Creek Drainage were part of the Yosemite National Park 

and are the longest federally recognized and managed lands in Region Four.16

William Maule was the Forest Supervisor of the Mono National Forest, serving from 1909 to 1938. In his 

diary, he often mentioned the Bridgeport rangers and the work they carried out. According to his writings,

Deputy Ranger Thomas C. West was in charge of the district in its first year. He may have been followed

by Ranger Fulton, who was on the district by April of 1910. The Sweetwater District Ranger, Henry W. 

Atcheson, took over for a Ranger Tyler on the Bridgeport District and served as its ranger until 1941. He

was succeeded by Alpine District Ranger William Hayes until 1943 when Glen R. Jones took over. In 

1947, Jones transferred to the Tonopah District and Lyle Smith served as acting ranger until 1951. 

BRIDGEPORT RANGER STATION 

The Forest Service currently maintains four administrative sites in the Bridgeport area: a helibase, a

warehouse site, a district office site, and the historic ranger station. The latter site, located four miles north

of Bridgeport on US 395, was approved on November 17, 1907. Originally known as the Mono Ranger 

Station, it consisted of 150 acres. 

The Bridgeport Ranger Station was most likely developed soon after it was withdrawn. Ranger Fulton was 

operating from the station in April of 1910. By 1911, there was a house and/or office. Early photos show 

that it was an L- or T-shaped plan and was covered with board-and-batten siding. The cross-gabled roof

had slightly flared eaves and the building was illuminated with 4/4 windows. Another photo shows a

rectangular barn with a gable roof located nearby. 

By 1913, these two buildings were supplemented with two others although their functions are not known. 

Photos show one to be a utility building such as a barn or shed, while the other may have been a second 

house or an office. All buildings were covered with board-and-batten siding. In his diary, Supervisor Maule 

provided some clues to the site improvements when, in 1916, he helped Ranger Tyler repair a pump and 

work on a flagpole. He also reported that Tyler converted the “old barn” to some type of shed. 

 16 Swift, “Bridgeport and Carson Ranger District Centennial.” 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 87
Ranger Atcheson was responsible for numerous improvements to the site during his long tenure from

1919 to 1941. During his first year, he and Maule bought three sets of “bath apparatus" for the ranger 

stations at bargain prices. Atcheson further improved the house when he screened in two porches (1928)

and installed new linoleum (1929). In August of 1931, he and Maule decided to build a warehouse using

Region Five Plan D-7. Under Atcheson, a crew started construction by October 1931 and completed the 

warehouse the following month. 

Atcheson’s efforts were all for naught because within a few years, the site was extensively developed with 

emergency relief funds and labor. The improvements included the construction of a new house. Although

there was discussion of selling the old house, Atcheson tore it down in March of 1934.

The new buildings were of standard Region Five plans developed by architects Norman K. Blanchard and

Edward J. Maher. Under a foreman named Forson, relief crews started construction in 1933. Architect 

Blanchard was involved with the new developments, making a site visit in September 1933. One of the 

first buildings was a house of Region Five Plan A-1. In September of that year, Maule criticized Forson for 

the poor work on the house foundation, which was crooked and had no anchor bolts. However, work

proceeded quickly and by the end of the 

month, the roof was being shingled. By 

November, the exterior was finished and 

Forson was painting the interior. 

Bridgeport Ranger Dwelling, 1979 

The house is an intact example of Blanchard 

and Maher's Plan A-1 as illustrated in Dana

Supernowicz’s examination of administrative 

buildings in Region Five.17 Supernowicz

writes that this was the first residence plan 

completed by the two architects and that the

first one was probably not constructed until 

1934. This indicates that the Bridgeport 

house is one of the first (if not the first) of 

these houses to be built. 

An office, of Region Five Plan F, was also constructed in 1933. It was finished and painted in November of 

that year and Ranger Atcheson was using it by the following March to conduct district business. In 1962, it 

was relocated to the Reese River Ranger Station on the Austin Ranger District.18

Under Foreman Forson, a second crew -- possibly CCC or locals hired with emergency relief funds -- built 

a second warehouse in 1933. That November, the two warehouses were painted and a board corral was 

constructed near the older warehouse, part of which was used as a barn. Both warehouses measured 25’

x 60’ and were covered with corrugated metal. The 1933 warehouse was torn down around 1984.19 The 

1931 warehouse has been significantly altered. 

Other development at the Bridgeport Ranger Station included two latrines (1933) and a 2900-feet spring 

pipeline (1933). The existing woodshed may have been built around this time of a Region Five design. In 

1977, the shed was converted to a storage building with the addition of wall shelves.

The Bridgeport Ranger Station was nicely landscaped. Ranger Atcheson planted trees (aspens that failed 

to grow) as early as 1920. When the District Forester visited in 1925, he noted: 

 17 Dana E. Supernowicz, Contextual History of Forest Service Administration Buildings in the Pacific Southwest Region (n.p.: USDA 

Forest Service Region 5, 1989). 18 Les Joslin to Forest Supervisor Jim Nelson, 6 November 1991. 19 Personal communication with Bill Bryant, Bridgeport Ranger District. 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 88 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
The buildings at this station, which is on Government land, are freshly painted and well

kept. . . . Atcheson has done a great deal in the planting of trees and flowers to make the

grounds look attractive. The signboard on the road in front of the station is one of the 

best that I have seen. No traveler can go by without knowing that he is passing a ranger

station.20

In 1929, Maule left eight Siberian elms for the station and three years later, he noted that Atcheson had "a

nice bed of conifer transplants at his station which he secured at Feather river." Maule wrote that

Atcheson continued to plant trees during the 1930s, including some golden willows that Captain Babbitt, a 

CCC camp officer, sent. Atcheson also planted a "nice double row [of] Junipers at [the] upper lane" as well 

as shrubs and flowerbeds. Landscape architect L. Glenn Hall was impressed with the Bridgeport station

when he visited in 1936.

21

Additional development was carried out in the 1940s. In 1944, five portable cabins were placed on the

site. It is possible that these accommodated a CPS spike camp but this has not been verified. A small

light plant house was also constructed in 1944 to house a secondhand generator. Photos dated 1958

show that the diminutive building had shiplap siding, a shingled roof, and a panel door modified to 

accommodate vents. It was located a few feet north of the woodshed (now the storage shed). In 1977,

there were recommendations for the light plant’s disposal. It was torn down sometime after 1984 but the

concrete slab remains.

The site continued to evolve as new houses and an office were completed in the 1960s and 1970s. When

the Bridgeport and West Walker districts were combined in 1973, the Bridgeport Ranger Station was 

selected for continued use as district headquarters. Eventually, forest officials decided the site could not 

accommodate further expansion and, in May of 1979, the Regional Forester gave permission to relocate

the facilities and vacate the ranger station. In 1981, office personnel moved to a leased building in

Bridgeport. A bunkhouse, reportedly built in 1924,

22 was torn down around that time. Although the site no

longer serves as a ranger station, the Forest Service continues to use it as a residential compound and for 

stock. 

In 1938, C. Hart Merriam recognized the archaeological and ethnographic attributes of the Bridgeport 

Ranger Station site, noting “There is also an oral tradition among members of the local Native American

community of the use of the site as a ceremonial, burial, and campsite location.”

23 According to Mark 

Swift, former archeologist on the Bridgeport Ranger District, the burial site may be in the northeast part of

the compound. 

As early as 1979, the site was evaluated as having historic and prehistoric significance and being eligible

for the National Register of Historic Places.

24 This was contradicted by a 1990 report, which erroneously 

stated the remaining 1930s structures retained little integrity due to modifications.25

 20 Inspection report by District Forester Redington, 31 July 1926, in Maule, “Diaries of William M. Maule.” 21 Maule, “Diaries of William M. Maule.” 22 “Bridgeport Administrative Site Study, 1979” TMs, p. 17, Sparks Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 23 C. Hart Merriam, “California Cultural Resource Report No. CA:MON:12, 1938,” California Office of Historic Preservation, Sacramento, 

California. 24 “Bridgeport Administrative Site Study,” 5. 25 Valerie A. Levulett, “Historic Property Survey Report for Construction of a Proposed Passing Lane Along Highway 395, Mono 

County, California. Report No. 9-Mno-395, August 1990” TMs [photocopy], Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA 

Forest Service. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 89
BUCKEYE SNOW SURVEY CABIN 

According to Supervisor Maule's diary, there was a cabin at Buckeye Creek as early as 1914. In

September of that year, Maule reported that he went up the creek, "as far as the cabin" where he spent the

night.26 The exact location of this early cabin is unknown.

The existing cabin is located in the Hoover Wilderness, just north of Yosemite National Park. It was 

constructed in 1926 to accommodate snow surveyors who traveled the Center Mountain Snow Course. 

The course, established in 1922 by C.W. Fulton, was located three miles above the cabin. Maule 

discussed the cabin’s construction with Professor J.E. Church, father of snow surveying, as early as 

September 1925.27 The Forest Service issued a special use permit to Church on January 14, 1926 for a 

0.1-acre site. According to the permit, a 14' x 16' cabin was to be built within one year and used to store 

supplies and shelter snow surveyors. A stipulation of the permit allowed forest officers to use the cabin

when necessary. Ranger Henry Atcheson wrote in an accompanying memo that the cabin was to be built

of "dead and down and spike top Lodgepole Pine poles." The cabin was constructed with a “Santa Claus

chimney” that allowed entry through the roof in deep snow. 

A 1969 legal form refers to two special permits held

by the Nevada and California Cooperative Snow

Survey. The permits were for two cabins, one of

which was the Buckeye Cabin. The other permit

was issued on December 28, 1932 but the location

of the second cabin is presently unknown.28 A

1971 description of the snow courses on Toiyabe 

National Forest mentions only one snow survey 

cabin, the Buckeye Cabin. 

By the late 1970s, the Hoover Wilderness 

Management Plan called for the removal of the

Buckeye Cabin but the Soil Conservation Service 

claimed it was still needed for snow surveys. 

Termination of the special use permit was

recommended in 1983 and, although never carried 

out, there were plans to remove the cabin. It still

exists but is deteriorating. 

keye Snow Survey Cabin, 1950s. Note the "Santa Claus

imney" that provided access during periods of deep snow. 

Buc

ch

CAMP ANTELOPE ADMINISTRATIVE SITE 

A CCC camp was established in Antelope Valley near Coleville, California in October of 1939.29 The camp 

closed in 1942 and two weeks later, in June of that year, Conscientious Objectors (COs) arrived to occupy

the camp as part of the Civilian Public Service (CPS) program. After the CPS camp closed on February

25, 1946, its buildings and property were transferred to the Forest Service, which used it as a work center. 

Although it was considered “government land,” the Forest Service sought to withdraw the area as an

administrative site.30 The agency’s effort paid off and the 80-acre site was withdrawn by Public Land Order 

 26 Maule, “Diaries of William M. Maule.” 27 Ibid. 

28 History files, District Archeologist, Bridgeport Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 29 "History of the Toiyabe National Forest." 30 Thomas D. Burke and Barbara J. Mackey, Cultural Resources Inventory of Camp Antelope, Southern Antelope Valley, Mono County, 

California (Virginia City, NV: Archeological Research Services, Inc., July 1998), 15. 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 90 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
1441 on November 7, 1955. Records indicate that several of the buildings were moved to ranger stations

and guard stations on the Toiyabe and Humboldt forests. 

The US Marine Corps (USMC) established a mountain warfare training camp at Pickel Meadows and, 

beginning in the early 1960s, its training staff occupied Camp Antelope. The USMC removed some of the

Forest Service buildings and erected 39 prefabricated housing units for USMC dependants.31 In 1968, the 

camp was placed in "caretaker status.” Between 1970 and 1972, the Department of Housing and Urban 

Development (HUD) acquired the residential buildings, although the Topaz Hotshot crews and helitack 

crews occupied the site as late as November of 1973. The Forest Service revoked the site withdrawal in

1975 and a year later HUD transferred the site, including 36 single-family units and two utility buildings, to

the Owens Valley Indian Housing Authority for use as low-income housing. 

CHRIS FLAT GUARD STATION 

A Region Five Plan B dwelling was built in 1933-34 at the Chris Flat Guard Station, located near the Chris 

Flat Campground along US Highway 395. Construction commenced before October 1933 when 

Supervisor Maule wrote that the plumber would start work there soon. He also reported that Forest Guard

Earwaker was making good progress and they discussed paint standards. According to a November 1933

diary entry, Maule delivered a sash for the cellar and a "can of green," presumably paint or stain. In 

February of 1934, Maule delivered curtains, a new stove, and sheet iron for the wall and floor near the

stove. Mr. and Mrs. Earwaker occupied the house, beautifying the site by planting flowers and trees.32

Other buildings were constructed on the site, one of which was of Region Five Plan J. The J-Plan 

buildings were “three-purpose buildings” such as a garage-toolshed-woodshed. The guard station was not 

used for long. In 1942, the dwelling was moved to the Wellington Ranger Station, which was to be the

headquarters for the new West Walker Ranger District. At that time, the Chris Flat Guard Station was 

abandoned.33

PIUTE MEADOWS ADMINISTRATIVE SITE 

Deputy Ranger Thomas C. West of the Stanislaus National Forest prepared a plat for the proposed Piute 

Ranger Station. The plat was not dated but was drawn sometime before February 5, 1908 when the 120-

acre site was withdrawn. In 1916, a trail was constructed from Leavitt Meadows to Piute Meadows

34 and 

forest officers may have used the site as an overnight camp or pasture until 1944 when a cabin was

completed.

An eight-man crew of Conscientious Objectors, under foreman Dick Hollock, developed the Piute

Meadows site.35 In 1942, they laid the cabin foundation and cut lodgepole logs, posts and poles, which

they planned to season for a year.

36 Using a team of draft horses to pull the logs into place,37 the COs

finished the cabin in 1944.38

 31 Ibid. 

32 Maule, “Diaries of William M. Maule.” 33 Kumiega, 7. 34 Maule, “Diaries of William M. Maule.” 35 Jim Clark to Kathy Pitts, 15 January 1994. 36 “Accomplishments,” 5. 37 Jim Clark to Lex, 31 March 1992. 38 “History of the Toiyabe National Forest.” 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 91
The site is located in a proposed wilderness area, just north of Yosemite National Park. In addition to the

cabin, there is another building made of stone. It was originally a latrine but in 1980 was converted to a

grain storage and tack room. At that time, a fiberglass latrine was placed at the guard station. Other site

elements include a fence (reconstructed 1987) and round corral (rebuilt 1988). 

SWEETWATER RANGER STATION 

The Sweetwater Ranger District was headquartered near the small, historic town of Sweetwater, Nevada

near the California border. Ranger Jones was the first known ranger, managing the district from 1910 to

1912. He was succeeded by William J. Clark and Henry W. Atcheson, who worked on various districts of

the Mono National Forest for many years. Other rangers followed: Carl E. Johnson, W.J. Brokenshire,

Frank R. Allen, Al Bramhall, and Wallace Green. Around 1941, preparations were made to reconfigure the

Sweetwater and Bridgeport districts into the West Walker and Bridgeport Districts. Henry W. Atcheson

returned as the Sweetwater/West Walker district ranger until 1945 when the Sweetwater district was 

officially eliminated. 

The Sweetwater Ranger Station was one of the earliest on the Mono National Forest. In March 1910, a

reservoir and pasture were constructed and Supervisor Maule inspected the "new buildings." It is not clear 

what these first buildings were, but Maule ordered lumber for a house from the Minden Lumber Company 

in June of 1911. 

The house was improved in 1924 when Maule and Ranger Johnson hung wall covering, laid linoleum, and 

installed a kitchen range. The ranger also dug a much-needed cellar near the house, for which Maule

promised to provide redwood planks for the lining and roof. Ranger Brokenshire succeeded Johnson in

the summer of 1925 and the following spring completed the cellar. 

The District Forester visited the Sweetwater Ranger Station in 1925. He wrote: 

The Sweetwater ranger station is located 11⁄2 miles north of the town of Sweetwater on

the main road between that place and Carson Valley. It has a station house of three 

rooms, a combination store and toolhouse, in which the bath tub is located but used, a

barn and good pasture. The pasture fence, however, needs straightening up. There is a

fairly good water supply. The spring from which the water comes is not heavy enough, 

however, to give a gravity flow that will put it in pipes in the house and it has to be hauled 

from a small reservoir near the porch.39

Maule and Brokenshire corrected the water problems in 1926. They started constructing a water system

that included a tank, pump and bathroom plumbing. Frank Allen, who arrived in the summer of 1927 to

replace Brokenshire, completed the bathroom in November 1927, with the help of Maule and Bridgeport

Ranger Atcheson. The following year, Allen planted a lawn and young trees, painted the house, 

constructed a stock guard gate at the end of the lane, relocated the station sign over the driveway, and 

screened in the front and back porches. 

In 1930, the old cellar caved in and the ranger used it as a garbage pit. Maule suggested they move it

since it was too close to the house. Maule noted that Mrs. Allen, the ranger’s wife, had a "most excellent

display of flowers of various kinds growing at headquarters." He also praised the trees planted the

previous summer and noted that Ranger Allen moved his office to the "upper building and very neatly

remodeled the inside." Allen also completed a remodel of the woodshed by December.40

 39 Maule, “Diaries of William M. Maule.” 40 Ibid. 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 92 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
Maule's 1931 diary entries state the house needed window shades and new kitchen linoleum. They

planned to remodel the barn to remove the manger, close off the main portion of the ceiling, and install

double swinging doors on the front. Allen carried out this work in the fall. The following spring, in 1932, he

repainted the house interior and lined the bathroom. Maule mentions a "new shop" which he suggested 

Allen paint. 

The CCC's arrival marked more construction. In August of 1933, Maule discussed plans for new buildings

at the Sweetwater Ranger Station with Allen and Foreman Wirth who were digging a new cellar. The

following month, crews finished foundations for three new structures: a house (R5 Plan A), an office and a

garage. Construction proceeded quickly and, by October, their exteriors were painted. The crews also 

built a reservoir on the hill. The front porch of the house was fitted with pickets to provide a "corral" for

Allen’s young child. In 1934, Allen assembled a windmill pump and laid linoleum and mastipave. 

In 1937, Maule suggested they sell the old buildings that, despite the early work, he considered an

"eyesore." According to one report, the “old station” was torn down in 1942.41 This may have been the

office only because the cabin was remodeled by COs in 1945. Twenty years later, the district ranger 

suggested that the cabin, which had been retained for use in connection with the University of Nevada

reseeding study plots, be sold or burned.

42

WELLINGTON RANGER STATION 

Three acres in Wellington were donated to the Forest Service for use as a ranger station on August 14, 

1939. In the fall of 1939, the office was moved from the Sweetwater Ranger Station to the new site, also 

known as the West Walker Ranger Station. Construction of a house and garage soon commenced43 and

Ranger Henry Atcheson moved to the site in December of 1940. 

The Wellington Ranger Station replaced the Sweetwater Ranger Station as headquarters of the

Sweetwater District in 1942. That year, a dwelling was moved from the Chris Flat Guard Station to the 

new site. There were plans in late 1942 to remodel

and enlarge the building as a new residence.44 It is

possible that some of the ten COs who were

stationed at Wellington carried out this work. 

In 1945, the Bridgeport and Sweetwater districts were

re-organized as the Bridgeport and West Walker

districts with the latter's headquarters at the

Wellington Ranger Station. The West Walker Ranger

District later became part of the Bridgeport District. 

The ranger station, including a house, office, guard

station, barn, oil house and garage/warehouse, was 

sold sometime in the 1970s45 or in 1980. 

Wellington Guard Station 

 41 “Accomplishments,” 7. 42 District Ranger Sam E. Warren to Forest Supervisor, 30 September 1965. 43 Bridgeport Chronicle-Union, 26 October 1939. 44 “Accomplishments,” 6. 45 Ranger John McGhee to Forest Supervisor, 5 December 1984. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 93
WHEELER GUARD STATION 

The Wheeler Guard Station, situated northwest of Bridgeport on US Highway 395, was withdrawn on

November 18, 1913 to administer the west end of the Bridgeport District. The only improvement at that 

time was a drift fence. On May 19, 1914, Supervisor Maule and Wallace Green examined the 40-acre site

and chose locations for fences and buildings. Shortly thereafter, lumber was delivered and by mid-June,

Maule and Green were working on the buildings. Green, the first to occupy the Wheeler Guard Station,

started out as a Forest Guard on the Mono National Forest. He was the Mono Lake District Ranger for 24

years before transferring to the Sweetwater Ranger District in 1939. 

Supervisor Maule described the Wheeler Guard Station in 1915, noting that six acres were fenced, two of 

which were planted with timothy. The two-room house measured 14’ x 28’ and was painted a standard 

color scheme in the fall of 1915. It had drop siding, a cedar shingle roof, and terra cotta flues with a 

chimney cap. A flagpole of Oregon pine was painted white and set in the porch roof. The 10’ x 18’ barn 

had a metal roof and a toilet built in one end. It was also painted a standard color.46 

Photos dated May 1920 show that the original two-room dwelling, which now forms the core of the existing

house, was side-gabled and had a metal flue. The partial-width porch had a shed roof and was centered

on the front façade. The barn, located to the south, was also a gabled structure with its ridgeline parallel to 

that of the house. It is likely that the existing warehouse/garage is the 1914 barn, given its 10’ x 18’ size, 

early construction technique, and the evidence of a toilet at one end. The ridgeline of the existing building 

is now perpendicular to the house, suggesting that it has been moved from its original location and/or

turned 90 degrees. 

In 1925, District Forester Redington inspected the Wheeler Guard Station, commenting on the two-room 

cabin, small barn, latrine, pasture fence, and good spring water. He described the buildings as "well

painted and very neat and clean."47 A year after his visit, the site was improved with the drainage of "small

swamps," construction of new ditches, and setting out of trees.

48

A forest guard built a new latrine and painted the interior of the house in 1931. This may have been Guard

Earwaker, who occupied the site for several years afterwards. That November, Earwaker built a back 

porch on the house. Maule reported that he was doing a nice job and that it would provide "needed room." 

The following spring, Earwaker built a yard fence and Maule noted that trees were started. Earwaker and

his wife had a notable interest in landscaping and were commended for improving the Wheeler and Chris 

Flat guard stations with flowers and other plantings.

49 In 1942, COs under the supervision of Foreman

Pete Sarasola remodeled the house and constructed a wrap-around sleeping porch.

A 1942 report noted that the Wheeler Guard Station was "an ideal location for a field headquarters for work 

in connection with the Little Walker range and for contacts with many of our grazing permittees. It also

serves as a central location for the holding of Forest stock during the field season."50 Since at least the 

1970s, the station has been used by work crews during the field season. At times, trailers have been

temporarily placed on site to accommodate work crews. 

 46 Forest Supervisor Maule to ?, 9 December 1915. 47 Maule, “Diaries of William M. Maule.” 48 Ibid. 

49 Ibid. 

50 “Accomplishments,” 6. 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 94 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE SITES 

According to a 1909 map of the Mono National Forest, there were numerous administrative sites on what

is now the Bridgeport Ranger District. Unfortunately, little is known about most of these early, unnamed

sites. Minimal information found in archival records about the named sites is presented below. 

Coyote Valley Administrative Site. Approved on April 2, 1908, the Coyote Valley Ranger Station

consisted of 100 acres on the Alpine Ranger District. It may not have been developed until 1913 when

Forest Supervisor Maule selected a pasture site there. The pasture was fenced and was used by forest

officers traveling by way of Fish Valley. The Regional Forester cancelled the approval in 1955. 

Desert Creek Ranger Station. Maule mentioned this site in 1910 when he ordered barbed wire for it, but 

its location is undetermined. The wire was to be hauled to the site, presumably for a pasture. Either the 

pasture was never developed or it was abandoned, because in 1924 Maule selected a “nice little meadow”

for use as a small administrative pasture there. He noted that it was “necessary in working the lower 

ranges there and will also serve as drift fence for cattle.” 

Green Creek Ranger Station. In 1905, S.N.L. Ellis, Supervisor of the Stanislaus Forest Reserve,

directed the construction of a log cabin at this site on the south end of the present-day Bridgeport District.51 

It was soon moved, presumably because it was in a poor location.52 Maule mentioned the site in his diary 

in May of 1910. He did not mention a cabin and referred to it as a “ranger camp” rather than a station, thus

suggesting that there was no building there at that time. In 1915, Maule wrote that he and Ranger Tyler 

selected a site for a cabin at the Green Creek Ranger Station. They cut and peeled 30 aspen poles,

cleared a site and “trimmed up a small grove to allow better view.” Maule suggested fencing a small

pasture. 

According to a 1945 project work inventory, the cabin measured 10’ x 12’ and was of corrugated iron. It 

was placed under a special use permit to a person named Pearce and was eventually sold. The inventory 

also notes that there was a 1933 garage, of Region Five Plan J, that was remodeled into a cabin in 1945. 

There was also a 1930 corrugated metal shed, a 1934 windmill, and a 1909 fence enclosing a 30-acre

pasture. 

Leavitt Meadows Administrative Site. This 100-acre site may have been withdrawn as early as 1908. It

was located along the West Walker River in the approximate location of the Leavitt Meadows Pack Station.

Forest officers camped there until 1915, when Ranger Green and Ranger Jones constructed a cabin there. 

In 1918, Supervisor Maule reported that they had to tear down the cabin, which would have to be moved

back from the river because of severe flooding. It appears that the cabin was never reconstructed

because in 1925, Maule wrote that the state highway department wanted to construct a cabin there.

Maule agreed to let them build a cabin in the administrative pasture since it was no longer needed.

According to a 1945 project work inventory, it was a 16’ x 18’ galvanized iron structure. 

Lobdell Administrative Site. In July of 1915, the Forest Service and several grazing permittees agreed 

to build a cabin at Lobdell Lake. Ranger Henry Atcheson took charge of construction, which was paid for 

by a $16.00 contribution from each permittee. The cooperation continued at least through 1927, when

Maule mentioned the poor condition of the McKay-Yeager pasture fence at the cabin. He recommended 

that they roll up the fence wire if they no longer wanted to use it for pack stock. The cabin was still there in

1932 when Maule described it as looking "neat." The approval of the 80-acre site (date unknown) was 

cancelled by the Regional Forester in 1955 but a pasture fence was still on the facilities list in November 

1984. The original permittee cabin may also remain.

53

 51 Conners, “History of the Stanislaus.” 52 Ibid. 

53 Personal communication with Levi Broyles, 14 January 2000. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 95
Mountain Glen Administrative Site. Located just east of the USMC Mountain Warfare Training site, this

site consisted of 200 acres. A recommendation for its withdrawal was made in 1908, but little else is

known about it at this time. 

Pickel Meadows Guard Station. In 1921, Ranger Atcheson and a man named Simmons constructed a 

phone line from Wheeler Guard Station to Pickel Meadows. Supervisor Maule described it as "quite a bit 

of service to administrative work." Atcheson completed a cabin, corral and toilet at the site, located a few

miles west of US Highway 395, in August 1924. A year later, the District Forester inspected the 

administrative site, noting that it served as an outpost station for Atcheson. He described the one-room 

cabin as well painted and having a corrugated iron roof.54 Eventually, the station was redeveloped, most 

likely in the 1930s. A Region Five Plan F building was constructed, but it was moved to the Topaz Guard

Station in 1954. 

Topaz Guard Station. The Topaz Guard Station, located at the junction of US Highway 395 and the 

Markleeville-Coleville Highway was withdrawn as the Slinkard Administrative Site on February 2, 1954. It 

appears that the name was changed soon after withdrawal. Although the site, consisting of 38.75 acres,

was not developed prior to 1950, the buildings there are historic and were re-located from other sites. In 

1954, two 20' x 21' dwellings from Camp Antelope (a former CCC and CPS camp) near Coleville were

relocated there. According to sketch plans, one was converted to a garage/storeroom. The Pickle

Meadows Guard Station was also transported to the site. The latter was an office of Region Five Plan F. 

The Topaz Guard Station is now used as an interagency fire center and is no longer administered by the

Forest Service. 

Twin Lakes Administrative Site. This 38.07-acre site southwest of Bridgeport was on the Stanislaus 

National Forest when it was withdrawn on September 26, 1907. This withdrawal was either replaced with

or supplemented by a second withdrawal of 106.16 acres on April 9, 1908. Archival records suggest that it

was used as a pasture. A fence was still there in 1984. 

Wildhorse Administrative Site. Although the exact location of this site is presently unknown, early

references to it suggest it was on the present-day Bridgeport Ranger District. It was developed in 1910 as

a pasture. Seven years later, Supervisor Maule directed Ranger Henry Atcheson to remove the fence and 

take it to the Sweetwater Ranger Station. 

Miscellaneous Sites: 

Big Hole Administrative Site. This site appears on a 1909 map of Mono National Forest and was on a list

of sites recorded in the Land and Survey Office. 

Big Springs Administrative Site. The Regional Forester cancelled this 60-acre site in 1955. 

Calevada Administrative Site. The Regional Forester cancelled its use in 1955. 

Dunderberg Administrative Site. This 120-acre site was proposed in 1945 and was most likely approved

shortly thereafter. The approval was cancelled by the Regional Forester in 1955. 

Frying Pan Administrative Site. The Regional Forester cancelled this 40-acre site in 1955. 

Hambone Administrative Site. This 40-acre site was withdrawn on April 18, 1908. 

Little Long Valley Administrative Site. The Regional Forester cancelled this 160-acre site in 1955. 

Sardine Falls Administrative Site. The Regional Forester cancelled this 42.15-acre site in 1955. 

 54 Maule, “Diaries of William M. Maule.” 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 96 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
Sierra Gem Administrative Site. This site consisted of 130 acres. 

Summit Meadows Administrative Site. The Regional Forester cancelled it in 1955. 

Virginia Creek Administrative Site. The Regional Forester cancelled this 40-acre site in 1955. 

Wiley Meadows Administrative Site. The Regional Forester cancelled it in 1955. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 97
CARSON RANGER DISTRICT 

The Carson Ranger District was created in 1940 on the Mono National Forest from parts of other forests,

one of which was the Stanislaus National Forest. In September 1906, the Stanislaus received a 500,000-

acre addition that included the areas around Lower Twin Lake, Devils Gate Pass, West Walker River 

Canyon, and Ebbets Pass, as well as the northern portions of the present-day Carson-Iceberg Wilderness. 

The new Carson District was also formed from the northern end of the Alpine District on the Mono National

Forest, as well as part of the Truckee District of the Tahoe National Forest. The Tahoe land included an

area in Dog Valley purchased in 1939. This purchase was made possible when the Nevada legislature

authorized federal purchases of critical watersheds that were overgrazed and deforested. As discussed 

below, significant rehabilitation efforts were implemented soon after the purchase. 

Walter Puhn was the first Carson District Ranger. Gilbert Doll was serving as ranger when most of the 

Mono National Forest, including the Carson District, was transferred to the Toiyabe National Forest in

1945. He was succeeded that year by E. Arnold Hansen, the first ranger to occupy the “White House” at 

the Carson Ranger Station. 

Numerous changes to the district came about in 1973. The Alpine District, which had its headquarters in

Minden, was eliminated and its lands transferred to the Carson District. That same year, the Lake Tahoe 

Basin Management Unit was created with lands from the Toiyabe, El Dorado and Tahoe national forests. 

The Toiyabe land included the Zephyr Point lookout and the area along the west side of the Carson Range

within the Lake Tahoe drainage basin. 

Mono Forest Supervisor William Maule kept a diary that contains valuable information about the early

administrative sites on what is now the Carson Ranger District.55 These are discussed below. 

CARSON RANGER STATION 

The Carson Ranger Station is located on the west side of US Highway 395 at the south end of Carson

City. It is the site of the historic Gardner Ranch house, which was destroyed by fire in 1918. Matthew

Gardner, a lumber magnate, established his 300-acre ranch here in 1870 and later constructed a 

lumberyard for his Carson-Tahoe Lumber and Fluming Company about a half-mile south of the ranger

station. His company was the largest logging and lumber supply company during the Comstock Period.

Gardner died in 1908 and his house burned ten years later.56 

The State of Nevada donated the site to the Forest Service in 1941 for use as a cooperative fire protection

headquarters, a nursery site, and headquarters of the newly formed Carson Ranger District.57 Under the 

agreement, ownership of the site would revert to the State if the Forest Service constructed no 

improvements within five years or discontinued use of the site. The local paper reported the planned 

developments: 

Forest service plans include, in addition to operation of a federal-state nursery for

reforestation and other purposes, the erection, on a suitable site, of a ranger station

 55 Ibid. 

56 Jerry W. Oothoudt, "Carson District Office Timber Trailer Pedestal Installation Project and A Survey of the District Ranger Station 

Property, Report No. TY-93-780, 1993" TMs, p. 6, Carson City Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, US Forest Service. 57 “Buildings for Mono Forest Official Use Being Built,” Reno Evening Gazette or Bridgeport Chronicle-Union, late 1939 or early 1940, 

newspaper clipping in scrapbook in the possession of the Forest Archeologist, Sparks Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, 

USDA Forest Service. 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 98 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
office, two dwellings – one for the ranger and one for the assistant ranger, and a

warehouse. The buildings would be of white brick. The building material is already in

possession of the forest service.58

Local carpenters and CCC crews began construction of the first building, a house, in the summer of 1941.

Their work, led by Foreman Ed Helman and Carpenter Foreman Allen Mason,

59 was halted by the

outbreak of World War II and the ensuing restrictions on building materials. The Forest Service tried to get

approval to proceed with construction using Conscientious Objectors for labor, but the War Production

Board denied permission. 

By the time the war was over, the Toiyabe National Forest in Region Four had absorbed the Mono

National Forest. Aware that the site needed to be developed within five years of the State's conveyance, 

Region Four's architectural engineer, George Nichols, produced a new site development plan in February

1946. That year, his design for a guard station/bunkhouse (R4 Plan 9B) was constructed near the 1941 

foundation to serve as the ranger's house. Known as the “White House,” it was built of brick salvaged from 

the Floriston Pulp and Paper Company mill. This Truckee Canyon mill opened in 1899 and contributed 

significantly to the deterioration of the river’s water quality. After fighting court-ordered injunctions and 

threats of lawsuits, the mill closed on December 24, 1930.60 The Forest Service had salvaged some bricks 

before the war. Conscientious Objectors from Camp Antelope salvaged an additional 40,000 bricks in

1942. 

The use of brick and the design of the White House are departures from Region Four's more vernacular 

structures of the 1930s and represent a deviation from the region’s identity. There are no other buildings of

this type on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest and, at present, no others have been identified on the 

other national forests in Region Four. 

In his 1946 plan, Nichols proposed to use the existing brick foundation, built and abandoned in 1941, for a 

shop/storage building. It was not until 1952, however, that it was completed as a garage. 

The Carson District Ranger leased an office in the second story of the Telegraph Building at 111 

Telegraph Street during the 1960s. The space was deemed inadequate and Forest Supervisor Edward

Maw sought approval to construct a new office with the assistance of the Job Corps. He received approval 

and the Job Corps completed the existing office building in late 1968. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 99

 58 “Ranger Station Site, Federal-State Nursery May Claim Attention of the Legislature,” Carson City Daily Appeal, 17 February 1941. 59 “Shift of CCC Crews Temporarily Halts Range [sic] Station Work,” Carson City Chronicle, 20 June 1941. 60 Nevada Division of Water Planning and "History of the Toiyabe National Forest." 

The Carson "White House" served as the ranger's dwelling and office after it was constructed in 1946
CONNELLS CAMP ADMINISTRATIVE SITE 

Forest officers on the Mono National Forest considered this area in Fish Valley for use as a ranger station

as early as 1911. Although they constructed a new trail into the valley in August of 1913, there is no

evidence that a ranger station was ever constructed.61 Years later, a grazing permittee by the name of

Virgil S. Connell constructed a cabin that is now used by the Forest Service. 

Located in Alpine County, California, the Connells Camp Administrative Site is in the Carson-Iceberg 

Wilderness Area and is accessible only by trail. Site features include a log cabin, log outhouse, corral and 

footbridge. Archival evidence indicates that Connell constructed the two-room log cabin sometime

between 1943 and 1947, but unsigned graffiti on an interior wall states "I built this cabin on 10/48.” 

Connell, a sheep and cattle rancher, had grazed in the Fish Valley region since 1893. In 1908, he received

a permit to graze 2,300 sheep on the newly created Silver King grazing allotment. He continued to graze 

his sheep, and later cattle, on this and other allotments for the next fifty years. He also grazed his stock on

private land that he leased, including the site of the present-day Connells Cabin Administrative Site.62 It 

was during Connell’s cattle-grazing years, 1943 to 1947, that he reportedly built the cabin. In 1948, 

Connell sold his lease to Leon and Marie K. Grivel. It passed through several more hands until 1972 when

the Forest Service acquired the site in a land exchange with the Sierra Pacific Power Company.

63 

The Forest Service has used the site intermittently for administrative purposes. Throughout the 1980s, the

California Department of Fish and Game used it, occupying the cabin to carry out protection efforts of 

threatened and endangered fish. 

In 1994, Archeologist Rebecca Palmer evaluated the site for significance and determined it was eligible for 

the National Register under Criterion A. The evaluation was completed in response to the area’s

designation as part of the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness Area in 1984 and the proposed removal of all

insignificant structures. 

DOG VALLEY GUARD STATION 

Dog Valley, located west of Reno in Sierra County, California, experienced severe deforestation and 

overgrazing in the past. Starting in the 1860s, its abundant supply of timber was harvested for sawmills, 

domestic use, and, most of all, timbers and charcoal for mines in Virginia City.64 As logging diminished, 

grazing increased. The valley soon suffered from severe erosion resulting from the logging as well as the

overgrazing by cattle and sheep. 

The Tahoe National Forest had managed scattered parcels of land on the west side of Dog Valley, using

several points as fire lookout stations, but it was not until 1939 that intensive work was carried out in the

area. That year, the Forest Service purchased an additional 18,826 acres in Dog Valley, as explained by

Victor Goodwin: 

Negotiations carried on by the Forest Service for the purchase of the old Waltz-Bank of

Nevada holdings in the Dog Valley area culminated in its purchase of those lands from

 61 Maule, “Diaries of William M. Maule.” 62 Rebecca Lynn Palmer, “Determination of Eligibility for the Connell Cabin, Forest Service Site TY-3335, 1994” TMs [photocopy], p. 2-

3, Carson City Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 63 Ibid, 3. 

64 King, 248 and 251. 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 100 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
the First National Bank of Nevada, successor to the defunct Bank of Nevada, in 1938; the 

title was cleared and the purchase finally effected . . . on March 16, 1939.65

In 1940, the newly acquired area became part of the Carson Ranger District on the Mono National Forest

and the Forest Service started restoration activities. According to one early account: 

The meadow had badly eroded along Dog Valley Creek lowering the water table to such

an extent that it permitted the encroachment of sagebrush and encouraged the

introduction of inferior forage species. The timberlands surrounding the meadow were

partially covered with second growth of varying density and the balance were in brush

fields.

66

The Forest Service made some progress in rehabilitating the Dog Valley area prior to 1942. Crews built

irrigation ditches and fences, planted 5,000 seedlings, re-seeded 150 acres, and reduced grazing. 

Although there was an improvement, it was the work of the Conscientious Objectors during World War II

that resulted in significant rehabilitation. In August of 1942, COs from Camp Antelope replaced a five-man 

fire suppression crew that was based at an old sheep camp in Dog Valley. By the end of September, the

CO crew was increased to twenty men. In addition to fire suppression work, this and subsequent crews 

completed numerous rehabilitation and improvement projects. They planted trees, dug contour trenches, 

and built gully plugs, erosion control dams, and exclosure fences.

67 

In the early 1940s, a camp for CO crews working in Dog Valley was completed. Goodwin provided a

description of the camp, which came to be known as the Dog Valley Guard Station: 

A frame building for the foremen’s quarters, a bath house, and another large frame

building for the project mess hall, as well as tent frames and platforms for crew living 

quarters, were completed, at the end of a short access road leading off the main Dog

Valley road. The foremen’s quarters are still in use here, being now [1960] used as

headquarters for the Fire Prevention Guard and Crewmen stationed in the Valley during

the fire season.”68 

The Dog Valley Guard Station was long

occupied by fire crews and used as a work 

center. Today, the site is vacant and only 

four buildings remain: the bathhouse

(converted to a storage building), a cabin

(converted to an office), the sign building, and 

a Visitor Information Service office. The latter 

two are on skids and are made of prefabricated panels bolted together. COs at

Camp Antelope built many of these portable 

structures, which were of a standard Region

Four design, for various uses on the forest.

There are also buildings of this type at the 

Austin Work Center and the Kingston Guard 

Station. 

This building at the Dog Valley Guard Station was torn down 

 65 Victor O. Goodwin, “Verdi and Dog Valley: A Story of Land Abuse and Restoration, 1960” TMs [photocopy], p. 131, Carson City

Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 66 “Accomplishments,” 1. 67 Ibid. and Alexander, The Rise of Multiple-Use Management, 134. 68 Goodwin, “Dog Valley,” 149. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 101
HOT SPRINGS RANGER STATION 

William Maule's diary describes the early development of this ranger station, which was near what is now 

the Grover Hot Springs State Park in California. It consisted of 172.89 acres and served as headquarters 

of the Alpine Ranger District until 1926. In early 1910, Maule requested that a pasture be prepared at the 

site and awarded a bid to Frank Gallagher to build a house and barn. Gallagher was to begin work on May

4, 1910 but progress must have been slow because Maule was ordering supplies and shingles for the

house a year later. He also requested permission to enlarge the pasture and examined ways to pipe water 

from a nearby spring to the house. By 1912, Maule was developing plans for a woodshed and tool house.

Four years later, a new barn was constructed. Historic photos show that the shingle-clad house had a 

pyramidal hip roof and 2/2 double-hung windows.69 A long extension on the back may have served as

storage for wood, hay or other supplies. The barn was side-gabled and clad with board-and-batten siding. 

During a site visit in 1926, Maule noted that the house needed painting and did not look "very habitable 

inside." Since the site was too far from Markleeville, he proposed abandoning the station and allowing

stockmen to use the pasture under special use permit. Consequently, Markleeville became the district

headquarters and it appears that the Hot Springs site was used as a guard station. 

Maule did not mention the station again until 1932 when he wrote about repairing the water pipe from the 

spring to the house. He also advised wallpapering the interior, using cheesecloth for backing (a common

technique). The last mention of the Hot Springs Ranger Station in Maule's diary was in June of 1935.

Although he thought the station was "in pretty good shape," he directed the forest guard to remove the 

ranger station sign. 

In 1936, an ERA crew used the house as a bunkhouse. The Forest Service was still using the pasture the

following year, but was trying to phase out the site.

70 The Regional Forester formally revoked the site 

withdrawal in 1955. 

MARKLEEVILLE RANGER STATION

When the Mono National Forest was created in 1908, the area around Markleeville became part of the

Alpine Ranger District. Ranger Bauder, the first known ranger at Markleeville, may have served as the first 

District Ranger; he was there in 1910 and 1911. A man by the name of Jones, hired in 1910 as a Forest 

Guard on the Sweetwater Ranger District, was promoted to Alpine District Ranger in 1912. Jones worked

from the Hot Springs Ranger Station, which served as headquarters of the district. Around 1915, William 

J. Clark replaced Jones as the Alpine District Ranger, remaining in this position until he retired in 1935.71

At first, Clark operated from the Hot Springs Ranger Station but by the mid-1920s, he and his family were 

living in a rented house in Markleeville on Montgomery Street. The house, now owned by a private

individual, served as Clark’s headquarters and was called the Markleeville Ranger Station.72 By 1925, the 

Forest Service also had a storehouse and a garage in Markleeville.73 Markleeville replaced the Hot

 69 Located in a scrapbook in the possession of the Forest Archeologist, Sparks Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest 

Service. 70 Kumiega, 1. 

71 Maule, “Diaries of William M. Maule.” 72 Kumiega, 1 

73 Memorandum for Supervisor by District Forester, 31 July 1926, in Maule, “Diaries of William M. Maule.” 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 102 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
Springs site as the headquarters for the Alpine Ranger District in 1926 and, a year later, Supervisor Maule 

suggested abandoning the Hot Springs Ranger Station.

74 

Work relief crews, hired under President Roosevelt’s New Deal program, constructed the present 

Markleeville Ranger Station in the 1930s. It was one of the first stations developed under this program and 

one of the first to be developed with standard architectural plans created by Region Five architects,

Edward J. Maher and Norman K. Blanchard. 

In 1933, the Forest Service purchased 4.25 acres from Henry and Louis Stodieck

75 and 1.31 acres from 

Alpine County.

76 L. Glenn Hall, Region Five’s landscape architect, sketched a site plan of the proposed 

station in August 1933. Hall, along with Supervisor Maule and Ranger Clark, staked out the buildings on

both the west and east sides of Markleeville Creek. A CCC crew arrived from Bridgeport Camp F-79 that

same month and, directed by Foreman Cardinal, immediately began work.77 

The crew started the house (R5 Plan A), warehouse (unknown plan) and office (R5 Plan F) in the fall of 

1933. The following year, the men began construction of a second house (R5 Plan B) and woodshed (R5

Plan K). Work continued and, in 1937, crews built a garage (R5 Plan J) and a blacksmith shop addition to

the warehouse. A significant amount of attention was given to sitework. The footbridge was built in 1934-

35 and in 1936, a Native American ERA crew constructed the stone retaining walls. According to Maule,

this crew arrived from Bishop on April 19, 1936 and, in a manner characteristic of the time, noted they "look

like good bunch of Indians and are piling into work.” He also wrote that their “work [was] done quite well." 

A Region Five designer named King prepared a landscape plan that Forest Guard Earwaker, noted for his 

landscaping talents, carried out in 1936. In addition to planting native and ornamental plants, Earwaker 

and the new Alpine District Ranger, William Hayes, built a picket fence around the grounds as specified by

King's plan. The men also worked on an adjacent pasture and a grassy lawn. 

In 1939, Ranger Hayes moved the Alpine District headquarters to Minden and the Markleeville compound

became a guard station with fire suppression crews occupying the site. In 1942, the five-man crew 

stationed there was replaced by a crew of Conscientious Objectors that ranged from five to ten men

throughout the field season.78 

The site's location along Markleeville Creek presented problems. Serious flooding and damage occurred

in 1937, 1950, 1955 and 1997. In response to the flooding situation, the office, house (Plan B), and garage

(Plan J) were moved from the east side of Markleeville Creek to the west side in 1959. By this time, the

garage had been converted to a bunkhouse, most likely to accommodate the fire crews.

The Markleeville Ranger Station continues to be used as a fire crew center, housing fire suppression

equipment and personnel. The historic buildings have been significantly altered and several non-historic

buildings and trailers have been placed on the site. In 1998, Archeologist Karen Kumiega evaluated the 

site for eligibility to the National Register of Historic Places. This was done in response to a Forest Service

proposal to move the fire crews to a new location and abandon the existing buildings. Kumiega concluded 

that the site is ineligible due to the numerous building relocations and alterations (vinyl siding, composition

roofing, aluminum windows, etc.), which result in a loss of integrity. She recommended several actions:

moving one or more sound buildings to the proposed new compound for interpretive purposes, advising 

Alpine County (the proposed user of the site) to restore the buildings, and, as a last resort, salvaging 

building materials to restore similar forest structures.

79

 74 Maule, “Diaries of William M. Maule.” 75 Recorded in Alpine County in Book B, Page 73, 19 October 1933. 76 Recorded in Alpine County on Book B, Page 72, 19 October 1933. 77 Kumiega, 1 and Maule, “Diaries of William M. Maule.” 78 “Accomplishments,” 4. 79 Kumiega, 15-16. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 103
SODA SPRINGS GUARD STATION 

The first Soda Springs Guard Station was originally known as the Dumont Ranger Station and was 

withdrawn on May 16, 1908. At that time, there were no improvements on the 80-acre site, which is now in

the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness Area. An additional 160 acres were withdrawn on September 16, 1909. 

The withdrawal was revoked on November 2, 1915, but this may have been done to replace it with a 

modified or more accurate withdrawal. The date of a second withdrawal is presently unknown, but it is

likely that the name was changed from Dumont to Soda Springs at that time. 

Forest Supervisor Maule wrote about the Dumont Ranger Station in his diary. He noted it as early as 1913

and a year later considered building a cabin there. Maule’s diary entries indicate it was constructed

sometime before September of 1916. The cabin was still there in 1937 when a bear broke into it for food.

Maule wrote that the invader “took the window with him.”80 The exact location of the original cabin is

presently unknown. 

The original cabin was probably demolished in 1941, the year a new cabin at the Soda Springs Guard 

Station was built. The 1941 cabin is located on the eastern edge of Dumont’s Meadow along Poison

Creek. In August of 1941, the Reno newspaper reported that bears got into the supplies of this "isolated 

camp at Soda Springs." The supplies, consisting of food and lumber packed in by burros, were stored

"where a new ranger station is under construction."81 Although a CCC camp was located nearby in 1939, 

it is not known if it was still there when the building was constructed, or if CCC labor was used. Some

Forest Service employees recall that COs built the cabin.82 The COs would not have started construction

since they did not arrive until the summer of 1942, but it is possible that they completed the work. 

Other buildings on site include a tack shed built by the Job Corps in August 1966, a non-historic latrine,

and a historic latrine that is currently used as a woodshed. There is also a corral and a fenced pasture. 

The creation of the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness Area in 1984 led to the proposed removal of all insignificant

structures and subsequently to an evaluation of the guard station. In 1994, Archeologist Rebecca Palmer 

completed the evaluation and determined that the Soda Springs Guard Station was eligible for the National

Register of Historic Places under Criteria A and C.83 

LOOKOUT SITES 

The few lookout stations on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest were primarily constructed in the Sierra

Nevada, on the present-day Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) and the Carson Ranger

District. Mark Swift, former archeologist on the Bridgeport Ranger District, has researched these fire 

lookout points and provided most of the following information: 

Babbitt Peak Lookout. Located in Sierra County on the LTBMU, this lookout was built in the 1920s. It is

a 14’ x 14’ cabin on an 8’ tall tower, of Plan Type D-5, and was restored in the mid-1990s. Situated on the 

border between the Tahoe and Toiyabe National Forests, the lookout was staffed and supplied by both

forests in the past. Presently it is staffed by the Tahoe National Forest and has been enclosed and used

for storage.

 80 Maule, “Diaries of William M. Maule.” 81 Reno Evening Gazette, 27 August 1941. 82 Personal communication with Dave Haney, Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, 10 January 2000. 83 Rebecca Lynn Palmer, “Determination of Eligibility for the Soda Springs Guard Station, Forest Service Site TY-3334, August 1994” 

TMs, p. 7, Carson City Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 104 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
Dog Valley Lookouts. Early sources indicate that the Tahoe National Forest (later the Toiyabe National

Forest) used several places as lookout points around Dog Valley. One site was approved for purchase on

December 11, 1933 at a price of $100. In 1935, it was to be replaced with a 20-acre site that was 

withdrawn for a lookout. One of the sites, presumably the latter, was developed with a building measuring

8’ x 8’ about a half mile north of Lookout Campground in Sierra County, California. It may have been built 

by COs during World War II. Although the wood building is no longer there (it may have burned), the 

footings remain. No photos have been located of this lookout. Another lookout was identified as Dog 

Valley Point and may have been in the area of the present Dog Valley Guard Station. It was reported to

have been three miles south and two miles east of the above-mentioned lookout. 

Markleeville Lookout. Constructed in 1939 by CCC crews, this 1.5-story frame lookout measured 10’ x

12’ and was located about two miles northeast of Markleeville, California. The lookout consisted of a splitlevel cab with the lower back side of the cabin used as quarters and the upper level of the cab used as the 

fire detection location. It was a unique building; no others of this design are known to exist. In 1959, the

Leviathan Lookout was built and the Markleeville Lookout removed. Archeologist Mark Swift visited the

site in 1999 and found an outhouse was still there. "Men" was painted on the side, indicating that it came 

from a campground or other public facility.84

McClellan Peak Lookout. This lookout was located in Washoe County, about seven miles northeast of

Carson City at the summit of McClellan Peak. It was withdrawn as an administrative site in 1932 and may 

have been used that early, although a building was not constructed until 1935. The 14’ x 14’ building was 

of Plan C-3, the standard for Region 5 lookouts from 1935 until the 1950s, and was anchored to a large

rock outcrop. It was built by the Tahoe National Forest on land that was transferred to the Mono National

Forest in 1940. In 1965, the lookout site was transferred to the BLM and the building was removed, 

possibly in the 1970s. Archeologist Mark Swift visited the site in 1999 and noted that the foundation of the 

lookout remained. He also observed a root cellar cut into the west face of a rock outcrop.85 

Peavine Lookout. As one of few lookouts built during World War II, this may have served as a civil 

defense lookout station, as well as a fire detection point. It was located on the north end of the Carson

Ranger District, about seven miles northwest of Reno in Washoe County. The Mono National Forest and 

a Division of Grazing (BLM) CCC camp, Truckee Meadows Camp G-180, erected it in a joint effort. The 

lookout was dismantled and moved from the Susanville area in the summer of 1941.86 It was described as 

a 14’ x 14’ building and was to be staffed by the Division of Grazing.87 According to Mark Swift, one source 

indicated that part of the lookout cab came from Lassen National Park. The building was removed in the 

1980s. 

Slide Mountain Lookout. This lookout, possibly built in the 1940s, may have been an emergency

lookout. It consists of a mere platform with a stand to hold the fire finder, but with no enclosed quarters.

The platform was still there in 1999.88 It is located in Washoe County, south of Reno and northeast of

Lake Tahoe. 

Stateline Lookout. Located on the north shore of Lake Tahoe, this site has a garage that may have been 

constructed in the 1920s. In 1936, a lookout of Plan C-3 was built on short concrete piers. Vandals

burned down the lookout in 1982 but it was replaced a year later with a smaller, 9’ x 9’ flat-roofed building. 

(An identical building was built at the Verdi Peak Lookout.) The Stateline Lookout is vacant and is only 

used during extreme emergencies. It is also part of the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit. 

 84 Personal communication with Mark Swift, Bridgeport Ranger District, 28 July 1999. 85 Ibid. 

86 “Camp Ground To Be Ready This Summer,” Nevada State Journal, 20 June 1942. 87 “New Fire Lookout Tower To Be Placed on Peavine,” Reno Evening Gazette, 28 April 1942. 88 Ibid. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 105
Verdi Peak Lookout. This site in Sierra County, California is labeled on early maps as the Crystal Peak

Lookout. The first lookout was an L-4 Plan built in the 1930s. It was near the boundary of the Tahoe and

Toiyabe forests and was evidently staffed by both. In the early 1980s, the old cab was replaced with a

modern 9’ x 9’ frame building with a flat roof, identical to the Stateline Lookout. Verdi Lookout is now on the

Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit and is staffed only during high fire danger periods. 

Zephyr Point Lookout. Located on the east shore of Lake Tahoe, this lookout was originally part of the

Tahoe National Forest. It became part of the Mono National Forest in 1940 and then the Toiyabe National

Forest in 1945. The lookout, a 4AR-style cab on a 20’ enclosed tower, was built in 1932 on a hill just east

of Zephyr Cove. In 1973, the lookout was transferred to the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit. 

Presently, it falls under the administration of the Tahoe National Forest and is the only remaining lookout

tower in Nevada.89 It was listed on the National Historic Lookout Register in 1998. 

OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE SITES 

According to a 1909 map of the Mono National Forest, there were numerous administrative sites on what

is now the Carson Ranger District. Unfortunately, little is known about most of these early, unnamed sites.

The minimal information found in archival records is presented below. 

Barney Riley Ranger Station. Withdrawal of this site was approved on July 14, 1913. It consisted of 

47.68 acres on what was then the Alpine District. It was near the small village of Barney Riley on the

Nevada-California border. An undated early photo90 shows that there was barn with a catslide roof and a

pasture at this site. A 1984 facilities list included the "Barney Meadow Pasture Admin. Fence" but it is

unclear if it was located on the site of the historic ranger station. 

Border Ruffian Ranger Station. This site, southwest of Markleeville, was approved sometime before

1914 when Supervisor Maule mentioned it in his diary. The Regional Forester cancelled the approval in

1955. 

Galena Creek Guard Station. This site was used as headquarters for a fire suppression crew, as well as

a Region Five ski school, prior to 1942 when a CO crew remodeled it to accommodate 60 men. It may 

have also been occupied by the Galena Creek CCC Camp F-6. The COs, who were serving as a fire

suppression crew, "remodeled and renovated and rearranged the existing buildings during their stand-by

time.”91 A 1945 plan of the camp shows that it contained cabins, shower houses, shops, garages, tool 

sheds, a superintendent’s house, and a foreman’s house. In 1943, there were eighteen men on two crews 

at Galena Creek. The men stayed in dormitories, two or three to a room. One crew went to the Forest

Service warehouse in Reno every day to work. The others worked in the sign shop at Galena.

92

Glenbrook Guard Station. Located along the shore of Lake Tahoe, this station appears on a 1946 map

but its withdrawal date is presently unknown. 

Heenan Lake Ranger Station. The Regional Forester approved this site on January 13, 1914. It 

consisted of 40 acres on the Alpine Ranger District. An early, undated photo of the "Heenan Lake Ranger 

Station" shows a tent and a fence that probably enclosed the pasture. Supervisor Maule reported that he

went to the Heenan Ranger Station in August 1931, writing "no water pasture - fence good shape - feed in

pasture OK." In 1953, the site was formally withdrawn from mineral entry. 

 89 National Historic Lookout Register, http://www.firetower.org/listings/us278.html (December 1999). 90 Scrapbook in the possession of the Forest Archeologist, Sparks Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 91 “Accomplishments,” 3. 92 Wheeler(?). 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 106 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
Hope Valley Guard Station. This station may have been used as early as 1914 and was located on the

Alpine Ranger District in Alpine County, California. 

McCline Guard Station. Little is known about this station, which is shown on a 1946 map on the north 

shore of Lake Tahoe. 

Raymond Meadows Administrative Site. Supervisor Maule referred to this as a ranger station in 1914,

but it may have simply been used as a pasture. In 1955, the Regional Forester cancelled the approval of

the 80-acre site, which was located several miles south of Markleeville.

Sheridan Administrative Site. This 40-acre site near the town of Sheridan, Nevada was cancelled by the

Regional Forester in 1955. 

Woodfords Administrative Site. Although a fire cache box was placed at Woodfords in 1927, there is no 

information of an early withdrawal. In 1933, forest officers examined various sites in Woodfords Canyon

for a CCC camp. Although one site belonging to the Sierra Pacific Power Company was deemed

adequate, the camp was established at a site on the Markleeville Road. A formal withdrawal of the 80-

acre Woodfords Administrative Site was made in 1966. At that time, it was on the Alpine Ranger District. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 107
Chapter Seven: Northeast Nevada 

The four ranger districts in northeast Nevada were, at various times, three individual forests: the

Humboldt, the Santa Rosa, and the Ruby Mountains national forests. They were permanently 

consolidated as the Humboldt National Forest in 1917. 

JARBIDGE RANGER DISTRICT 

Ranchers near the Independence Mountains began to see the creation of a forest reserve as a solution to

their conflict with transient sheep grazing. They submitted a petition and on November 5, 1905, the

Secretary of the Interior temporarily withdrew the Independence Forest Reserve. This area was 

supplemented with another withdrawal on November 23, 1905. The latter was referred to as the Bruneau 

Addition to the Independence Forest Reserve and included Jarbidge Canyon. 

Theodore Roosevelt formally established the Independence Forest Reserve, which included part of the

current Jarbidge District, with a presidential proclamation on November 5, 1906. The Bruneau Addition, 

including the Owyhee, Mary’s River, Jarbidge Canyon, and Pole Creek areas, was added on January 20, 

1909 by presidential proclamation. By that time, the name of the forest had been changed to the Humboldt

National Forest. 

The Jarbidge District is a consolidation of two early districts: the Jarbidge and Pole Creek districts. The

former was known as District 7 and was sometimes referred to as the Mahoney District, since its 

headquarters was at the Mahoney Ranger Station near the town of Jarbidge. It consisted of the East Fork 

drainage, the main Jarbidge drainage, and the Bruneau River drainage from Rattlesnake to Deed Creek. 

The Mary’s River basin was transferred from District 8 to the Jarbidge District in the spring of 1910. The 

Pole Creek District, known as District 9, included the area from Caudle Creek west to the East Fork of the

Jarbidge and south to T Creek.93 

In 1912, the Elk Mountain Division was added to the Jarbidge District while the Rowland, Diamond A and 

Charleston areas were dropped. The district was further enlarged in 1919 when it absorbed the Pole

Creek District. A two-mile wide livestock driveway between Pole Creek and Elk Mountain was also added. 

The boundaries of the Jarbidge District remained unchanged until the spring of 1940 when the Bruneau

River drainage was transferred to the Gold Creek District. The Jarbidge District gained a small area,

including the Dorsea Creek drainage, in 1975.94

An early significant event was David Bourne’s discovery of gold in Jarbidge Canyon in 1909. As in other

areas, the population exploded as word of the discovery spread. Fifteen hundred miners moved in, 

creating a tent city overnight. Although it quickly became evident that the first reports of the rich gold 

deposits were exaggerated and a great exodus from Jarbidge took place, there were still about 650 people

around Jarbidge by May 14, 1910.95 The desire to acquire plots, as well as the wish to legally buy and sell 

liquor in the mining camp, led the remaining residents to petition the government for removal of the new 

town from the Humboldt National Forest. The Forest Service supported this action and on March 8, 1911, 

the townsite of Jarbidge was eliminated from the Forest. 

 93 Karl J. Wilkinson and Jack Wilcox, “History of the Jarbidge Ranger District, Humboldt National Forest, 1941,” updated by Bert F.

Webster (1971) and Douglas B. Lee (1976), TMs [photocopy], p. 6-7, Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest 

Service. 94 Ibid., 7. 

95 US Census Records, Bryan Precinct, 1910. 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 108 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
In addition to administering grazing and mining permits, timber sales 

were a major part of the Jarbidge ranger’s duties, particularly from

1911 to 1930. The majority of timber, mainly limber pine, was used

for mining although there were some small sales of cordwood.96 One 

early ranger was Oscar Mink (1916-19), who was promoted to Deputy

Forest Supervisor. His successor, Chet Olsen (1921-24), eventually 

became Regional Forester of Region Four. Another long-timer was 

L.E. McKenzie (1924-29) who served his entire career on the 

Humboldt National Forest as ranger of the Jarbidge, Mountain City, 

Gold Creek, Ruby and Santa Rosa districts. Karl Wilkinson became

the Jarbidge ranger in 1938. He was tragically killed by an avalanche

in 1941 while conducting a snow survey. 

KLONDYKE RANGER STATION 

The site of the former Klondyke Ranger Station is three miles south of

the Idaho border near the boundary line of the present-day Jarbidge

and Mountain City districts. In his report dated March 4, 1911, W.W.

Blakeslee stated that this 40-acre site was improved by Pomesano Valensuela of Rowland, Nevada. 

Valensuela had built a three-room, 20' x 24' log cabin with a "good floor" and shingle roof, a log stable for 

six horses and a 14' x 16' log storehouse. He sold the improvements to the Forest Service, which 

withdrew the site for use as a ranger station. 

According to some records, the Forest Supervisor recommended the withdrawal of an additional 12 acres 

in September of 1917, but a 1917 land classification report stated that the site had never been used as a 

ranger station. By 1922, the site was no longer used and was being leased to William Crisp. At that time, 

there was a dispute between him and George H. Knight, owner of the former Taylor ranch downstream,

over water rights from Dorsey Creek. The matter was settled by January of 1926 when water rights were 

awarded to Knight and the Forest Service proposed abandoning the Klondyke Ranger Station. 

This idea of abandonment was apparently dropped because several site improvements were carried out in

1926. A pasture fence and a 10’ x 12’ stone cellar were constructed while the storehouse and stock shed

were condemned. The station was apparently abandoned in December of 1932 when the dwelling and

barn were sold. 

On February 26, 1959, a new withdrawal of 220 acres for the Klondyke Administrative Site superceded the 

1911 approval. A 1982 review of administrative sites stated there were no improvements and, as it was no

longer needed, the site should be revoked. 

MAHONEY RANGER STATION 

The Mahoney Ranger Station is located just north of the town of Jarbidge and is still used by forest

personnel. It has commonly been reported that the Williams Estate Company used the Mahoney Ranger

Station site as a sheep base camp and that an employee, Bill Mahoney, built the log cabin in 1892.97 

However, an investigation of Elko County land claim records reveals that William Perkins developed the

site beginning in December of 1902. He built the cabin, dug an irrigation ditch and planted alfalfa and 

timothy. Perkins filed a possessory (squatter’s) claim on the land in 1904 but sold it to William Mahoney in 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 109

 96 Wilkinson and Wilcox, 9. 97 Ibid., 2. 

Ranger L.E. McKenzie and son, 1923
the spring of 1905.98 The Forest Service purchased the site in April of 1909 for use as an administrative 

site and it has been known as the Mahoney Ranger Station since then. Affidavits signed in 1912 by

Perkins and Mahoney support this information.99

According to Forest Supervisor Tremewan’s 1912 affidavit,100 the Forest Service posted the area as an

administrative site in April 1909. At that time, there was “an old log cabin and a cellar, abandoned by a 

former prospector.” He wrote that Ranger Fred Lancaster and Assistant Ranger Will H. Tremewan

occupied the Mahoney Ranger Station periodically during the 1909 field season and that Ranger A.W. 

Garrison has been living in it since the winter of 1909. Tremewan noted that David Bourne, the discoverer

of gold at Jarbidge, “asked permission of me to occupy the Station with his family for a month or two during 

the summer.” He also wrote that “improvements to the value of $662.03 have been erected thereon to 

date; and that said improvements were authorized by the Secretary of Agriculture.” One of these

improvements was a small drift fence across the canyon.

These men apparently filed these affidavits in response to a mining claim by the Park Placer Group at the

ranger station. This was complicated by the fact that the station was never actually withdrawn and lacked

a proper set of survey field notes. Later in 1912, there was a conflict about water rights for the ranger

station. The Forest Service filed a protest to the application for water rights by the Park Placer Group

(which had a patented claim so apparently the earlier conflict was resolved). The Forest Service later 

realized there would be no conflict and withdrew the protest. 

The $662 worth of improvements that Tremewan mentioned included the house. The Forest Supervisor

wrote to several assistant rangers in late 1910, “Dear Boys: As soon as you have finished the Cabin at

Jarbidge . . . .”101 The following September Ranger Garrison wrote to ask about the building of the new 

cabin because his brother was interested in the job.102 The 22’ x 24’ house was completed in fiscal year

1912 at a cost of $600. In the early 1920s, forest officials discussed buying a house from the Aladdin

Company, which produced kit homes in prevalent styles of the time. The idea was dismissed and the 

1912 house was improved in 1922. Five years later, the log cabin was converted to an office/storeroom. 

A frame two-stall barn measuring 12’ x 16’ was built in fiscal year 1912. It had a tarpaper roof and a grain

room, but soon proved to be inadequate. In 1921, it was torn down and the materials were used in the

construction of a 16’ x 26’ frame barn. The new barn, which exists, was also built with two stalls and a 

grain room, but had a corrugated metal roof and stone foundation. A 14’ x 16’ workshop was also built with

materials salvaged from the original barn. It was described as beyond repair in 1945, but was not removed

until after 1986. Other early buildings included a 10’ x 12’ concrete and stone cellar (FY1926) and a latrine

(FY1931). The former no longer exists, but the latrine is still in use. 

In 1936, the Region Four Office prepared improvement plans for the Mahoney Ranger Station. The plans 

proposed the removal of the existing office (the log cabin), barn and shed. The cellar would remain and

the residence would become the office. Buildings to be constructed included an oil house (R4 Plan 95),

warehouse (R4 Plan 33C), barn (R4 Plan 11), house (R4 Plan 1) and woodshed (R4 Plan 66). Although 

the improvement plan was revised in 1941, much of the work was never completed. The house was 

remodeled in 1933 and 1936 and an oil house (R4 Plan 95) was started in 1937.

103 The latter was

removed from Forest Service property records in 1955 and has been moved or demolished. 

Presently, the 1903 log cabin, the 1912 house, the 1921 barn, and the 1931 latrine remain. Unfortunately,

the log cabin was drastically altered in the mid-1980s. A fifth building was placed on the site between 1941 

 98 Elko County Recorder, Land Claims Book 2, p. 188. 99 Affidavits signed by William J. Perkins, 28 August 1912 and William F. Mahoney, no date. 100 Affidavit signed by C.S. Tremewan, 23 January 1912. 101 Forest Supervisor to Messrs. Cross, Garrison and McNamara, 16 November 1910. 102 Forest Ranger A.W. Garrison to Forest Supervisor, 3 September 1911. 103 In FY1937, $79 was spent on the oil house. This figure is low and probably does not represent a total cost. It is possible that the oil 

house was never finished or was converted to a different function. 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 110 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
and 1959 and serves as a storage shed. Its flush siding, interior molding, and non-standard window size

indicate it was constructed prior to the CCC era. If so, it was moved to the site. Real property records 

suggest that it was originally a tool shed at the Martin Creek Ranger Station on the Santa Rosa district but 

no proof of this has been found. 

According to memos written in 1967, the Mahoney Ranger Station was withdrawn on April 2, 1912. 

However, an earlier record states that the District Forester requested 160 acres for the site on November 

10, 1913. The early withdrawal was superceded on February 26, 1959 by a withdrawal of 770 acres. In

1986, the Forest Service proposed the relinquishment of all but 40 acres. The relinquishment report stated 

that the compound had been determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. A nomination

was prepared but apparently was never submitted. Review of the nomination has revealed numerous 

errors. 

POLE CREEK RANGER STATION 

The Pole Creek Ranger Station is two miles north of the Jarbidge Wilderness and work crews continue to 

use it during summers. There was some discussion of establishing the station at Jim Bob Springs nearby, 

but in his letter to Ranger Asdale, Forest Supervisor Tremewan wrote, “Your action in building the cabin at

Pole Creek instead of Jim-Bob-Springs is approved.”

104 On November 13, 1911, Tremewan formally 

recommended a withdrawal of 45 acres for the station. This early withdrawal was superceded by another 

in 1959 of 202 acres. 

Asdale, who served as Pole Creek District Ranger from 1909 to 1916, began constructing a cabin in June

of 1911. The 16' x 25' log structure had a stove, door and window frames of sawn lumber, and an earthen

roof that did not resist water well. Despite this, the Forest Supervisor denied Asdale’s request for metal

roofing sheets due to a lack of funds. According to a 1920 photograph,105 the log cabin was side-gabled

with a low-pitched roof and a metal flue. The corners were saddle-notched, the door was centered in the

front façade, and a six-pane window was located in the end wall. A secondary structure, most likely a

storage shed, can also be seen in the photo. 

In 1915, Ranger Asdale built a pasture fence and 

asked for roofing material to complete the roofs of

the cabin and a storehouse, which also had a dirt

roof. Upon his request, Asdale received permission

to purchase 2x4s and 1” shiplap to build a new floor 

over the cabin’s concrete floor. The concrete floor

had turned out poorly due to his lack of knowledge

about this building material. 

Pole Creek Ranger Station, 1920 

The Pole Creek District was dissolved and absorbed 

by the Jarbidge District in 1919. The station was 

being used as a summer camp, rather than a yearround station by 1921. In that decade, several

improvements were carried out. The metal roof

leaked badly and had to be repaired in 1923. The

leakage was blamed on the removal of the roof two

years prior to remove the dirt that was sifting to the

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 111

 104 Forest Supervisor to Assistant Forest Ranger Asdale, 27 June 1911. 105 Located at the Forest Service Heritage Center, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah. 
interior. New holes were driven in the metal when it was replaced, leaving the old holes and causing the

leakage. In 1928, a 10’ x 12’ storehouse was built to store grain and equipment. It had a concrete floor 

and galvanized iron roof and walls. 

Although it has been reported that the CCC improved the Pole Creek Ranger Station during the 1930s, Q. 

David Hansen indicated otherwise. Hansen, who was the Jarbidge District Ranger from 1931 to 1933,

directed the construction of the dwelling (Plan 7), garage/storeroom (Plan 23), and barn (Plan 13B). He 

wrote: 

I had to submit detailed bids for material in triplicate and I had never used a typewriter

much. I hired a crew of retired miners to construct the buildings. The site was on a slope

and I was the only one that was young enough to man the wheelborrow [sic], so I had to 

deliver all the concrete for the 3 buildings. The concrete was all mixed by hand.106

Although he does not mention it, Hansen and his crew probably built the latrine at the same time. Hansen

may have acquired the materials and labor with relief funds, but no proof of CCC involvement with these 

buildings has been found at present. 

A 1936 plan shows the new improvements, the original log dwelling (proposed for removal), and an

adjacent shop. The shop, which was the 1928 storehouse, was improved in FY1939 with $80 of ERA 

funds. By 1940, it was referred to as the blacksmith shop. It later served as a gas and oil house and

currently functions as a storage shed. 

The Pole Creek Ranger Station has enjoyed continual, and often heavy, use over the years and has 

received additional improvements and modifications to meet the changing needs of the Forest Service. In

fiscal year 1951, a portable building was moved from Camp Antelope, a former CCC and CO camp in 

Coleville, California. Property records from the 1950s indicate it was to be used as the guard’s quarters, a

bunkhouse and storehouse. It was probably used originally as a bunkhouse, a function it retains presently.

The building is unique to the forest and may be one of few remaining structures of this type. The Pole

Creek Ranger Station was further developed with the construction of a generator house and shop (1969), 

and other structures in the mid- to late 1970s (tack shed, new latrine). Other buildings, including a light

plant house and the original latrine, were demolished. 

OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE SITES 

Camp Creek Administrative Site. This site was located just north of the Wildcat Administrative Site in 

what is now the Jarbidge Wilderness. A pasture fence was built here in FY1925 and reconstructed in 

FY1939. Tom Brierley, the Jarbidge District Ranger, prepared a report supporting the withdrawal of this

administrative pasture on December 10, 1941. The five-acre site was approved in January of 1942, but 

was released in 1967 because it was no longer needed. 

Draw Creek Administrative Site. This pasture near Pete Basin at the south end of the district was 

developed in FY1925. 

Jim Bob Ranger Station. Although this station was shown on a 1912 map northwest of Pole Creek, it 

was never developed because a ranger station at Pole Creek was deemed more suitable. 

Marys River Administrative Site. This 54-acre site in the Jarbidge Wilderness was withdrawn on

November 17, 1911 as an administrative pasture. Ranger Naylor prepared cost estimates to build a 

 106 Q. David Hansen, “Jarbidge 1931-1933, n.d." TMs [photocopy], p.3, Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest 

Service. 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 112 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
barbed wire pasture fence here in 1916. In 1921, the site was not being used and had no improvements

but in fiscal year 1925, a pasture fence was built. In 1959, the site was formally withdrawn but this action 

was revoked in 1967. 

Salt Cabin. The labels on two historic photos

107 suggest that this cabin was used by forest officials. One

photo states, “Ranger Oscar Mink at East Fork Salt Cabin where range inspectors made a rest stop in

1916.” Another is labeled “Old Salt Cabin – junction of Slide Creek and East Fork, 1916 Favre.” The exact

location of the cabin, which was made of unhewn logs and a sod roof, has not been identified. 

T (or Tea) Creek Administrative Site. This five-acre pasture on the south end of the district was 

developed in fiscal year 1939 and approved as an administrative site on January 22, 1942. 

 107 Historic photograph files, Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 113
MOUNTAIN CITY RANGER DISTRICT 

Like many places in Nevada, the Mountain City Ranger District is rich in mining history. Mineral deposits

led to the establishment of numerous mining towns such as Mountain City, Tuscarora, Gold Creek,

Placerville, and Rio Tinto that relied on the nearby mountain ranges for mining timbers and water. As

mining development fluctuated, many of them disappeared, but Mountain City thrived, thanks to its location

along a stage line between Elko and southern Idaho.108 

Mining eventually gave way to ranching, with many of the ranchers grazing their livestock on the

Independence and Bull Run mountain ranges. At the turn of the century, non-resident sheep owners 

began trailing their sheep to the same area. This led to a conflict with resident ranchers who, in an effort to

protect their interests, petitioned for the creation of a forest reserve. On November 5, 1905, the Secretary

of the Interior temporarily withdrew the area as a forest reserve and, exactly a year later, Theodore

Roosevelt formally established the Independence Forest Reserve. In 1908, it was combined with the Ruby

Forest Reserve under the name of the Humboldt National Forest. 

When the Humboldt National Forest was created, the area now known as the Mountain City District was 

divided into four smaller ranger districts. Archival records indicate that these were soon consolidated into 

two districts: District 1, with its headquarters at the Jack Creek Ranger Station, and District 2, based in 

Mountain City. By 1930, these two were combined to form the Independence Ranger District, with the

main office remaining at Mountain City. The district was renamed the Mountain City Ranger District 

sometime after 1954. In 1973, the district’s area increased when it absorbed the Gold Creek Ranger

District. From 1910 until 1980, the Mountain City District Ranger operated from a ranger station located 

four miles south of Mountain City on the west side of State Highway 225. 

Few ranger stations were extensively developed on the Mountain City District. They, along with the other 

minor administrative sites, are discussed below. 

76 CREEK ADMINISTRATIVE SITE 

Located just west of the Jarbidge Wilderness 

boundary and east of County Road 748, the 76

Creek Administrative Site is situated along Forest 

Road 066. It was used since the 1920s as an

overnight pasture and, beginning in 1936, as a

stopover for rangers conducting snow surveys. 

The Forest Service was one of seven partners 

carrying out snow surveys in Nevada to measure 

water content of snow so that water supplies could

be predicted. In support of this important work, the 

Forest Service laid out numerous survey courses 

and built cabins to accommodate surveyors. In

1935, Jarbidge Ranger T. Carl Haycock laid out a 

snow course near 76 Creek and shortly thereafter, a cabin was built at the 76 Creek Administrative Site.

The picturesque building is of Region Four Plan 99 (later re-named Plan 133 A-1) for a tourist cabin and is

identical to snow survey cabins built at the North Fork and Coon Creek administrative sites. Those cabins

are now located at the Gold Creek Ranger Station. 

76 Creek Snow Survey Cabin 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 114 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1

 108 Fred P. Frampton, “History of the Humboldt National Forest, Cultural Resource Series No. 1, 1992” TMs [photocopy], p. 6, Elko 

Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 
Despite its early use, the 76 Creek Administrative Site was not recommended for withdrawal until February

of 1943. A formal withdrawal of 60 acres was made on October 4, 1956.

GOLD CREEK RANGER STATION 

The Gold Creek Ranger Station has the distinction of serving as the Humboldt National Forest

headquarters in the 1910s. Forest Supervisor Tremewan moved to the newly developed site in April of 

1911, but it was not until December 11, 1911 that he approved the withdrawal of the 159-acre site. An

additional 49 acres were approved on August 11, 1917. These approvals were superceded by a formal

withdrawal of 222.5 acres in 1959. 

The site served as the Humboldt 

Supervisor’s Office until 1916 when the SO 

was moved to Elko in preparation for a

forest consolidation. At that time, the ranger

station was designated the headquarters for 

the Gold Creek Ranger District, which

became part of the Mountain City Ranger 

District in 1973. 

Gold Creek Ranger Station, 1911. The CCC modified the barn on the 

left to serve as a machine shed and blacksmith shop.

The first buildings, constructed in 1910-12,

included a house/office, barn, outhouse,

and cellar. By 1923, Ranger Naylor and

others had built a mortared stone cellar and

several additions to the house. It is

rumored that the cellar was built by Chinese

who lived in the area during the gold boom,

but this has not been confirmed. 

The CCC substantially modified the ranger station in the 1930s. The men built an office/garage (R4 Plan

21), six-horse barn (R4 Plan 12), and outhouse (R4 Plan 70) in 1933-34. In 1935, they removed the top 

half of the 1912 barn, renovating it as a machine shed and built an addition for use as a blacksmith shop.

The CCC also remodeled the house and constructed a gas and oil house (R4 Plan 95) and a stone cellar.

Regarding the cellar, former ranger August Rowher wrote that the stone used in its construction came from

a nearby mine: 

In 1867, Henry and Bob Catlin constructed the old mill at the forks of Martin Creek and

Mill Creek on the upper side of the Gold Creek Ranger Station. Considerable money was 

spent there and some fine rock work, some of which is still there. Some of the beautiful

faced rock was placed in the Gold Creek Ranger Station storehouse in 1933.

109

The CCC may have also carried out some landscaping work. Recreational Planner George E. Martin

prepared the planting plan in 1934, specifying serviceberry, dogwood, cinquefoil, limber pine, cottonwood, 

chokecherry, wild currant, wild rose, and snowberry. 

Over the years, several structures were moved to the site. The Coon Creek Snow Survey Cabin (see 

Jarbidge Ranger District history) was placed across Martin Creek, to the east of the main compound. The

move occurred sometime after 1941 when Jarbidge Ranger Karl Wilkinson was killed in an avalanche.

The tragedy led to the re-routing of the Coon Creek snow survey course and relocation of the cabin to a

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 115

 109 August Rowher, “Gold Creek District, 6 January 1941” TMs [photocopy], Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA 

Forest Service. 
more convenient location. The cabin, referred to as the “honeymoon cabin” or “guest cabin” in some

documents, was at Gold Creek by 1949 when an addition was built on the back. In 1978, the North Fork

Snow Survey Cabin was moved to the west side of the compound to serve as storage. Both of these 

cabins are of Region Four Plan 133A-1 (formerly known as Plan 99) for a tourist cabin.

A third cabin, located to the south of the other buildings, was placed on the site by 1947 to accommodate a

forest guard. Now known as "Bunkhouse 2," the building is identical to the Hunts Canyon Cabin and the

Tonopah Stable Barn (formerly the Peavine Cabin). Little is known about these buildings, but they are 

rumored to have come from California. It is possible that these were located at Camp Antelope, which

served as a camp for the Civilian Conservation Corps (1939-42) and Conscientious Objectors (1942-46).

The cabins, with their board-and-batten siding and six-pane windows, are typical of camp buildings as

shown in 1935 and 1946 Forest Service building manuals for Regions Four and Five. An addition was 

placed on the west end of the Gold Creek Guard Cabin. The materials for this extension may have been

salvaged from earlier buildings at Gold Creek. 

Archeologist Terry Birk prepared a National Register Nomination for the Gold Creek Ranger Station, 

documenting its significance under Criteria A and C. The nomination was approved and the site listed on

the National Register of Historic Places on September 14, 1992. 

JACK CREEK GUARD STATION 

George Hardesty located a squatter’s claim on this site, located on the west side of the Independence 

Range, sometime prior to 1907. In that year, he released his claim and the Forest Service withdrew 40

acres (supplemented by an additional 40 acres shortly thereafter) for use as the ranger station for District 

1. Hardesty proposed to sell his cabin to the Forest Service for $75. Clarence N. Woods wrote: 

The cabin is 8’ high to the square and this part is built of unhewn balsam logs. The entire 

height of cabin is about 16’. It is 16’ x 18’ in size, has a fair shingle roof, board floor and a

double window and one door. Gable ends are of one thickness of one inch lumber. This

cabin would make a good one for summer use.110

In October of 1908, the Forest Supervisor prepared costs of repairing the Jack Creek cabin and received 

approval to proceed. However, invoices for building materials suggest that the decision was made to build

a new house. These invoices indicate that the house was of frame construction, with a 30-degree pitched

roof. Another building, a barn, was built in FY1908. An undated description of the Jack Creek house

refers to a “book of plans.” This suggests it was a pattern house or a standard plan from the Washington

Office. The document describes the house as a 14’ x 24’ frame building with one interior partition. It was 

to have rustic siding and a third-pitch (30 degree) roof with wood shingles having a 4” exposure. There

was to be one door and one window in each room and a panel door in the wall separating the two rooms. 

Invoices from 1909 indicate that the building was constructed to this plan. The quantities and types of 

paint ordered suggest that the exterior walls were white, the roof red and the trim and/or windows and 

doors were Prussian blue. Ranger Charles Butler was in charge of construction and relied on local

Basques for assistance. Butler built an addition to the house in 1914 and linoleum was added in 1917. 

The dwelling, barn, corral, and horse pasture still existed in 1953 when Ranger Gaufin reported that the 

dwelling needed repairs. He also wrote that he needed to re-shingle the roof and paint the house, which

was sage green and white.111 In 1975, the latrine was removed from real property records because its 

value was less than $500. Forest officials proposed to raze the cabin a year later because it was 

 110 Acting Forest Supervisor C.N. Woods to the Forester, 22 July 1907. 111 D.M. Gaufin to Forest Supervisor, 2 November 1953. 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 116 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
deteriorated and no longer needed.112 By 1983, there were no longer any improvements on the site. Two 

years later, a review of the site concluded that it should be retained and developed for recreational use. 

MOUNTAIN CITY RANGER STATION 

Forest officials selected 41.66 acres four miles south of Mountain City as a potential administrative site and

completed a metes and bounds survey on October 15, 1909. The site report stated that the site, located

on the Owyhee River, was to be used as headquarters for the ranger stationed at Mountain City. 

The ranger station, desirable for its location along the Mountain City-Tuscarora Road, was withdrawn on

February 8, 1911. The following month, Assistant Ranger Burton Jarvis inspected the 12’ by 24’ house

that was constructed by Al Barton in 1910 for $497. Around that time, a barn and outhouse were built and

a well was dug. 

There were other structures built

during these early years. A 1926 

list of improvements mentioned an

old cellar, new cellar, garage/shop,

and a storehouse/woodshed. The

garage was a 12’ x 24’ structure of 

corrugated iron built in FY1923. A

Mr. Hamlin, most likely District

Ranger Willard Hamlin, built the

new cellar in 1926. It was a 12’ x

12’ x 8’ high concrete structure with

a one-foot thick dirt roof.113 The old 

cellar, a 7’ x 7’ x 7’ building with 8”

concrete walls, was filled in during 

December 1927. 

The Mountain City Ranger Station 

enjoyed the benefits of relief

funding and labor during the New Deal era. The site was extensively developed in 1933 with the 

construction of standard Region Four buildings including an office/storeroom (R4 Plan 51),

garage/storeroom (R4 Plan 21), four-horse barn (R4 Plan 11), latrine, and pumphouse. An 8’ x 10’ powder 

house was constructed with railroad ties in FY1934, but its location has not been identified. A 1936

improvement plan proposed a gas and oil house (R4 Plan 126E) and a woodshed (R4 Plan 66). The 

former was built that year but it appears the woodshed was not. As part of the site’s redevelopment, many 

of the older buildings were demolished, but the 1910 house was remodeled. 

Mountain City Ranger Station, 1920 

The site, as described c.1935, was enclosed with a fence made of juniper posts, wire netting and a 11⁄2” 

iron pipe railing. The fence was painted in the standard color scheme, with the posts and braces being

white, while the railing and gate were Nile green. This scheme was also applied to the buildings. The

bodies were painted white and the roofs were stained dark green, while the doors, frames and other trim 

were Nile green. In 1936, Recreation Planner George E. Martin prepared a planting plan that included

serviceberry, cinquefoil, Russian olive, chokecherry, wild currant, wild rose, elderberry, snowberry and 

black willow. It was later reported that the trees did not flourish due to insufficient water and the harsh

winters. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 117

 112 Administrative Officer Thomas P. Ryan to Regional Forester, 26 April 1976. 113 Forest Ranger Secrest to Forest Supervisor, 14 January 1927. 
The original Mountain City Ranger Station is now called the “old compound.” The “new compound” is 

located to the east, across State Highway 225 on land that was used as early as 1940. A hay barn (R4

Plan 15), shelter and corral were constructed that year although the 900-acre site was not formally 

withdrawn until 1942. The additional area was used was a winter pasture for horses from other districts

and some Idaho forests. 

The ranger station has experienced numerous changes over the years. In 1959, a second dwelling was 

built at the old compound with the intention of demolishing the 1910 house. The 1940 hay barn was

relocated from across the river and converted to a garage for the new house. A prefabricated portable

building was placed on site in 1965. Known as “Cottonwood #3,” it was constructed in 1964 from R4 Plan 

124 under the APW program. It was used as a bunkhouse and later converted to a fire warehouse. A

third dwelling was placed on site in 1973. In 1980, the Forest Service leased a building in Mountain City

for use as a new office and the 1933 office was demolished two years later. 

With the consolidation of the Mountain City and Gold Creek ranger districts in 1973, the new compound

was extensively developed in the 1970s and 1980s. The 1958 and 1973 houses were relocated there,

and additional prefabricated and modular homes were placed on the site to accommodate the new

Mountain City District staff. 

OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE SITES 

Coon Creek Administrative Site. This site, which apparently was never withdrawn, was developed with

the construction of a snow survey cabin. The 12’-6” x 16’ cabin was built of Region Four Plan 99 (also

known as Plan 133A-1) in FY1937 with $688 of ERA funds. A latrine was also built at the site in FY1938. 

The cabin was moved to the Gold Creek Ranger Station, across the creek from the main compound, 

sometime between 1941 and 1949. 

Mahala Ranger Station. This 80-acre site was approved on November 13, 1911 and may have been

used as a camp. It was not developed before 1943 when forest officials considered its release. They

decided to keep it since it had year-round water and good forage, but it is unknown if they ever constructed

any improvements.114 The site is located just east of the forest boundary at the southern end of the 

Independence Range. 

Mardis Ranger Station. The Forest Supervisor recommended withdrawal of this site on November 17,

1911. Presently located in the southeast corner of the district, the site is shown on 1912 and 1919 maps.

By 1921, a barn and grain room had been constructed. The station was released on March 10, 1943. 

McAfee Ranger Station. Forty acres on the east side of the Independence Range were withdrawn on 

August 28, 1907. These were supplemented by an additional 40 acres on November 19, 1907.

Supervisor C.N. Woods received permission to proceed with construction in October of that year and a 

dwelling was built for $295. It was sold for $45 to a person named Truett on February 10, 1917. That

same year, a storehouse was moved from the site and attached to the rear of the Gold Creek dwelling. By

1943, the site was rarely used and as a result, the withdrawal was revoked on December 16 of that year. 

Meadow Creek Ranger Station. The Forest Supervisor approved the withdrawal of this 303-acre site on

December 21, 1911. By 1921, it had a house, barn and fence valued at $597. It was being used, probably

by a grazing permittee, as a special use pasture. An undated, but early, map drawn by Assistant Ranger

John C. Brown shows the ranger station was along a main road that led south to Gold Creek and north to 

the Bruneau River. The map also shows a fenced area of about 85 acres, through which Meadow Creek 

flowed. Across the road were a barn, corral, pasture, and a 2.75-acre garden next to a spring. 

 114 Ranger August Rohwer to Forest Supervisor, 13 February 1943 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 118 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
In 1923, the house and barn were demolished and the materials salvaged for other administrative

buildings. The pasture was deemed of no further value in 1933. During a review of administrative sites in

1943, Supervisor Torgerson and Ranger Rowher decided to keep the site for fall pasturage and future

recreation uses.

115

North Fork Administrative Site. Very little is known about this site, which was formally on the Gold

Creek Ranger District. A snow survey cabin with a stone foundation was built there in FY1936, but the site

was never withdrawn.116 The cabin was identical to the snow cabins at the 76 Creek and Coon Creek 

administrative sites. All three were of Region Four’s Plan 99 (later Plan 133A-1) for a tourist cabin. The

North Fork cabin was moved from the east side of the Independence Range to the Gold Creek Ranger 

Station in 1978. 

Red Bluff Ranger Station. Withdrawn on December 21, 1911, this site on the east end of the district was 

never developed. It was released on March 10, 1943. 

Salmon Creek Ranger Station. This 198-acre site, located just two miles south of the Idaho-Nevada 

border, was approved on October 3, 1911. Although it was released on May 9, 1919, it was mentioned in

a 1921 land classification report. The report noted that the site was not being used, but it had a house and

fence valued at $333. On October 4, 1956, a withdrawal of sixty acres nearby superceded the 1911 

approval. In 1984, it was recommended that this withdrawal be revoked. 

According to labeled photos and condition surveys, there was a building known as the Salmon Creek 

Guard Station that may have been placed on the 1956 site. This building, referred to as the Cottonwood 

#4 bunkhouse in 1969, was one of several portable buildings (R4 Plan A-124) constructed under the APW 

program in 1964. The building was removed sometime after 1976. 

Winter Creek Ranger Station. This 80-acre site on the east side of the Independence Range was 

withdrawn on March 2, 1908 but was never developed because of a limited supply of water and its 

inaccessibility. As a result, the withdrawal was revoked on December 16, 1943. 

 115 Ibid. 116 Dick King to Dick Webster, 10 August 1965. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 119
RUBY MOUNTAINS RANGER DISTRICT 

The Ruby Mountains Ranger District, encompassing the Ruby and East Humboldt mountain ranges, has 

the status of being the first forest reserve in Nevada. It was temporarily withdrawn on March 29, 1904 and 

officially established by presidential proclamation on May 3, 1906. Franklin Reed took charge of the new 

reserve, working with Ranger Clarence N. Woods until he could take over. Woods came to Elko in

February 1907 to head up the new forest reserve and although his title remained "Forest Ranger," his

duties were that of a Forest Supervisor. 

The Ruby Mountains Forest Reserve was short lived. In 1908, it became part of the newly created

Humboldt National Forest. In 1912, it was re-established as a separate national forest with James M.

Ryan as Forest Supervisor. Ryan first worked from Lamoille, moving to Elko in 1913 and later to Deeth. 

In 1917, the Ruby National Forest was consolidated once again with the Humboldt National Forest and 

James Ryan stayed on as a ranger. The following year, August Rohwer succeeded him and worked as 

District Ranger at the Ruby Ranger Station until 1929 when he transferred to the Gold Creek Ranger 

District for twenty years. His son, Monte Rohwer, began working for the Forest Service in 1924 as a horse 

packer to deliver supplies to trail crews. The trails, now part of the Ruby Crest National Recreation Trail, 

were used to monitor livestock use.

117

Lewis E. “Ed” McKenzie transferred from the Jarbidge District in July of 1929 to take August Rohwer’s 

position of District Ranger. He chose to work from Lamoille, rather than the Ruby Guard Station, so his 

children would be closer to school. McKenzie rented housing until the WPA completed the Lamoille

Ranger Station dwelling in 1938. McKenzie, who is credited with naming Echo Lake after spotting it from 

an airplane in 1930, remained on the district until 1947 when Thomas Brierley succeeded him. 

When the Ruby National Forest was created in 1912, it appears that two ranger districts were established, 

one on each side of the range. The Ruby District encompassed the east with headquarters at the Ruby 

Guard Station. The second was located on the west and was administered from the Mound Valley Ranger 

Station at Skelton, now known as Jiggs. 

There is conflicting information about these districts. A plan submitted February 17, 1915 stated that the

forest had been split into three districts (names unknown) for the previous three years.118 There is a 

possibility that the third district may have been an area under the Forest Supervisor’s oversight. 

Sometimes a forest supervisor, with the assistance of a guard or assistant ranger, was in charge of a 

district. The report recommended that the forest be administered as two districts with two permanent men. 

In 1922, the Ruby and East Humboldt ranges were administered as one district after the Ruby District 

absorbed the Mound Valley District. The ranger district was renamed the Lamoille District in 1957. After 

only two years, it was divided into the Lamoille and Wells districts. The former included the west side of 

the mountains from Secret Pass south to Overland Pass. The Wells District managed the west side

between Wells and Secret Pass, as well as the entire east side to Overland Pass.119 The Wells and

Lamoille districts were consolidated on February 20, 1975 to form the Ruby Mountains Ranger District,

with headquarters in Wells. The District Ranger is now based in Elko, formerly the location of the

Humboldt National Forest Supervisor’s Office. 

Stockmen, sheep owners and farmers were not the only users of the Ruby Mountains District. Many

people recognized the recreational values that were enhanced by the scenery and numerous lakes. Local 

 117 Monte Rowher, interview by Fred Frampton, c.1994, notes, Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 118 “General Administration Policy, Ruby National Forest, 1915” TMs [photocopy], Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, 

USDA Forest Service. 119 Bob Palacio, “The Ruby Mountains, 27 May 1968” TMs [photocopy], p. 7, Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA

Forest Service. 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 120 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
residents enjoyed Lamoille Canyon and in the 1920s petitioned for an access road. This and other 

recreational development were made possible in the 1930s with the arrival of CCC Camp F-1 in Lamoille 

Canyon. The camp began operations in June of 1933 and is credited with building the Lamoille Canyon

Road, which has since been designated a Scenic Byway. The CCC also built the Lamoille Ranger Station,

fought fires, created fishing pools, and battled Mormon crickets. 

An attractive scenic area, Lamoille Canyon was developed with numerous camping facilities including the 

Thomas Canyon Campground (by the CCC, c.1935), the Lower Lamoille Campground (plans approved in 

1954), and a youth camp. Plans for the latter were prepared by W.Y. Young and approved in 1938. The

camp was constructed with a donation from the Max C. Fleischmann Foundation and in 1939, the Boy

Scouts of America (BSA) received a special use permit to occupy the camp. In the 1960s, the BSA

transferred the camp to a local community group. It continues to be used by the Boy Scouts, church 

groups, and other organizations. Another recreational development is the Lamoille Canyon summer home 

area, laid out by Don Partridge in October 1948. Lowell Pitcher received the first permit in 1952 and, by

1964, there were 11 lots under permit. 

ACKLER CREEK ADMINISTRATIVE SITE 

This site, located on the north end of the East Humboldt range, was used as an overnight camp by forest 

officials. In 1925, a trail crew built a fence to enclose one acre for storing grain and holding pack stock with

fence wire salvaged from the old Clover Ranger Station pasture fence. Although developed earlier, the

Ackler Creek Administrative Site was not withdrawn until 1943. The 10-acre withdrawal was replaced by

one of 40 acres in 1959. Items found during a site visit in September 1998 included remnants of a barbedwire fence, spring pipeline made of wood and wrapped with wire, a trash pit, and a stamped metal sign that

read "Secret-Starr Trail" on a tree. 

When working in the area, forest officials stayed in a building known as Black's Cabin. The Black Brothers 

constructed a grazing cabin adjacent to the Forest Service pasture in 1955. By 1973, the Black Brothers 

were using the cabin for recreational purposes. That year, their permit was cancelled and after they failed

to remove the cabin, it became the property of the Forest Service in late 1974. The Forest Service

considered tearing it down but sold it to Paul Bottari of Wells in 1979 on the condition that he move it. He

never did and eventually decided he did not want it. In September 1986, Mike Gerber of Deeth took 

responsibility for the cabin. Forest Service files indicate that Gerber was to raze the building but Jim

Currivan of Tent Mountain Ranch states Gerber moved it off forest land to a nearby location. Currivan

bought the land in 1993 and burned the cabin down due to rat infestation. He recalls it was a yellow,

board-and-batten building measuring about 15' x 20', with a metal roof and square nails.

120 

CLOVER RANGER STATION 

Deputy Ranger H.A. McNamara prepared a report dated May 11, 1908 on a proposed administrative site

located just outside the forest on the north end of the East Humboldt Range. The site, which was to be

used as the Clover Ranger Station, was selected for its abundance of wood, adequate amount of water,

and "on account of the location being very close to the N. end of [the] Forest." The 80-acre site was 

withdrawn in 1908 and a pasture fence was built that same year. It is likely that a cabin was built shortly 

thereafter. The cabin and fence were valued at $599 in 1921 when the site was being used as a pasture

and a camp. 

 120 Personal communication with Jim Currivan, Tent Mountain Ranch, Deeth, Nevada, 18 September 1998. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 121
By 1933, the pasture fence was considered unusable and was recommended for removal. The cabin may

have been torn down around that time because a few years later, around 1937, the site was redeveloped 

as a substation for the Intermountain Range and Forest Experiment Station (IR&FES). The CCC built a

dwelling (R4 Plan 7) and a garage (R4 Plan 20), and implemented a planting plan prepared in early 1938

by landscape architect Howard Young. Many of the junipers, Russian olives and Chinese elms that Young

proposed remain on the site.

The IR&FES dwelling was moved from the Clover Station to the Ruby Ranger Station in 1961 and the 

garage was relocated to the Wells warehouse compound in 1969. Foundations and sidewalks remain,

giving an impression of the original layout. There are also remnants of the domestic water system

including an 8’ x 4’ concrete pad that may have secured a pump. Another concrete pad measuring 9’ x 12’

is located to the west. There are no marks, fasteners or anchor bolts to suggest the original use of the 

pad. A trash pit is also situated to the west and may be of archeological value. The former ranger station

and experiment station is now known as the Clover Creek Administrative Site and is used as a horse

pasture. 

GREEN MOUNTAIN ADMINISTRATIVE SITE 

A snow survey cabin was built at this site, located on the south end of the Ruby Mountains, in the winter of 

1934-35. The one-room, 8 ’x 10’ cabin cost $150 and was described as being on a south slope, near a

small spring and surrounded by a small patch of aspen. In January 1937, the Forest Service issued a

special use permit to the University of Nevada Reno (UNR), represented by Dr. J.E. Church, for use of the 

Green Mountain cabin while conducting surveys in cooperation with the Forest Service. Around that time, 

a report on the Green Mountain cabin stated that it was not in the best location and would probably be

moved in 1939. 

The cabin was still there in 1943 when Ranger McKenzie prepared a report, apparently to support 

withdrawal of the administrative site. At that time, there was a fenced pasture and UNR still held a special

use permit for the cabin. A handwritten note on McKenzie's report indicates the withdrawal was approved

on March 15, 1943. 

The cabin was eventually moved or demolished. A 1983 report noted that the Soil Conservation Survey

was still using the site as a weather station consisting of a snow course, precipitation gauge, and 

equipment in a small shed, but it is not clear if this shed was the former snow survey cabin. 

A cursory site visit revealed remnants of a fence consisting of juniper posts and smooth wire, the cabin’s 

concrete entry step, and a concrete foundation. The foundation is 61⁄4" thick and measures 8' x 10'-4" in

plan. It has steel anchor bolts and barbed wire used as re-bar. 

HARRISON PASS RANGER STATION 

The 160-acre Harrison Pass Ranger Station, situated on the southwest side of the Ruby Mountains, was 

withdrawn on August 28, 1907 and a cabin,121 pasture fence and telephone line were completed the 

following year. In 1909, an irrigation ditch from Green Mountain Creek was constructed to raise hay and

vegetables. A barn was built by 1911. Photos dated 1908 and 1911122 show that the house was a simple, 

rectangular structure with a steeply pitched roof. It had wide V-groove or cove siding and 2/2 wood 

 121 C. Sydney Tremewan, Interview by Victor Goodwin and George Gruell, January 1966, transcript, Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe

National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 122 Improvement Plans atlas, Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 122 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
windows, both of which were typical for that period. An open shed was attached to one side of the house

and probably served as storage for wood. The barn, built by 1911 into a hillside, was sheathed with

vertical board siding. It was a more complex form consisting of a large, shed-roofed addition joining a 

gable-roofed volume. A post-and-rail corral is also visible in the photographs. 

In 1921, the house, barn and fence were valued at $1113 and the station was being used as an

administrative pasture during summers. These two buildings were torn down that year and the materials 

were salvaged to build a barn and outhouse at the Mound Valley Ranger Station in Jiggs. 

Presently there are two building on the site: a garage/storeroom (built FY1929) and a dwelling. It is likely

that the dwelling was built around the same time as the garage/storeroom. By 1984, one end of the 

storage building was converted to a small bunkhouse with the addition of interior wallboard, a wood stove

and furniture. Other features on the site include a corral (built 1964) and a pasture fence, both of which are

a combination of barbed wire and post-and-rail construction. 

LAMOILLE RANGER STATION 

Lamoille Ranger Station, 1938 

Forest Service personnel occupied the town of Lamoille before a ranger station was ever built. James M.

Ryan, the only Supervisor of the Ruby National Forest (1912-1917), operated from Lamoille until he moved 

his office to Elko in the spring of 1913. When L.E. McKenzie became Ruby District Ranger in 1929, he 

chose to work from Lamoille rather than the Ruby Ranger Station because it was closer to schools. 

McKenzie first worked from a rented office until 1935 when an office was built at the new Lamoille Ranger 

Station. The Forest Service used relief funds to purchase this one-acre site from Jose and Francek 

Sustacha on November 14, 1934. 

The CCC began developing the site in 1934 with the construction of frame buildings following standard 

Region Four plans. These included an office (R4 Plan 51), house (R4 Plan 1), barn (R4 Plan 11),

garage/storeroom (R4 Plan 21), gas and oil house (R4 Plan 95), and woodshed (R4 Plan 66). The frame

buildings were clad with cove siding and covered with wood-shingled gable roofs. The exterior paint 

schemes were standard, being white with Nile green trim and green roofs. The office and house had

linoleum floors and plaster walls painted light gray, ivory, white, and gray. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 123
Although started in May 1935, the house was not completed until 1938 when Ranger L.E. McKenzie and

his family became the first to occupy it. A WPA crew was responsible for finishing the house and other 

work on the compound that year. The landscape plan, prepared in 1935 by Recreational Planner George

E. Martin, included a nursery site and plants such as dogwood, cinquefoil, creeping juniper, red cedar,

limber pine, cottonwood, wild rose, and a variety of berry bushes. The plan was implemented, although 

not exactly as proposed, around 1940. 

The Lamoille and Wells ranger districts were created in 1957 and several modifications to the Lamoille

Ranger Station were carried out around that time. These included an extension of the woodshed (1956),

construction of a bunkhouse (1957) that former ranger John Kincheloe recalls was a trailer, and

remodeling of the house and office (1958 and 1961 respectively). In December of 1967, a plywood

building constructed under the Accelerated Public Works Program was moved from the Cottonwood

Guard Station on the Ely District to Lamoille. 

When the Wells and Lamoille districts were combined in 1975 as the Ruby Mountains Ranger District,

Wells was designated the district headquarters and the Lamoille Ranger Station lost its importance. There 

have been no rangers at Lamoille since that time, but the station is still used by work crews and seasonal 

employees. 

MOUND VALLEY RANGER STATION 

This ranger station in the town of Jiggs was reportedly the headquarters for the Mound Valley Ranger 

District during the existence of the Ruby National Forest (1912-17). However, few records from this period

have been found. One person recalled the “Jiggs Ranger Station” being across the road from the

schoolhouse in 1918.

123 The wife of Ranger Jack Mink served as postmistress at the ranger station after a 

fire destroyed the Hankins-Gregory store in Jiggs on August 25, 1919.

124

Despite these early references to the Jiggs Ranger Station, Forest Service records indicate that 1.48 acres 

in Jiggs were not purchased until around 1920. This was about the same time the Forest Service decided 

to consolidate several ranger stations and open a new station in a more central and/or accessible location.

Older ranger stations (South Fork, Minola, Harrison Pass) were torn down and the materials were 

salvaged to build a district headquarters in Jiggs. Known as the Mound Valley Ranger Station, the

headquarters was developed in 1920-21 with the construction of a barn, house, yard fence, and outhouse. 

The latter was 4' x 5' and was constructed of salvaged materials from the old Harrison Pass dwelling. 

The 36’ x 22’ frame house, completed in April of 1921, had a concrete foundation, six rooms and two 

clothes closets. Its interior walls were shiplap boards and the exterior was sheathed with drop siding. 

Unfortunately, the house burned the following year. It was replaced with a smaller frame house measuring 

16’ x 24’ and containing four rooms and a bath. Completed in 1924, it also had a concrete foundation, as 

well as a brick flue and plastered walls. 

The three-stall barn was also a frame structure. It measured 18’ x 16’ and was covered with a half-pitch 

(6:12) galvanized iron roof. It was constructed of material salvaged from the South Fork and Minola 

dwellings as well as the Harrison Pass dwelling and barn. A proposal was submitted a few years later to

replace this barn as it was too small and didn’t have room for grain bins or hay. 

Other construction included a water system, consisting of a well under the dwelling’s back porch and a

pump, and a chicken house/shed. The latter was made of two parts that joined to form an L-shaped plan.

The chicken house part was 6’ x 6’ while the shed portion measured 16’ x 8’. Completed in December of

 123 Patterson, et.al., 477. 124 Ibid. 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 124 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
1921, the eight-foot high structure was made of rough lumber left over from the dwelling and barn. Its

quarter-pitch roof (3:12) was covered with galvanized iron. Additional developments included the

construction of a 7' x 8' log cellar in 1923. It was set above ground and had a concrete floor. Three years 

later, a 10’ x 22’ frame garage/toolhouse with a concrete foundation and a shingle roof was built. 

For some reason, the Forest Service disposed of the newly developed ranger station only a few years 

later. The agency sold the site and its improvements to its original owner in May of 1929. 

A private, abandoned site at the south end of Jiggs, consisting of a house, yard fence and outhouse, may 

be the old Mound Valley Ranger Station. The one-story house is in poor condition. It has a concrete

foundation, wood-shingled gable roof, 1/1 wood windows, open eaves, exposed rafters, and remnants of

green paint on the trim and roof. Wood shingle siding covers the original flush shiplap siding. There is no

front porch or basement. A concrete foundation extends to the north and a screened porch on the east 

appears to be an addition. There is a log addition attached to the rear of this. The outhouse is of frame

construction and has a shed roof. 

RUBY RANGER STATION 

The Ruby Ranger Station was posted as an administrative site in April of 1913. It had the advantage of

being near the center of the Ruby National Forest and the post office in the newly founded Ruby City. The

station was developed with a house (1914-15), barn (1915), outhouse (1915), “cross fence” (1915, built by

Arthur Johnson of Lurline), corral (1915), telephone line (1915-16), well and pump (1915-16), and pasture

fence (1916). The house was a three-room, 20’ x 22’ frame structure with a shingled roof. It was 

expanded to 22’ x 30’ when two additional rooms were constructed (early 1921) and a room was added to 

the attic (1924). 

In 1917, irrigation ditches and three small dams were built to irrigate the meadow and pasture. The water 

originally came from a hand-dug well and a collection box in a spring area. A garage was also built 

although the construction date is unknown. Other improvement projects were carried out in the early

1920s. These included a latrine (1920), water system and cesspool (1920), yard fence (1921-22), a road

connecting the station to the main road (1922) and a cellar (built 1924 by Ruby Valley rancher John

Murphy). Further improvements were carried out in 1928 when a feed yard and feed rack were built. 

A galvanized iron toolhouse/workshop was built in 1919. A 1927 letter from Ranger Rowher stated that the

water for the horses came from a well and a pump located in the corner of the "toolhouse," which was 

most likely this building. The well was eventually abandoned and a new one drilled to the west of the 

house. The second well and pump are presently housed in a 10' x 12' corrugated metal building. Given 

the Forest Service pattern of moving buildings, this may be the 1919 toolhouse. 

The site’s role as a year-round station for the Ruby District Ranger was usurped in 1929 when newly

appointed ranger L.E. McKenzie chose to work from Lamoille. By the early 1930s, several of the 

improvements were abandoned or condemned. The garage was torn down and in 1935, McKenzie

proposed that the materials be salvaged and used to build a new dwelling and barn at South Fork 

Administrative Site. 

No new buildings were constructed during the New Deal era, but maintenance was carried out. In 1937,

Ranger McKenzie proposed refinishing the house interior with wallboard, rather than wallpaper or plaster.

He also suggested that the buildings be repainted noting, “The buildings are now brown, and unless three 

coats of white are applied, should be re-painted the same.”125 In 1941, a WPA crew painted the buildings

 125 L.E. McKenzie to Supervisor McQueen, 8 June 1937.

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 125
white, repaired the pasture fence, and carried out work on the well, corral, yard fence, and bracing in the

barn. 

In 1960, the Forest Supervisor proposed construction of an overnight cabin at Secret Pass. This guard 

station would replace the Ruby Ranger Station and serve both the Wells and Lamoille ranger districts, as it

would be centrally located for the two rangers. In August, the proposal was dropped due to a lack of water 

at the site. At that time, it was decided to replace the Ruby dwelling and in August of 1960, a bid was let to

sell it. Bid documents erroneously stated the house was built c.1909, shortly after the forest was created. 

They also noted that the sale did not include the wood-burning cookstove, metal sink or other furnishings.

Bill Elliott of Wells bought the Ruby house for $51.00 on August 30, 1960 and moved it off site. The house 

reportedly still stands behind a Mormon church nearby.126

L.A. Richardson of Elko received the bid in late 1961 to move the house from the Clover Experiment 

Station to the Ruby Ranger Station. The work included construction of a new foundation and 

reconstruction of the brick chimney. The Clover

house (R4 Plan 7A) was built by the CCC around

1937. 

 Guard Station. The original house shown here was

ld and moved from the site in 1960. 

Ruby

so

By 1969, there were only four structures (with the 

exception of any latrines) on the site: the dwelling,

barn, cellar and tool shed. These four buildings 

remain, along with two latrines. It has been 

suggested that one of the latrines was moved from

Clover Ranger Station along with the house in 1961.

The other, now abandoned and toppled, was moved 

to the site around 1992 from the Lamoille Ranger 

Station.127 Other features on the site include the

yard fence, corral, pasture, and spring headbox. 

SOUTH FORK ADMINISTRATIVE SITE

Fred Drown of Lee, Nevada built a small cabin on this site, located on the west slope of the Ruby

Mountains, and used it until about 1903. Later, a Mr. Cipriana of Polk built a 14' x 14' board cabin and

used the site until around 1905. By 1907, neither had lived on the site for the previous two years and it 

was recommended for withdrawal as a ranger station. 

The South Fork Ranger Station was withdrawn on November 27, 1907. A 1914 site report described a

barbed-wire fence and a 14' x 16' frame cabin built in 1910 for $365.30. Despite these improvements, the

Forest Supervisor noted in 1910 that the site had been “used but slightly” as a ranger station and

sometime before 1914, the station was rented to S.C. Cassidy. In 1914, the original withdrawal was 

replaced with a withdrawal of 40 acres following more regular boundary lines. Twenty more acres were 

approved four years later as South Fork Addition 1. In 1921, the station was described as being under 

special use permit, suggesting that Cassidy or somebody else was renting the property. At that time, the 

site included a house and fence valued at $567. They were torn down shortly thereafter and the materials 

were salvaged to build the Mound Valley Ranger Station barn in Jiggs. 

In 1931, the fence was reconstructed with barbed wire and juniper posts. This was apparently a stopgap 

measure, for it was condemned two years later. Perhaps spurred on by the availability of CCC labor, the 

Forest Service considered developing the site in the mid-1930s. In 1935, Ranger McKenzie reviewed the

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 126 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1

 126 Personnel communication from Wendell Neff to Mitch Bulthius. 127 Personnel communication with John Haney and Mitch Bulthius. 
Region Four standard plans and recommended construction of a dwelling of Plan 5 and barn of Plan 13.

McKenzie was instructed to submit a cost estimate, taking into account the salvaged materials that were to

be brought from Ruby Ranger Station, but there is no other indication that further action was taken. The

site was recommended for release in 1983. 

TERRACES GUARD STATION 

Although the site was not withdrawn until January 22, 1942, CCC crews began building the Terraces

Guard Station in 1936.128 Junior Landscape Architect Arthur R. Franz prepared the development plan in

1937. Located in Lamoille Canyon, the site was to be used by snow surveyors in the winter and a

recreation guard in the winter. Franz proposed to build a dwelling (R4 Plan 7A), garage (R4 Plan 36), and 

fly shed (R4 Plan 14). Recreational Planner George Martin drew a 1936 landscape plan that included

plantings such as shrubby cinquefoil, creeping juniper, chokecherry, elderberry, and snowberry, as well as

a public recreation site nearby. 

A house, latrine, garage, and fly shed (used to store snow survey and recreation equipment) were clad

with faux log siding. This exterior siding conveyed the look of a log building and was referred to as

“Shevlin” siding after the manufacturer based in Bend, Oregon. Although it was a standard material for 

Region Four, it was rarely used on the administrative facilities of Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. It may

have been chosen for this site for its rusticity and the proximity to public campgrounds. 

In 1946, the Terraces house was moved to the Elko Warehouse Compound at Eighth and Fir streets. It 

was placed on a new basement and remodeled to accommodate the Jarbidge ranger during the winters. 

The garage was converted to a bunkhouse but heavy snow and drifting caused it to collapse in 1972. 

Three years later, the Forest Service proposed to remove the fly shed and corral and to use the site solely

as a picnic area. Photos, perhaps dating to the 1970s, of the Wells Administrative Site show a small 

building that may have been the fly shed. It is clad in Shevlin siding and appears to be of Region Four

Plan 14. It has since been removed. 

Presently, the site’s development is evident in the remaining foundations, remnants of the water system,

and the concrete porch of the original dwelling. Of considerable interest is the stonework that can be 

attributed to Virgil Pasquale, the CCC masonry foreman. Stone walks and low retaining walls snake

through the site. Stone steps, integral with the existing rock face of the hillside, ascend from the Lamoille

Canyon Road to the former guard station site. These features are a testament to the skill of Pasquale and 

his crew. 

WELLS ADMINISTRATIVE SITE

The Forest Service compound in Wells is relatively new. The original parcel, consisting of 3.68 acres 

purchased on August 23, 1963,129 was supplemented in 1965 by an additional 3.69 acres.130 Located at 

the corner of Humboldt and Pacific avenues, the site was first used as a warehouse compound and later 

as the Wells Ranger Station. Most of the structures are less than 50 years old and are not being

evaluated. 

 128 Humboldt Hummer, 17 June 1936, newsletter of the Humboldt National Forest, Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, 

USDA Forest Service. 129 Elko County Deed Book 39, Page 115. Corrected deed recorded September 12, 1963 in Book 39, Page 628. 130 Elko County Deed Book 52, Page 563, recorded January 14, 1965. In 1975, 0.45 acre was released as a right-of-way, leaving a 

total site area of 6.92 acres. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 127
The shop was constructed at the Clover Experiment Station, located at the north end of the Ruby

Mountains. It was built by the CCC around 1937 as a two-car garage. The Intermountain Range and 

Forest Experiment Station eventually abandoned the Clover site and the Forest Service decided to move

the buildings. The house was moved to the Ruby Ranger Station and Bud Eldredge of Elko received the

bid to move the garage to Wells. To do so, he cut the building in half and transported both pieces in

February of 1969. Eldredge placed the building on a block foundation that was constructed the previous

October. 

The Wells site was later developed with several utility buildings and horse facilities. An office building was 

constructed in 1988 to serve as the Ruby Mountains Ranger District headquarters. 

OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE SITES 

Agee Ranger Station. This site on the south end of the East Humboldt Range was withdrawn in 1909

and appears on 1912 and 1916 maps as an L-shaped area. In 1921, it was not being used and had no

improvements. By 1983, there were range improvements (water development and spring source). 

CCC Camp F-1, Lamoille. Established in 1933 at the mouth of Lamoille Canyon, this site was occupied 

by CCC crews until 1940. That first year, the CCC built a powder house of railroad ties and a 14’ x 16’

machine shop that had a dirt floor. The following year, they constructed a 12’ x 14’ toolhouse. The 

machine shop and toolhouse were located in T32N, R58E, S5. In FY1935, a 14’ x 16’ oil house with a 

concrete foundation was built at the main camp in T32N, R58E, S6. Other buildings in the main camp

included a 10’ x 18’ tool house with a shingle roof and concrete foundation (FY1936) and 8’ x 8’ lattice ice

box (FY1934).

Fort Halleck Ranger Station. This site was withdrawn in 1907 near the northern tip of the Ruby

Mountains. Although there were plans to build a cabin, the site was barely developed and used. A 1917

land classification report noted that it was enclosed by a fence in 1909 but had not been used for pasturing

horses until the previous season. The withdrawal was revoked sometime after early 1943 but the exact

date has not been determined. 

Hennan Administrative Site. This is situated northeast of the Te-Moak Indian Reservation on the Ruby 

Mountains’ west side. Although developed as a pasture in 1928, it was not approved as an administrative 

site until March 4, 1943. The approval of five acres was revoked on February 8, 1961. It is referred to as

the Griswold Administrative Pasture in some records.

Lamoille Pasture. This site was withdrawn in 1912 and enclosed by a four-wire fence built by the Forest

Service. By 1921, the pasture fence was valued at $378 and the site was classified as special use, thus

indicating a private party was using it. The fence was sold in 1933, suggesting that the pasture was no

longer used. This is verified by a 1941 report stating there were no pastures owned by the Government at

Lamoille. 

Lindsay Ranger Station. The 80-acre site on the west side of the Ruby Mountains was withdrawn in

1907 but no action was ever taken. In March 1943, a grazing permittee was using it as a pasture under a

special use permit. The withdrawal was revoked in December of 1943.

Minola Ranger Station. Forty acres on the west side of the Ruby Mountains were withdrawn in 1907 as

the Minola Ranger Station and a pasture fence was constructed in 1909. It is possible that the house was

built around that time. Both were valued at $598 in 1921 when the site was used under a special use

permit. The house was torn down soon thereafter and its materials were salvaged to build the barn at

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 128 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
Mound Valley Ranger Station in Jiggs in 1921. Either the pasture fence was reconstructed or a new one

was built in FY1923. 

The site was still used up through at least 1930 when maintenance on the pasture fence was recorded. In 

that year, the Forest Supervisor recommended its release but the pasture was still under special use to a 

grazing permittee in 1943. The withdrawal was revoked in December 1943, but the Forest Service

continued to use the site. In late 1957, the agency placed an old trailer on the site. It and a latrine were

still there in 1975 but were removed sometime thereafter. No features were found during a site visit in

September 1998. 

Pete Holm Administrative Site. Little is known about the withdrawal and use of this site, which was only

a couple of miles south of the Minola Ranger Station. A 1916 map shows the Pete Holm house but it is not

clear if this was Forest Service property. A cursory site visit in September 1998 revealed a fence around a 

small area next to a larger fenced pasture that contained a hitching rack and modern latrine. Screws, wire

nails, glass, a spring-loaded door hinge, a butterfly hinge, cabinet latches, and a partial brass switchplate 

were concentrated within the smaller fenced area. To the north of the site were two pieces of horse-drawn

equipment that may be a grader and a ditch digger. 

Rattlesnake Administrative Site. This site on the west slope of the Rubies was probably withdrawn soon

after the forest was created. It appears on a 1912 map. Early records indicate that it was released

although the date of this action is unknown. The site does not appear on a 1918 map, thus suggesting it 

was released prior to that time. 

Toyn Administrative Site. This was probably withdrawn soon after the forest was created because it 

appears on a 1912 map. It may have been used as a pasture in support of the Harrison Pass Ranger

Station, situated 1⁄4 mile away. This is supported by a 1914 report that stated the Forest Service had 

irrigated two acres of land belonging to the Toyn Ranch since 1907. The station was shown on a 1916

map but apparently fell into disuse shortly thereafter for it is not shown on a 1918 map.

Trout Creek Ranger Station. This 80-acre site on the north end of the East Humboldt Range was 

withdrawn in 1909 but was never developed. In early 1943, the Wells Power Company occupied it under a 

water power license. The withdrawal was revoked in December 1943. 

Wiseman Administrative Site. The site was withdrawn in 1907 but was never developed. Located

outside the forest boundary on the east side of the East Humboldt Range, it was released in June of 1919. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 129
SANTA ROSA RANGER DISTRICT 

As mentioned previously, the Santa Rosa Ranger District was created as a separate national forest on

April 1, 1911 with Winifred W. Blakeslee as Forest Supervisor. It was originally divided into three districts. 

District One comprised the area north of Threemile, Buckskin Mountain and the North Fork of the Little

Humboldt River. It was sometimes referred to as the Threemile or National Ranger District. Ranger Frank 

Border administered the district from a temporary station consisting of two tents and a corral on Eightmile

Creek. Despite the rough conditions, he and his family occupied the tents year round.131 From 1911 to 

1914, William M. McGhie served as the district ranger at National. He was followed by Alfred P. Larson.

According to one source, the district was divided between District Two and District Three in 1914, after

boundaries were posted and all livestock permitted.132 This may be incorrect, because Larson remained at

National until 1917 when he transferred to Elko.133

District Two, with headquarters at Rebel Creek Ranger Station, consisted of the west side of the range 

between Threemile and Paradise Hill.134 Early rangers on this district included William S. Kalbaugh (1914-

18) and C.D. “Bobby” Miller (1917-22). 

Martin Basin and the Paradise Valley side of the Santa Rosa range comprised District Three. Ranger Paul

Travis managed it from Lamance until 1929 when he bought a house next to the present-day Paradise

Valley Ranger Station. District Three was also administered from the Supervisor’s Office at Paradise.135

On July 1, 1917, the Santa Rosa National Forest was eliminated and its lands, along with those of the

Ruby National Forest, were consolidated with the Humboldt National Forest. Its two districts were reduced

to one, with headquarters located in Paradise Valley, in 1920 or 1922.136 The Santa Rosa Division

remained with the Humboldt until 1938 when it became part of the re-established Toiyabe National Forest.

It was transferred back to the Humboldt on January 1, 1951. At that time, the 298,970-acre area was 

administered as one ranger district by a ranger and one guard. The ranger, Lewis E. McKenzie, retired the 

day before the transfer after 32 years with the Forest Service. Wayne J. Cloward transferred from Gold 

Creek to take his place. 

Paul Travis was long-serving forest ranger on the Santa Rosa Ranger District. Travis joined the Santa

Rosa National Forest in 1912 as an Assistant Forest Ranger and remained for thirty years. In 1913, he 

was promoted to District Ranger of District Three. During his tenure, Travis worked from the Martin Creek, 

Calico, Paradise Valley and Lamance ranger stations. He homesteaded near the Lamance Ranger 

Station but, after it was closed in 1929, moved to the town of Paradise where he bought a house. Travis

was actively involved with the work and organization of the CCC camp at Paradise Valley and contributed

greatly to the development and management of the forest. Travis continued to assist with snow surveys

after he retired in late 1942.137 

Another ranger by the exemplary name of Sterling Righteous Justice recorded his experiences in an

unpublished memoir titled “The Forest Ranger on Horseback.” Born in Idaho, Justice worked on a ranch 

before joining the Forest Service in 1908. He was assigned to several districts on the Idaho forests until 

January 1, 1943 when he went to the Santa Rosa Ranger District. Two forest guards, Victor Arzuaga and 

 131 Jerry Horton, "Former Paradise Valley Ranger Tells of Past, Future of Humboldt County's Santa Rosa National Forest." The 

Humboldt Star, 25 July 1958, 1. 132 John Wilcox, “Information for Humboldt N.F. Recreation and Information Brochure, Santa Rosa Division, 30 November 1967” TMs 

[photocopy], p. 1, Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 133 Judith Poche', "Dates, Time, People, Places, Events, n.d." TMs [photocopy], Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA 

Forest Service. 134 Jerry Horton, 1. 135 Ibid. 136 Wilcox,1 and Goodwin, “The Humboldt Forest,” 10. 137 Sterling R. Justice, 239. 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 130 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
Frank Sellers, were to assist him but shortly before Justice arrived, Sellers took a job in Oregon. Since a

replacement could not be found, Justice took over the grazing and fire control duties. Justice retired in

October of 1946 at the age of 62 and the following year started working for the Quarter Circle A cattle

outfit. 

CULTURAL STUDIES OF PARADISE VALLEY 

Paradise Valley has been the subject of several cultural studies. In 1987, Margaret Sermons Purser

completed a dissertation titled “Community and Material Culture in Nineteenth Century Paradise Valley,

Nevada.”138 Howard Wight Marshall, a recognized authority in cultural studies, supervised a 

multidisciplinary field research project for the American Folklife Center in the Library of Congress. In 

addition to other areas of interest, Purser and Marshall studied the area's unique architectural

development. Their work, summarized briefly below, is important in understanding Forest Service

improvements on the Santa Rosa Ranger District. 

According to Marshall, early homesteads of northeast Nevada were based on Germanic and British 

precedents. The main buildings were situated near a water source and road, usually in the center of the

fields and irrigated meadows. Most homesteads were

planted with Lombardy poplars, cottonwoods and Chinese

elms to provide wind protection and shade. Ranch buildings 

in Paradise Valley were first laid out in a linear pattern facing

the road and the west. Later, the courtyard arrangement, 

groupings of buildings around a central area, became

dominant. Topography did not dictate these layouts as much

as the site’s proximity to water.139 

Italian stonemason Virgil Pasquale and a CCC 

crew are credited with building these stone steps

into a rock outcrop at the Terraces Guard Station

on the Ruby Mountains District. 

Although some buildings were constructed of wood or adobe,

stone structures provide a unique character to Paradise

Valley architecture, thanks to Italian immigrants. These 

skilled stonemasons, most of whom came from the Piedmont

area of Italy beginning in 1860, had a significant influence on

the area's development. Although the architectural style

cannot be described as strictly Italian, they used Italian 

techniques (e.g. mortar, stone cutting) in constructing designs 

desired by their customers. Some buildings in Paradise

Valley are of an Italian style (the Catholic church, Micca 

House hotel), but others make more subtle references

through selected elements such as hip roofs.140

The Italians used sandstone from a quarry on the east side of

Paradise Valley and granite from near Lamance and Hansen

creeks.

141 They quarried and formed the stone with hand

tools and, giving “relatively little shape to the rocks they used,

 138 Margaret Sermons Purser, “Community and Material Culture in Nineteenth Century Paradise Valley, Nevada” (PhD. Diss., 

University of California Berkeley, 1987). 139 Howard Wight Marshall, Paradise Valley, Nevada. The People and Buildings of an American Place (Tucson: The University of 

Arizona Press, 1995), 37. 140 Ibid., 63. 141 Ibid., 52 and 68. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 131
they took pains to select and size the stones" and using their own mortaring techniques.142 

The Forest Service had at least three stone buildings on the Santa Rosa District: the Calico Ranger 

Station, the Lamance cellar, and the Lamance powder house. Descriptions of the Italians' work on other

structures are useful in understanding their construction and use: 

The semi-subterranean cellars of town, if not attached to the kitchen proper, stood apart

from both sheds and privy, usually on the opposite side of the yard, and nearer the

kitchen door. Unlike the expedient construction of the other outbuildings, which were built 

cheaply and often with scrap lumber and other materials, the cellars were usually

carefully built structures of mortared stonework. They measured eight to ten feet on a

side internally, and their walls could be nearly two feet thick. Inside shelves lined the 

walls, where bulk foods could be stored, and more perishable items like eggs and dairy 

products could be safely kept from spoilage.143

Regarding the sandstone buildings of Bull Head Ranch, Marshall writes: 

The walls themselves are made of two carefully squared and finished skins on the interior

and exterior, with the space between filled with compacted rubble, gravel, dirt, and large

fieldstone boulders.144

By the 1940s, most of the Italian stonemasons had retired and, since none of their children were trained in 

the art, the skill died out.145 Fortunately, the Forest Service enjoyed the service of Virgil Pasquale before 

this occurred. Pasquale was a cousin of Alphonso Pasquale, a significant individual in Paradise Valley, 

and the oldest of eight children born to Guistina Pasquale, sister of Cristina Forgnone. Described as a

talented stonemason, he was part of the Italian immigrant community at Paradise Valley. In the late

1910s, he and his wife lived in the upstairs of Micca House and ran the boarding house.146 He served as

the masonry foreman for CCC Camp F5 in Paradise Valley. Under his direction, the CCC built the 

Lamance Powderhouse, foundations and ramps at Martin Creek Ranger Station, and the stonework of the

Hinkey Summit road. Virgil and his wife Primina later moved to Salt Lake City.147 They are buried in the 

Paradise Valley cemetery. 

THE ROLE OF THE CCC

The history of the Santa Rosa District would not be complete without mentioning the CCC. The first group 

of enrollees occupied Camp F-2 from May to October of 1933. This camp was replaced by Camp F-5,

which operated from 1934 to 1941 from a base camp next to the Paradise Valley Ranger Station and spike 

camps at Martin Creek and Canyon Creek. Forest officers, including Ranger Travis, directed many of their 

work projects as did local men such as foremen Virgil Pasquale and Wilbur Timmons. 

Various companies of the camp performed a tremendous amount of work on the Santa Rosa District.

Some built reservoirs, trails, drift fences, and an entrance portal. Others constructed administrative 

buildings at Paradise Valley, Lamance and Martin Creek ranger stations. The enrollees laid a telephone

line between the ranger stations at Paradise Valley and Martin Creek, cleared roads of snow, battled

crickets, and fought fires. 

 142 Ibid., 58 and 65. 143 Purser, 188. 144 Marshall, Paradise Valley, Nevada, 68. 145 Ibid., 63 and 65. 146 Purser, 109. 147 Marshall, Paradise Valley, Nevada, 74. 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 132 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
They also realigned and widened the Hinkey Summit Road, originally built in 1914. Roadwork, which 

began in 1934, included the construction of over 100 dry-laid stone features such as culverts and retaining

walls.148 The road retains a high level of integrity and is eligible for the National Register under Criteria A 

(association with the CCC) and C (masonry workmanship).

149 

BUCKSKIN SNOW SURVEY CABIN 

In 1941, after the death of Jarbidge Ranger Karl Wilkinson in an avalanche, the Forest Service constructed

more snow survey cabins to provide shelter for snow surveyors. One of these cabins was built on the 

Santa Rosa range to accommodate surveyors on the Upper Buckskin and Lower Buckskin snow courses

that were established in 1932. In September of 1941, Dr. J.E. Church wrote to Forest Supervisor 

McQueen about the cabin: 

We are greatly pleased to learn that you are planning to move a CCC cabin to the Lower 

Buckskin course in the Santa Rosa Mountains. On our trip in July-August we visited all of 

the courses with Ranger Travis and agreed most heartily with his feeling that a cabin

should be erected at this point to avoid uncertainty regarding the weather and exhaustion. 

I have been too busy since my return to take up the matter with you and I am delighted to

know that you have gone forward on your own initiative to complete this work.150

The 12' x 16' cabin may have been built by the CCC Camp F-5, which operated from a camp in Paradise 

Valley from 1934 to 1935. It was moved and improved with $52 of CCC funds in 1941. It remains in its 

second location, south of Buckskin Mountain peak, near the Indian Creek-Canyon Creek Road. 

CALICO RANGER STATION 

Forest Supervisor Blakeslee prepared a report on the proposed Calico Ranger Station on May 22, 1912. 

Situated on the northeast side of the Santa Rosa Range, the site had no improvements at that time.

Blakeslee stated a guard would use the station when patrolling the forest's east boundary from Martin 

Creek to the state line. The withdrawal was approved and a stone cabin with a rubberoid roof was 

completed in 1913. The cabin, built of basalt with mud mortar and some cement parging, had a hip roof 

constructed of sawn rafters and 1x12 planks. In 1927, Ranger Travis reported that it served no useful

purpose where it was located and it was removed from property records in November of 1936, thus

suggesting abandonment. Although it is partially collapsed, one can find evidence of plastered interior

walls and awning windows (now missing). 

LACA ADMINISTRATIVE SITE 

This site, located at the northeast end of the Santa Rosa Range and named after a local sheepherder, was 

developed with a water trough in 1935.151 It was used as a remote camp and horse pasture for many

years before the existing buildings, a cabin and a latrine, were moved to the site. 

 148 Fred P. Frampton, “Indian Creek Bridge Replacement, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest Cultural Resource Narrative Report HM98-0789, 26 June 1998” TMs, p. 5, Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 149 Ibid., 8. 150 J.E. Church to Alexander McQueen, 5 September 1941. 151 Personal communication with Judy Poche'. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 133
The original Martin Creek ranger dwelling,

constructed in 1911, was moved to the Laca site in

1958. In 1959, the interior walls and trim were

painted gray and in 1961, Ranger Hoffman requested

funds for a concrete foundation and casing of the

back door and east window.152 The cabin was 

improved in 1980 with running water piped from a

nearby spring, installation of a sink and cabinet, and a 

propane refrigerator. 

The site, once used by district work crews during the

field season, now consists of a frame cabin and

outhouse, as well as a spring, collection box, water 

trough and horse pasture. Although the Forest

Service uses it very little these days, the Nevada First

Corporation has used the site since 1996 when

moving cattle to their grazing allotment. 

LAMANCE ADMINISTRATIVE SITE 

The Lamance Ranger Station is located about five miles east of the town of Paradise Valley. In his 1914

report on the proposed ranger station, Ranger Paul Travis wrote that Jesse Bradshaw of Paradise Valley

offered to sell his improvements, a five-acre fenced garden, for $75. It is not clear if the Forest Service

bought the garden, but eighty acres were withdrawn on May 29, 1914. To correct a survey mistake, 

another withdrawal of 160 acres was approved on August 17, 1921. 

The site served first as a ranger station for the east side of the Santa Rosa range and later as an

experimental station for the Intermountain Range and Forest Experiment Station. Nearby, the CCC 

constructed a powder house to support their work on the district. 

Lamance Ranger Station 

Bids for materials to build the Lamance Ranger Station building, received on July 1, 1914, were too high so

the building was resized and let out for bid two weeks later. E. Reinhart and Company of Winnemucca

was awarded the contract of $301.70 and materials including 1" x 6" rustic siding, redwood shingles, and

21⁄2” bed molding were delivered. In August, several colors of paint were ordered from another 

Winnemucca company: golden brown (for the floor), ivory, golden yellow, and green (for the exterior). 

The ranger station proper, which most likely served as a dwelling and office, consisted of two rooms. A 

1920 photo153 shows it was a front-gabled building with a full-width front porch. The dark body is

highlighted by white trim, corner boards, and wide rake boards. Mature hollyhocks, a cornfield, the

requisite flagpole, yard fence, and telephone line are visible. When the house was sold in 1929, it was 

described as a 16’ x 28’ frame building with a 14’ x 28’ addition. It had five rooms, including two bedrooms

and a 7’ x 14’ office. The foundation was stone and the roof was shingled. 

Construction of the barn commenced after October of 1914, when the J.B. Case Company was awarded a 

bid to provide lumber and building materials. When the barn was sold in May of 1929, it was described as

a 14’ x 30’ frame building with two stalls, a harness room and rubberoid roof. 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 134 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1

 152 Memo from District Forest Ranger Hoffman to Supervisor, 13 January 1961. 153 Historic photograph files, Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 

The Martin Creek Ranger Station dwelling was moved in

1958 to the Laca Administrative Site. 
Other buildings constructed at the ranger station include a stone cellar (1921), a 12' x 16'

woodshed/storeroom (1922), and a tool shed (1923). In early property records, the cellar was described

as being 11’ x 13’ on the outside, with a shingled roof, a concrete floor, and six-feet high stone walls laid in

mud mortar and pointed with plaster on both sides. The 18’ x 30’ tool shed was of corrugated iron with a 

concrete foundation. 

In 1929, the district headquarters 

was moved to the town of Paradise

Valley and most of the ranger 

station buildings were sold to local

residents. All but the tool shed 

(now referred to as the barn) and 

stone cellar were moved or 

demolished. Those two buildings

remain on site, as do foundations

of the house and barn and a round

structure that appears to be the

well mentioned in a 1921 report by

Ranger Travis. 

Lamance Experiment Station

On May 4, 1937, Assistant

Regional Forester Chet Olsen

announced the establishment of an

experiment station on the Paradise

Valley Ranger District. He and R.W. Bailey, the Director of the Intermountain Forest and Range 

Experiment Station (IF&RES), investigated a site near the former Lamance Ranger Station where they

planned for the CCC to build a house, office, warehouse and garage. The IF&RES, in cooperation with the 

University of Nevada agricultural extension service, proposed to use 80 acres to conduct experiments on

grasses for range feed.

154

Construction started in the summer of 1937 under the guidance of carpentry foreman Jack Abegglan.155 

The house (R4 Plan 8) and garage (R4 Plan 21) were ready to be painted by the end of September.156 

According to the improvement plan, the site was to be extensively landscaped with fir, pine, box elder,

Russian olive, honey locust, juniper, apple, blue spruce, poplar, Chinese elm, dogwood, cinquefoil, 

honeysuckle, currant, and snowberry. 

Little is known about the occupants of the stations but Ranger Justice wrote that Joseph Robertson was in

charge at one time, perhaps while Justice was ranger from 1943-46.157 Dick Hurl was in charge in 1946.158

In 1953, the Director of the IR&FES considered declaring the house and garage as excess property. At 

that time, the Regional Forester asked that they be transferred to the Austin Ranger Station but, around 

1956, the buildings were moved to Reno to accommodate a new IR&FES work center. Harold F. Haupt’s

arrival on February 6, 1957 marked the opening of the Reno Work Center located at 1350 E. 2nd Street.159 

When the IR&FES abandoned the Lamance site in 1956, they turned it over the Humboldt National Forest.

It has been used since then as an administrative pasture in connection with the Paradise Valley Ranger

 154 “Experiment Station To Be Set Up,” The Humboldt Star, 4 May 1937, 1. 155 The Humboldt Star, 24 June 1937. 156 The Humboldt Star, 30 September 1937, 3. 157 Sterling R. Justice, 251. 158 Ibid., 275. 159 “History of the Toiyabe National Forest.” 

Lamance Ranger Station, 1920 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 135
Station. Although the house, garage and outhouse were moved, many features remain. The building

foundations, stone retaining walls and steps, a concrete septic tank cover, and mature trees such as

locusts, olive and elms provide a sense of the site's previous appearance. 

Lamance Powder House 

In 1939, a CCC crew under the direction of masonry foreman Virgil Pasquale completed a powder house.

Located north of the old ranger station and experiment station, the structure was used to store explosives

and was part of the Paradise Valley Ranger Station property. The rough-coursed stone structure is intact

and exhibits the fine Italians craftsmanship found throughout Paradise Valley. The gabled, one-room 

structure is used intermittently for storage.

MARTIN CREEK RANGER STATION 

In the summer of 1911, Supervisor Blakeslee directed Ranger McGhie to select a summer campsite along

Martin Creek for the Paradise Valley ranger's use. Located near Hinkey Summit, it was posted as an 

administrative site in June 1911 and withdrawn in July 1913. 

In October of 1911, Assistant Ranger V. F. Wooton built a pasture fence enclosing an area of 30 to 35

acres. The pasture proved to be inadequate by July of the following year when Assistant Ranger Paul

Travis requested supplies to fence a new one. According to 1917 records, there was a small hay pasture

of timothy and redtop at the station, which was used only in summer due to heavy snowfall. In 1926,

Travis wrote about some of the site improvements: 

About 1913 or 14 I dug out a small spring behind the Martin Creek R.S. It is about 100

feet north of the house. I dug it out about 4 feet deep and across and rocked it up. 

It was not very satisfactory and in the fall of 1925, while we were working on the Martin

Cr. R.S., we dug out the rock and enlarged the hole. We then walled it up with concrete 

about 2’ x 2’ by 31⁄2 ft. deep. We used about $2.50 worth of cement which had been left

when the foundation under the house was finished. 

The new construction was not satisfactory, the spring would not flow. The work done this

summer was done by Mr. D. who dug a trench from another nearby springy place to the 

developed spring by which he expected to increase the flow.160

The house mentioned by Travis was built in 1911. It was a 14’ x 14’ one-room frame structure with a

shingle roof, vertical wood siding, an entry deck, and 2/2 windows. Other early structures at the ranger

station include a pit toilet, a stone cellar, and a tool house that was there by 1926. 

The CCC improved the site in 1936 by constructing a garage/storeroom (R4 Plan 23) and a barn (R4 Plan

13). The foundations and barn ramps are representative of the stonework found throughout Paradise

Valley and are attributed to masonry foreman Virgil Pasquale. By 1938, the 1911 cabin was remodeled.

Its wood siding was covered with corrugated metal sheets and a five-feet deep wraparound porch was 

added on the south and east sides. The CCC may have also constructed the stone cellar, which was 

attached to the rear of the cabin, under the direction of stonemason Virgil Pasquale. Since the ranger 

continued to occupy the dwelling, Supervisor McQueen requested and received permission in 1939 to

modify the garage/storeroom to accommodate other forest officers or workmen. 

 160 Forest Ranger Paul L. Travis to Forest Supervisor, 21 December 1926.

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 136 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
In 1941, forest officials decided to implement a planting plan before the CCC camp closed. Ranger Travis

offered to create a planting plan and the Region Four office agreed, directing him to look at other plans for 

guidance. Travis submitted a plan in March of 1941 and soon the CCC was directed to start landscaping

with Chinese elm, Douglas fir, Russian olive, honeysuckle, mountain snowberry, and currant bushes. 

The site continued to evolve as use increased. In November of 1950, the original cabin was enlarged 

when a 14' x 16' cabin was moved from behind the Paradise Valley Ranger Station to Martin Creek. It was 

placed on redwood posts resting on concrete piers, five feet to the north of the old cabin. The space

between the two buildings was enclosed with corrugated iron from the old woodshed and the 1911 cabin's 

north side. In 1958, the 1911 cabin was moved to the Laca Administrative Site. The second cabin was 

either removed or demolished. The cabins' foundations remain, as do stone retaining walls and the old

cellar. The Forest Service continues to use the CCC-era buildings. 

PARADISE VALLEY RANGER STATION 

The Forest Service purchased this site, located on Lots 4-10, Block E in the town of Paradise Valley, from 

H.K. and J.F. Harvey on December 18, 1933. The following autumn, men from CCC Camp F-5, which 

was adjacent to the site, began constructing the first of several ranger station buildings. During the winter

of 1934-35, they completed an office (R4 Plan 51), garage/storeroom (R4 Plan 21), barn (R4 Plan 11), and 

a water system that included a pump house (R4 Plan 4) and a large stone cistern. Further development

was carried in 1936 with the construction of a gas and oil house (R4 Plan 95). 

Development of the ranger station lagged as Camp F-5 concentrated on building the Hinkey Summit road. 

In 1941, the CCC turned its attention back to the ranger station and finished a warehouse/shop (R4 Plan 

33A) that they had started in 1936. The crew also built a house (R4 Plan 1) to accommodate the 

successor of Ranger Paul Travis, who lived next door to the compound and was expected to retire soon. 

All buildings were constructed from Region Four standard plans and were painted a standard color 

scheme: white with Nile green trim and a dark green roof. The planting plan, developed in 1935-36 by

recreation planner George E. Martin, also reflected Region Four standards. Martin designed groupings of

chokecherry, wild currant, bridal wreath, snowberry, lilac, arborvitae and Chinese elm and indicated a rose 

bed and vegetable garden on his plan. The CCC implemented the plan and installed a lawn sprinkler 

system that was fed from the well in the pump house. 

Paradise Valley Ranger Station, 1938. As at other sites, the windmill and top half of the pump house 

were later removed. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 137
In 1943, Sterling Righteous Justice arrived at the Paradise Valley Ranger Station as the District Ranger to 

replace Paul Travis. In his words, it “was considered the finest station in the Intermountain Region” for its 

lawns, rose gardens, large yellow pine and elm trees, underground sprinkling system, and water system 

consisting of a well, windmill, large storage tank, and a concrete cistern.161

The ranger station was heavily used and by 1947, the Forest Supervisor sought permission to build an

addition to the equipment building to accommodate forest guards. The Regional Office rejected this plan, 

stating that it was undesirable to build additions to existing buildings. To solve the problem, a barn (R4

Plan 13A) was moved in 1948 or 1949 from the Toiyabe Ranger Station near Reno and converted to a 

bunkhouse. 

Although the district headquarters was moved to Winnemucca in 1961, the Paradise Valley Ranger Station 

has enjoyed continuous use. In 1996, Forest Service employee Judy Poche’ prepared a National Register 

Nomination for the compound, noting its significance on a statewide level in the areas of

politics/government, conservation and architecture. On June 19, 1996, the site was listed on the National

Register of Historic Places under Criteria A and C. 

REBEL CREEK RANGER STATION 

This site on the west side of the Santa Rosa range was withdrawn on June 19, 1912 and served as the

headquarters of District Two. In 1918, a flood destroyed the telephone line, pasture fence, three tons of

the ranger’s hay and numerous trees.

162 A “cloud burst” in 1920 also damaged the site. Photos taken 

shortly after the event show six buildings that include a house with a brick chimney, a latrine, a barn, a tent

structure, an office, and a long, gable-roofed building that may have been a shed or workshop. 

The improvements were sold in December of 1927, most likely in preparation for the consolidation of 

District Two with District One. They included the following: 

• Dwelling: 16’ x 28’ two-room frame building with a shingle roof (built before 1918) 

• Barn: 14’ x 20’ two-stall building with rubber roof and a 1918 12’ x 18’ addition with a shingle roof 

• Office/Storeroom: 12’ x 24’ two-room frame building with a concrete foundation and shingle roof 

• Outhouse: 41⁄2’ x 41⁄2’ frame building with shingle roof 

• Cellar: 10’ x 12’ dirt hole under the back porch of the house 

• Pasture: 1.83 miles of 4-strand barbed wire 

• Yard and Garden Fence: 3’-0” high rabbit wire 

In 1955 District Ranger Horton requested permission to rebuild the fence and use the site again since it 

was the only administrative site on the district's west side. It is not known if this was carried out. 

 161 Sterling R. Justice, 236-37. 162 “The Intermountain Review Ranger,” 2, no 7 (10 July 1918), 13. 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 138 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE SITES 

While Sterling Justice was District Ranger (1943-46), two small horse pastures on the Santa Rosa District 

were used for overnight camping. One was at Cold Spring and one was at Siard Camp. He and his men

also camped at a large ranch owned by the McClary outfit. It was located on the North Fork of the 

Humboldt River and was often vacant.163 The forest guards and rangers also used the following 

administrative sites as they worked: 

National Ranger Station. The National Ranger Station site was approved on May 11, 1911 and released 

on June 24, 1918 because of the consolidation of the Santa Rosa National Forest with the Humboldt. It 

replaced the temporary station on Threemile Creek where Ranger Frank Border lived with his family in a

tent. It was located on the west side and the north end of the mountain range. 

Quinn River Ranger Station. Supervisor Blakeslee submitted a report on the proposed Quinn River 

Ranger Station on May 23, 1912. It was situated on the north end of the range and there were no

improvements at that time. Blakeslee intended to use it as a summer station but by 1921, there were still

no improvements and the site was not being used. 

 163 Sterling R. Justice, 238. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 139
Chapter Eight: Central Nevada 

In the early years of the Forest Service, the three ranger districts presently located in central Nevada were

divided into much smaller districts. The Austin and Tonopah districts formed the original Toiyabe National 

Forest, while the Ely District comprised all of the Nevada National Forest. 

AUSTIN RANGER DISTRICT 

164

Mark Woodruff, the first Forest Supervisor of the three reserves, established his office in Austin. The 

Supervisor’s Office remained there even after the three forest reserves were consolidated in 1908 under 

the name of the Toiyabe National Forest. It was moved to Ely in 1932 when the Toiyabe became part of 

the Nevada National Forest. Six years later, the Toiyabe National Forest was re-established, but the SO

was moved to Reno rather than Austin. 

165

The town of Austin played a role in the creation and early administration of the Toiyabe National Forest.

Land Examiner Clyde Leavitt was based there in 1906 to gather data on the proposed forest reserves in

Central Nevada. His recommendation, supplemented by reports of forest examiners and the support of 

local ranchers, led to the creation of the Toquima, Monitor and Toiyabe forest reserves in 1907. 

In the early years, there were four ranger districts on the Toiyabe National Forest: Kingston (aka KingstonAustin), Reese River, Manhattan (aka Jefferson), and Potts. Based on available information, it appears

that the Reese River District absorbed the Manhattan District around 1934. These districts were reorganized during World War II in response to the lack of manpower and resources. In 1944, the Reese

River, Potts, and Kingston districts were reconfigured into the Tonopah and Austin ranger districts. The

buildings from the Potts Ranger Station were moved to Tonopah, while the Reese River and Kingston sites 

were kept as guard stations. Austin continued to serve as a district headquarters. 

166

Forest Supervisor Ivan Sack felt that the Tonopah and Austin districts were too large. In 1957, he 

succeeded in reducing their size by creating a third district. The new Fallon District comprised the Reese 

River, Shoshone and Paradise ranges. The district ranger operated from Fallon during the winter and the 

Reese River Ranger Station in the summer. In 1977, the pendulum swung again. The Fallon District was 

abolished and its lands absorbed by the Tonopah and Austin districts. The two districts still exist with their 

headquarters located in the towns of Tonopah and Austin. 

AUSTIN ADMINISTRATIVE SITES 

As the location of the first Toiyabe Supervisor’s Office and headquarters of early district rangers, the town 

of Austin is significant in Forest Service history. Presently, the Forest Service owns two historic

administrative sites in the town of Austin. One was developed as the Supervisor's Office and later served

as the district ranger’s headquarters. The Forest Service acquired the other site in 1978 and remodeled 

the existing house to serve as a new ranger's dwelling. 

 164 Q. David Hansen, "Written Section - Ranger District Management Plan: Austin District, January 1947" TMs [photocopy], p. 11, 

Austin Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 165 Ibid., 12. 166 James W. McGowan, "Toyabe [sic] National Forest, 27 October 1922" TMs [photocopy], p. 1, Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe 

National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 140 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
Austin Ranger Station 

Now known as the Austin Work Center, the original Austin Ranger Station was withdrawn on July 10,

1911. At that time, the 0.172-acre site encompassed Lots 14-16 of Block 38 in the Town of Austin. 

Adjacent land was eventually acquired and today the site comprises all of Block 38 and the west third of

Block 39 with an area of 1.17 acres. 

Construction of the house

commenced in 1909 and was 

finished in 1910. The four-room

frame dwelling measured 24’ x 24’

and had a shingle roof. Originally,

the Forest Supervisor lived in the 

front part while his clerk lived in the 

back two rooms.167 In 1930, a 

back porch, bathroom, electric

lights, concrete foundation, and

interior wallboard and paneling 

were added. Two years later,

when the Toiyabe National Forest

became part of the Nevada

National Forest, the dwelling

became an office. It later served

as the office and year-round residence of the Kingston District Ranger.

168 Although the Toiyabe National 

Forest was re-established in 1938, Reno became the headquarters and Austin remained as district 

headquarters.

Austin Ranger Station, c.1935 

The Austin Ranger Station enjoyed further development during the CCC era. A 50’ x 30’ warehouse (not a

standard plan) and a cellar (R4 Plan 62) were constructed in FY 1934 with relief funds. In 1935, a latrine

(R4 Plan 70) was built and the house was enlarged with a ten-foot addition on the east to accommodate

an office and two bedrooms. Around that time, Forest Ranger Ivan Dyreng brought blue spruce trees from 

eastern Utah and planted them in the front yard.169 Several of these still exist. 

Presently, there is a small, vacant building on site. It was there by 1957, when it was described as an oil 

house. Condition surveys, completed in 1985 and 1986, refer to it as a fire cache but it is presently known

as a tool shed. The building is typical of the portable buildings designed by Region Four’s architectural

engineer, George Nichols. During World War II, Conscientious Objectors constructed many of these 

buildings, which consisted of pre-fabricated panels bolted together. Three of these portable buildings

remain: two at the Dog Valley Guard Station and one at the Kingston Guard Station.

In 1961, the Smith Construction Company of Ogden built a new ranger dwelling just east of the original

house and in February 1966, the district ranger’s office was established across Main Street in a leased 

building. The assistant ranger occupied the house, but consideration was given to converting it into crew

quarters in 1977. The Austin Historical Society currently uses the original Austin Ranger Station under a

20-year special use permit.

 167 Assistant Forest Supervisor Ernest R. Hill to Regional Forester, 27 April 1936. 168 Ibid. 169 John J. Kincheloe, "Austin Ranger District, no date" TMs [photocopy], p. 3, located in Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, 

US Forest Service.

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 141
Austin Ranger Dwelling

The Forest Service purchased this site, including a house and detached garage, from Marvin V. and Anna

M. Olson in 1978.170 According to numerous accounts, the east end of the house was built in 1885. It 

operated as a brothel under the name of Rae’s (or Ray’s) until the 1930s. Harry Nakashima, a cook at the 

International Café in Austin, purchased the house but, after he died in an accident in 1949, it became the

property of Delbert Dory. Dory built the garage, with its attached cellar, around 1969. He also altered the 

house in the early to mid-1970s; his work included a large addition on the west and construction of a 

second bathroom.171

Soon after buying the site in 1978, the Forest Service remodeled the house. The work included

construction of a gable roof over the flat-roofed west end. The house has been significantly altered and the 

configuration of the original building is not distinguishable. 

BLACKBURN RANGER STATION 

This site, located about 44 road miles southeast of Austin, was withdrawn on July 14, 1908 and was one of

the first ranger stations in Nevada.

172 A log cabin was built by the time a 1908 survey was carried out. 

The survey, dated March 23, 1908, mentions a “chimney on log cabin and cedar post at corner of barbed

wire fence." It is possible that the Forest Service built the cabin since they were using the site before its 

withdrawal. Forest Guard Robert E. Marshall was developing the site in May 1908, when he diverted

water from nearby Potato Spring to irrigate fifteen acres of alfalfa. At some point (date unknown), the 

Monitor Land and Livestock Company received a special use permit to use the station as a pasture and 

garden. The company stopped using the site by 1947.173 In 1985, it was proposed to remove the pasture

fence and abandon the site, although the historical cabin would remain.

By the 1980s, vandals had cut up much of the 13' x 15' cabin for firewood. Around 1988, District Ranger 

Ron Humphries and several volunteers partially reconstructed it.174 Although the pole rafters are not 

historic, most of the original materials remain. 

KINGSTON RANGER STATION 

On December 19, 1910, Acting Forest Supervisor Herbert Graff prepared a report on the proposed

Kingston Ranger Station on the north end of the Toiyabe Range. He stated that there were no 

improvements on the 160-acre site at that time. It was first occupied on a year-round basis but in 1915, it

became a summer station for the Kingston District Ranger, who operated from Austin during the winters.

The Forest Service developed the site in two phases, first in the 1910s and again in the 1930s with CCC 

labor. 

The first house was built sometime before July 1916 when Ranger Cahill reported it was supplied with

water from a spring located 100 feet away. The house may have been constructed from a building plan 

that was signed, and perhaps prepared, by Herbert Graff who was Forest Supervisor from 1911 to 1912.

The plan is of a 16' x 30' cabin having three rooms (kitchen/dining room, living room, bedroom) and stairs 

 170 Lander County Deed Book 152, Page 329 dated September 13, 1978. 171 Personal communication with Delbert Dory, 12 September 2000. 172 "History of the Toiyabe National Forest.” 173 District Ranger Q. David Hansen to Forest Supervisor, 12 February 1947. 174 Personal communication with Bob Ramos. 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 142 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
to a bunkroom on the second floor. According to the plan, the 11⁄2-story structure was side-gabled and

supported by a post foundation. It was to have 6/6 windows and a 4-panel door. 

Other early construction included a 1916 frame outhouse with a shingle roof. By 1935, it was dilapidated 

and was to be abandoned. A "springhouse" was built in 1931. Materials for its construction included

brown paint, lumber, shingles and a screen door. 

In early 1936, the Toiyabe National Forest received $2000 to construct administrative buildings at the

Kingston Ranger Station. The original dwelling was to be demolished and materials salvaged for use in

the construction of the new buildings. That year, a CCC crew built a house (R4 Plan 7A), 

garage/storeroom (R4 Plan 21), and barn (R4 Plan 13A). They also built a cap magazine in 1937 and a

cellar in 1939. The cap magazine, which was merely a steel safe placed on a concrete pad, was located in 

nearby Mahogany Gulch, just north of a new trailhead parking lot. It was most likely built in support of road

construction that the CCC carried out in that area. The safe, which previously had been taken off its 

concrete pad, was recently moved from its vulnerable location to the Kingston Guard Station to protect it

from vandals and thieves. 

Although trees were planted at the station in 1927 and 1930, the Region Four designers chose to develop 

a new landscaping plan. The 1935 plan included juniper, Oregon grape, elderberry, honeysuckle, 

snowberry and dogwood. Either the plan was not fully implemented or many of the plants did not survive.

Existing vegetation consists mainly of willows, cottonwoods and sagebrush, although two mature conifers 

flank the yard gate. 

Only two years after the garage/storeroom was completed, Supervisor McQueen submitted a request to

modify the garage portion to accommodate visitors, including hunters and special guests. He received

approval and implemented alterations that included lining the walls, pouring a concrete floor, and 

constructing a brick chimney. 

With the exception of two latrines, the CCC-era buildings still exist. There is also a generator house across 

the road on the east side of Kingston Creek. It may be the 1931 springhouse. It was there by 1941 when 

Ranger Jay Sevy surveyed the site. A tool shed, used as a paint shed as early as 1977 and at least until 

1984, is also on site. It is a typical Region Four portable building developed by George Nichols in the

1940s. During World War II, Conscientious Objectors built many of these pre-fabricated panel structures

for the Forest Service. Two of them are located at the Dog Valley Guard Station, while one remains at the 

Austin Work Center. 

MOHAWK RANGER STATION 

Ranger James W. McGowan was headquartered here, in the foothills east of the Reese River Valley, in

1916 when he proposed it be replaced with a new ranger station seven miles away at Reese River. He 

noted that the new station would be more convenient than the Mohawk station in terms of mail, road and 

telephone access, and use by forest users. The Reese River Ranger Station was withdrawn and, in 1918,

a tent house and outhouse were moved there from the Mohawk Ranger Station. The former was a 10' x 

12' frame structure. The tent kept tearing in the wind and by 1920, it was torn down and the lumber stored

for miscellaneous use. The frame outhouse measured 4' x 4' and had a shingle roof. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 143
POTTS RANGER STATION 

The original withdrawal date of this site in Monitor Valley is presently unknown. One source states it was 

withdrawn on September 28, 1912 but this has not been verified. It was used as early as 1918, when a 

“kit” home was erected on the site. This pre-cut house was one of two that Forest Supervisor Blakeslee

purchased from the Pacific Portable Construction Company in Los Angeles. The other was assembled at

the Reese River Ranger Station. In 1920, there were plans to build a barn and in 1929, a water system 

was constructed. The stark site was improved with landscaping, as noted in a 1929 letter: 

This station, located in the center of an alkali and barren flat has been in existence for a 

good many years, and without a vestige of verdure surrounding it until during the summer 

of 1927. . . . Admittedly the surrounding conditions were not and are not now conducive

to best results; nevertheless, being of an optimistic nature and not being daunted by

adverse conditions, Mrs. O.J. Smith, wife of Ranger A.C. Smith, insisted that at least a

shallow covering of good soil be hauled in and placed around the house. This was done,

and a number of Russian Olive transplants and some grass seed were furnished by the 

Service. These, together with some other shrubs and herbaceous plants were planted by

Mrs. Smith, and as a result, considering the limited possibilities, the Potts Ranger Station 

was made not only a glad sight to the eye but also a veritable oasis in a sea of alkali,

shadscale and sage brush.175

Basil K. Crane was the Potts District Ranger from 1938 to 1939. During that time, he married and seemed

to regret the state of his new wife’s home, noting that it was a “squat sage-gray building . . . The ‘lawn’ was 

salt grass, bordered with white alkali. The only ‘forest’ in sight was a row of bushy Russian Olive trees

struggling to survive.”

176 The newlyweds adapted and pushed two steel army cots together to form a 

double bed, prepared meals on a cook stove, and used a gasoline lamp. In his memoirs, Crane recalled

the water tank behind the windmill that, with its board cover, was subject to intrusion by rodents.177 There 

were also a corral and a cellar.178

During the Depression, the Forest Service constructed new buildings at the Potts Ranger Station, most 

likely with emergency relief funds and/or labor. A plan dated April 8, 1938 shows the original dwelling, an 

office (R4 Plan 51), a storeroom/garage (R4 Plan 23), an outhouse (R4 Plan 70), and a cellar within a yard 

fence. To the southeast was a shop/warehouse surrounded by a separate fence. The plan also indicated

a nearby windmill and a powder magazine that was 460 feet from the south corner of the yard fence. 

As noted previously, the Potts Ranger District became part of the Austin Ranger District in 1944. The 

Potts Family, for whom the area was named, bought the house and moved it to the north end of the Potts 

ranch.179 The office and garage were moved to Tonopah, where Conscientious Objectors from Camp 

Antelope converted the office to a ranger's residence. 

REESE RIVER RANGER STATION 

This Reese River Valley site served as the headquarters for the Mohawk, Reese River and Fallon districts,

and was the location of a CCC camp. The date of its withdrawal is not clear. Ranger James W. McGowan 

submitted a report proposing the withdrawal on September 2, 1916. In 1953, it was noted that the

 175 Forest Supervisor James E. Gurr to District Forester, 5 February 1929. 176 Crane, 28. 177 Ibid. 178 Ibid., 30. 179 John J. Kincheloe, Interview by Richa Wilson and Erin O’Connor-Henry, 18 May 1999, Austin, Nevada, transcript and tape

recording, Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 144 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
withdrawal took place on June 25, 1910 but there were no records supporting this.

180 Other information 

supports a withdrawal date of January 5, 1917. In his report, McGowan noted that the 40-acre site was 

near the Austin-Ione wagon road. McGowan claimed it was to be used as a year-round district

headquarters and would be more convenient than the Mohawk Ranger Station. It would save 15 miles of

travel for the tri-weekly mail, be more accessible to the public, and would have telephone and road access. 

Early Improvements 

The first improvements were constructed in 1918. Two structures were moved from the Mohawk Ranger

Station: a 4’ x 4’ frame outhouse and a 10’ x 12’ frame tent house. The latter was torn down two years 

later “on account of tent tearing in the wind” and the lumber was salvaged for later use. In 1918, the district 

ranger assembled a “kit” home purchased from the Pacific Portable Construction Company. Freight costs 

were economical for ordering two of these structures, so a second house was erected at the Potts Ranger

Station. Supervisor Blakeslee was reprimanded for ordering these $600 houses because he did not have

the authority to accept bids over $500. 

According to improvement records, other early structures included an 8’ x 10’ earthen cellar (1922) and a 

mud-and-willow chicken house (1923). In 1927, the cellar was replaced by a 12’ x 14’ concrete structure

with a shingled roof. Other developments included a well (1918), a pasture fence (1920), and a yard fence 

(1921, replaced in 1931). A 16’ x 24’ frame barn/garage/storeroom was constructed in 1920 from a plan

W.W. Blakeslee sketched in 1919. In the summer of 1925, Ranger A.P. Paulsen built a tool shed and 

painted the barn. The lawn was planted in 1928 with 18 Russian olives and 12 Austrian pines and an

office was constructed a year later (1929). It reportedly had a ten-foot plate height and measured 14’ x 14’

in plan. The barn was torn down or moved sometime between 1942 and 1962. It appears the office was

moved to the Tonopah Ranger Station between 1945 and 1950 when it was attached to the Tonopah

ranger dwelling to serve as an additional bedroom. 

CCC Era 

Reese River CCC Camp F-7 was established adjacent to the ranger station in September of 1935.

Company 2512 occupied the camp during the winters of 1935-36 and 1936-37, moving to work at higher

elevations in the summers. In April of 1938, it was reported that the Indian CCC camp established at 

Pyramid Lake was to be moved to the Reese River CCC camp. Company 6433 was the last to occupy the

Reese River camp from June 1941 until May 1942. 

A 1940 plan of the Reese River Ranger Station, revised in 1942, illustrates extensive development that 

included the CCC camp, which was located in the pasture to the north. In addition to the numerous CCC 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 145

 180 Forest Supervisor Ivan Sack to Rangers, 22 January 1953. 
buildings, the Forest Service barn, pump house, dwelling and a small office are shown. According to one 

plan, a powder house was located a considerable distance to the west but, presently, has not been

located. A cap house, situated across the road from the station, is similar to the Kingston cap house. It is

a steel safe set into concrete and has stone retaining walls. 

It appears that, in spite of the country’s entrance into World War II, forest officials planned to construct new 

buildings at the Reese River Ranger Station. A 1942 improvement plan proposed an office (R4 Plan 51), 

house (R4 Plan 1), garage (R4 Plan 20), barn (R4 Plan 11), and pump house. Assistant Forest Supervisor

Jeppesen encouraged the Superintendent of CCC Camp F-7 to proceed rapidly with the construction of

the house in March 1942. The barn and pump house were probably built around that time also, since the 

War Production Board soon began to restrict construction. 

The Post-CCC Era 

Correspondence indicates that in early 1947 there was talk of a building exchange. The Reese River 

dwelling would be released to the Indian Service, which would pay to construct a new ranger’s dwelling at 

Austin. The Indian Service expected to receive most of the buildings at the Fallon Naval Training base and

thought one could be moved to Austin or salvaged to build a new house there. This plan was dropped and

plans to move the Reese River house to Austin went forward. Although the house was moved sometime 

before 1962, its present location is unknown. Its original foundation at the Reese River Ranger Station is 

still visible. 

Several of the CCC buildings were sold or removed in the 1940s. W. H. Thomas of Tonopah bought one 

of the 20’ x 70’ barracks on October 31, 1947. He had 60 days to remove it but sold it to Irene Hayden

instead. Another CCC building was transferred to the Indian Service, which used it as a schoolhouse until 

the spring of 1948. By August of 1948, these two buildings (and possibly others) remained on the site. 

The Forest Service wanted to remove them so that a pasture could be planted on the site of the former

camp. The Indian Service planned to move its building that fall, but the fate of the other building is 

presently unknown. 

In 1957, the Reese River Ranger Station became part of the newly created Fallon District. The Bridgeport

ranger’s office (R5 Plan E) was moved to the site in 1962 to accommodate the Fallon ranger who worked

here about five months out of the year. It was expected that the building would be used about five months

out of the year since the Fallon District Ranger worked in Fallon. 

Existing Structures 

Many of the original buildings and CCC structures have been removed. Foundations of the 1929 office

and 1942 house are still visible, but there are no visible surface remnants of the CCC camp. There are

also several non-historic concrete pads and steps that were constructed when trailers were put on the site.

After the ranger station received commercial electricity in 1976, the generator house was converted to 

pesticide storage. It was demolished or removed sometime after 1988.

In addition to the former Bridgeport office, there are five other historic buildings at the Reese River Ranger 

Station: the 1918 house, a 1925 tool shed (used as an oil house by the CCC camp), the 1941 CCC 

garage (now a warehouse), the barn (c.1942), and the pump house (c.1942). The cap house also exists

but the location of the powder house is undetermined. A metal shed, constructed 1973-75 as a generator 

shed, is located adjacent to the warehouse.

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 146 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
SAN JUAN CANYON GUARD STATION 

This site, located along San Juan Creek on the west side of the Toiyabe Range, includes a cabin and

latrine that were reportedly built in the early 1930s. The appearance and construction of the cabin is

typical of other Forest Service structures built before the CCC era. The latrine is a typical Region Four

Plan 70, designed by architectural engineer George Nichols in 1933. The site is shown on a 1931 map of

the Toiyabe Range, but could have been used before then. Its original withdrawal date is presently

unknown, but it was superceded by a formal withdrawal of 80 acres on November 25, 1955. The cabin

was there by 1958. 

Few archival records have been found regarding this site. A 1949 Big Game Management Plan for the 

Tonopah Ranger District mentions its use as a pasture. In 1985, it was described as a seasonal site used 

by district personnel for administration and as a staging area for pack trips on the Toiyabe Crest National

Recreation Trail. 

OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE SITES 

Berlin Ranger Station. When Ranger James W. McGowan wrote a proposal to withdraw the Reese

River Ranger Station in September 1916, he noted the Berlin Ranger Station was 16 miles away. It may

have been located in the town of Berlin on the west side of the Shoshone Range. 

Butler Administrative Site. Located on the Monitor Range, this 12-acre site was approved by the 

Regional Forester (date unknown). Also known as the Butler Basin Administrative Site, it appears on 1931 

and 1942 maps. The Regional Forester cancelled the withdrawal in 1955. 

Charnac Administrative Site. On July 24, 1927, Forest Ranger Arthur C. Smith prepared a survey of the

Charnac Pasture on the Monitor Range. The Regional Forester approved the eight-acre site (date 

unknown). In 1931, Ivan Dyreng reported that it was important since it was midway between the Potts 

Ranger Station and the north end of Potts District. 

In 1977, the Charnac Administrative Site was being used as a guard station. A trailer pad and water 

system were on the site at that time. In 1985, it was described as a rare, and therefore important, pasture

for district administration. There was one uninhabitable travel trailer and an old pit toilet. It was proposed

to replace these with a two-room cabin and new latrine. A trailer was still there in 1986. 

Gold Park Administrative Site. The Regional Forester approved six acres as the Gold Creek

Administrative Pasture (date unknown). Located on the Shoshone Range, it appears on 1931, 1935 and

1942 forest maps. The Regional Forester cancelled the withdrawal in 1955. 

Hickison Administrative Site. The Regional Forester approved eight acres for this site. Although the

date of approval is presently unknown, Ivan Dyreng mentioned it in a report dated July 18, 1931. Located

on the Monitor Range, it is shown on a 1942 map and was cancelled by the Regional Forester in 1955 

Kelly Creek Administrative Site. The Regional Forester approved 25.17 acres on the north end of the 

Monitor Range as the Kelly Creek Administrative Site. He also approved an addition of 27.33 acres. The

dates of these approvals are unknown, but the site appears on a 1931 forest map. A cabin was reportedly 

built181 but in 1955, the Regional Forester cancelled the site. 

 181 An album in the Austin District office contains photos labeled "Kelly Creek Cabin." The cabin is flattened but corrugated metal is 

visible. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 147
Labeau Park Administrative Site. Located on the Paradise Range, this site appears on forest maps

dated 1931, 1935, and 1942. The Regional Forester cancelled the withdrawal in 1955. 

Tierney Creek Administrative Site. This site on the Toiyabe Range was used by 1935. Forty acres 

were formally withdrawn in 1955. 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 148 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
ELY RANGER DISTRICT 

The present-day Ely Ranger District is comprised of much of the former Nevada National Forest (NNF),

which was established in 1909 and headquartered in Ely. By 1916, there were four ranger districts on five 

divisions: the Mount Moriah, Snake Creek, Schell Creek, Quinn Canyon and White Pine divisions.

182 The 

Mount Moriah and Snake Creek divisions comprised the Baker Ranger District.183 The names of the other 

districts are presently unknown but archival information indicates that the Schell Creek Division formed the

Spring Valley District, with headquarters at the Spring Valley Ranger Station on the east side of the range. 

The Currant Ranger District may have been located on the White Pine Division. It was administered from

the Currant Creek Ranger Station, which was on the south end of the division and near the present-day

US Highway 6. 

Little else is known about the early configuration of the ranger districts. Eventually, the Ely District covered 

the Ward Mountain area and Schell Creek Range. The Currant Creek District was renamed the White

Pine District. In the late 1930s, it was enlarged when the Forest Service purchased land from the AdamsMcGill Company in an effort to increase watershed protection.184 By 1941, these purchases amounted to

an additional 5,670 acres. 

In May of 1957, the ranger districts were consolidated. The Ely District (Schell Division) absorbed the

Baker District, which covered the Mt. Moriah and Snake divisions.185 The Ward Mountain Division became 

part of the White Pine District, which included the Quinn Division by that time. Later that year, the Nevada

National Forest was eliminated and the Ely and White Pine ranger districts were transferred to the

Humboldt National Forest. The Las Vegas District, which had became part of the NNF in 1937, was

transferred to the Toiyabe National Forest. 

Additional changes came about in the 1980s. The Ely District absorbed the White Pine District in 1980. In 

1986, the Great Basin National Park was carved from forest land on the Snake Division and stewardship 

was transferred from the Forest Service to the National Park Service. 

Presently, the 1.1 million-acre Ely Ranger District contains six management divisions, each of which is on 

a different mountain range. The largest division is on the White Pine range. The Ward Mountain Division,

located just southwest of Ely, is the smallest at less than 41,000 acres. The others are the Grant-Quinn,

Schell Creek, Mt. Moriah and Snake Range divisions. The latter encircles the Great Basin National Park 

on three sides. 

Work relief programs were of particular significance to the Ely Ranger District. Relief crews built the

Currant Creek, Cleve Creek, and White River campgrounds, roads to campgrounds at Ward Mountain, 

East Creek, Cleve Creek and Lehman Creek, and a road from the highway at Murray Summit to the White 

Pine Ski Area where they built a ski lift and engine house. The CCC and WPA also constructed buildings

at the Supervisor’s Office in Ely and the Berry Creek, Ellison and Baker ranger stations. 

BAKER RANGER STATION 

This station, located in the town of Baker near the Snake Division, was withdrawn on May 16, 1911. A 

dwelling was constructed that year and, beginning in 1918, the Baker District Ranger used it as his 

headquarters to administer the Mount Moriah and Snake divisions. A photo186 of the original ranger station

 182 Unrau, 248. 183 Ibid. 184 Olsen, 10. 185 Unrau, 251. 186 Historic photo files, Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service.

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 149
shows a hipped-roof dwelling with a square plan and a long log structure with a gable roof. The latter 

probably served as a barn, garage and/or shop. The house had a lean-to structure on the rear and 1/1

double-hung windows. 

The CCC significantly developed the site in the 1930s. In 1933, they replaced the house with a Region

Four Plan 1 house. This was followed by an outhouse (R4 Plan 70), office (R4 Plan 5), barn (R4 Plan

13B), warehouse (not standard), a well, windmill, and water storage tank. 

As mentioned previously, the Baker District merged with the Ely District and the NNF became part of the 

Humboldt National Forest in 1957. The following year, the Baker house was moved to the Ely compound.

Forest Service crews continued to use the Baker Ranger Station until 1986 when the Great Basin National 

Park was created. It was eventually turned over to the National Park Service. The buildings still stand and

are in excellent condition. 

BERRY CREEK RANGER STATION 

Located on the Schell Creek Range, the original area of this site included 40 acres approved in June of

1909, with an addition of 18.95 acres approved three months later. In December of 1953, the site approval

was replaced with a withdrawal of 60 acres. Supervisor Royal F. Mathias prepared a report on June 23,

1909, stating the site was 21⁄2 miles southeast of the confluence of Berry and Duck creeks and that there 

were no improvements. A report dated September 5, 1909 indicated that the only improvement on the 

proposed addition was an old corral, which was greatly in need of repair. The owner of the corral was 

unknown. A 1912 letter provides additional, though minimal, information: 

In view of the instructions in Mr. Henderson’s letter of September 11, 1909, the additional 

area was fenced and appropriated for administrative purposes. At the present time this

addition comprises the major portion of the Berry Creek Station pasture, the buildings

etc., being just outside the Forest boundary on the original withdrawal of 40 acres.187 

These buildings, including a house and a barn, were apparently permanent structures since it was reported

in 1917 that the ranger station had been occupied during several winters.188 The District Ranger occupied

the site in the spring of 1918 as a year-round headquarters for administration of the Schell Creek Division.

It eventually became a summer station for the ranger of the Ward Mountain Division who was 

headquartered in Ely.189

These buildings were demolished or removed and the site was significantly developed by CCC crews 

during the Depression. In 1933, the men constructed the existing dwelling, cellar, barn, garage/storeroom 

and toilet, all of standard Region Four plans. The crew also built a yard fence, corral and pasture fence

and installed a water line that connected to the Nevada Consolidated Copper Company’s (NCC) line. 

They also built the telephone line that connected with the NCC’s line at their hydroelectric plant on Duck

Creek. 

Recreational planner J. Carroll Reiners prepared a planting plan in 1936. He recommended the use of 

native plants such as nutka rose, golden currant, snowberry, red cedar, mountain juniper, and red

elderberry. Reiners included two non-native species: the common lilac and Russian olive. The plan was 

implemented and many of the plants remain today. 

 187 Supervisor Thompson to District Forester, 26 August 1912. 188 Nevada National Forest 1917 Land Classification atlas, Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 189 Forest Supervisor to Nevada Consolidated Copper Company, 11 April 1918. 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 150 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
CHERRY CREEK GUARD STATION 

The original site of the Cherry Creek Guard Station, also called "Little Cherry Creek Ranger Station," was a 

mile or two northwest of the present-day site on the Grant-Quinn Division. Thirty-three acres were 

withdrawn on January 26, 1909 and, in 1912, the site was described as a year-round station. A 1917 land

classification report stated it was the only ranger station on the NNF that was not habitable the entire year. 

The inaccessibility was attributed to a narrow gorge below the station that filled with snow in the winter. 

The original site was abandoned or released on April 18, 1927. It is not clear when the present site was

withdrawn but it is located downstream from the original station. It is reached by a road through Cherry

Canyon, which passes between the Quinn Canyon Wilderness and the Grant Range Wilderness areas. 

By 1950, there was a one-room overnight cabin with a corral and fence covering about one acre. Forest

Service records suggest it was originally used as a sign shop at the Ely Administrative Site and that it was 

transferred to Cherry Creek in 1949 or 1950. It is possible that the cabin was originally used as an early

guard station or at a CCC or CO camp, but there is no evidence to support this. It remains on site and is 

currently used as storage. 

CURRANT CREEK RANGER STATION 

This site on the south end of the White Pine Division was developed soon after it was approved as an

administrative site on October 10, 1910. The site was used as headquarters of the early Currant Ranger

District. It was along the main Ely-Tonopah Road where it contained a cellar, barn/garage, and a house. 

The three-room house was built c.1911 and measured

16’ x 30’. It was a front-gabled one-story structure clad

with board-and-batten siding. In the 1930s, relief crews 

remodeled and built additions to the house. They

constructed a full-width front porch and created five 

rooms: kitchen (8’ x 15’), living room (11’ x 15’),

bedroom (9’ x 15’), office (10’ x 15’), and storeroom (9’ x

11’). The rooms had nine-feet ceilings and were lined

with wallboard painted white, tan, green or blue. The 

exterior was painted white while the trim and shingled

roof were green. 

Currant Creek Ranger Station shortly after construction

The barn/garage was a two-part structure. One part was 

constructed in 1911 of log construction with saddle joints

and extended crowns. It measured 18’ x 24’ and had a 

low roof covered with shingles. The other part was a 12’

x 24’ frame lean-to, also having a shingle roof. By the

1930s, the barn was considered to be in unsalvageable

condition. 

In 1920, a cellar was built of six-inch concrete walls and

a double-boarded roof covered with earth. The interior

measured 8’ x 10’ and had a concrete floor. Other

elements on the site included a 4’ x 6’ toilet constructed

in 1924, a yard fence, and a pasture fence. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 151
Although an improvement plan was approved in December of 1940, use of the site was officially

discontinued that same month and the improvements were sold. The decision to abandon the station may

have been a result of its isolation. 

ELLISON RANGER STATION 

The Forest Service used this site on the White Pine Division prior to its withdrawal in 1930. A 1917 report 

noted that it was used by Forest Service personnel and provided some history: 

The Overland Stage from Pioche to Hamilton kept a station at the Ellison ranch during

early days, at which time most of the land was taken up along the creek. At present this

ranch is deserted and has been for many years, being closed as a headquarters camp for 

sheepmen during three months in the summer. An enclosure of about 100 acres of 

meadow land which is used for pasturing work horses constitutes the ranch. A smaller 

inclosure [sic] lower on the creek is also used for pasture.190

In 1973, the Ely newspaper published photographs of the original Ellison Ranger Station, a log cabin that 

was reportedly “built in 1906 by one of the first forest rangers.”

191 According to Jesse Gardner, “the old 

cabin which we regard as the original Ellison Ranger Station was originally built by sheepherders for the

Adams-McGill sheep operation and was used as a bunkhouse for them. This was private land at that time.

The Forest Service made use of the cabin.”

192

Although the ranger station was shown on a 1929 map, it was not until May 2, 1930 that the Forest 

Supervisor formally approved the use of five acres for administrative purposes. It was used as a 

temporary station and was fenced in 1932, most likely for a pasture. The size of the pasture increased on

August 22, 1938 when 40 acres were purchased from the Adams-McGill Company for $200. An official

withdrawal was made on November 5, 1956 to protect the station against mining claims or mineral leases. 

In 1931, instructions were issued regarding the construction of a cellar, house, and water supply system.

The work was apparently not carried out because in 1935, the Forest Supervisor made an appeal for funds

to construct a building with lumber salvaged from the Lehman Creek Transient Camp. He noted that 

Ranger Moore, who was based at Currant Creek Ranger Station, used the site as a summer

headquarters. Because there were no buildings on the site, Moore occupied a tent and allowed his horses 

to graze in the adjacent small pasture. The Forest Supervisor stated that Moore needed quarters as well 

as a garage to secure his automobile. As they did not have enough funds to build a separate dwelling, he

proposed building a garage with a storeroom that could also be used as quarters.193 

Relief funds were allocated and an improvement plan for the Ellison Ranger Station was developed and

implemented. During FY1936, relief work crews started a water system and built a cellar, 

garage/storeroom (R4 Plan 23), and latrine. In 1937, they finished the water system and constructed the

house (R4 Plan 7A), sewer system, yard fence and pasture fence. A 1938 landscape plan was 

implemented in 1939-40 and a corral was built in 1940. 

Although the improvement plans included a fly shed for horses, it was given low priority and not

constructed until sometime after January 1940 when Assistant Forest Ranger Foyer Olsen requested $700

to build a modified Region Four Plan 14. He suggested the building be six feet longer than the standard 

 190 Nevada National Forest 1917 Land Classification atlas. 191 Ely Daily Times, 29 August 1973, 1 and 4. 192 “Origin of Names of the White Pine Division as Related by Jesse Gardner, November 8, 1973” TMs [photocopy], Ely Office, 

Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 193 Forest Supervisor George C. Larson to Regional Forester, 11 September 1935. 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 152 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
plan to accommodate a grain bin and storage for saddles and riding equipment. Evidence indicates it was 

built by 1948 when a revised improvement plan was prepared. It has since been removed. 

One structure, referred to over the years as a warehouse, generator shed and barn, does not appear to be

of a standard plan. The original building measured 8’ x 10’. Sometime before 1939, it was lengthened by

moving the west wall out seven feet. It is possible that the building was moved and/or remodeled by the 

CCC in the mid-1930s. There is writing on the interior of the south wall (east end near door). Much of it is

illegible, but dates of 1941 and 1942 can be read. On other parts of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National 

Forest, this type of graffiti is typically found in gas and oil houses used by the CCC. It is possible that this

building was used as such. 

ELY ADMINISTRATIVE SITE 

The town of Ely may have been designated the NNF headquarters when the forest was created in 1909;

the Forest Supervisor was based in Ely as early as 1912. By 1916, there were four rangers working from

Ely, along with the Forest Supervisor and a clerk, to administer four ranger districts on the Schell Creek, 

Mount Moriah, Snake Creek, Quinn Canyon and White Pine divisions.194 

During the 1930s, the Forest Supervisor worked from rented spaces in Ely, including the Nevada Hotel 

and the Elite Building. Emergency relief funding and labor paved the way for development of a 

Supervisor’s Office (SO) compound in the late 1930s. Although there was already a warehouse site in 

town, it appears that forest officials deemed it inadequate for an SO compound. On September 23, 1937,

the Government bought 1.97 acres in Block 28 in the town of Ely. 

Administrative Site Buildings 

The Forest Service immediately generated plans to construct several buildings from standard designs

developed by George Nichols, the Region Four architectural engineer. These buildings included an office 

(R4 Plan 54B), gas and oil house (R4 Plan 95A), warehouse (R4 Plan 37), and garage (R4 Plan 35B). 

Using CCC and WPA labor and funding, the Forest Service constructed these buildings beginning in 1937. 

The warehouse, estimated to cost $7500, exceeded the building limit of $5000. Since the building was to

be used to store road-building and construction equipment, $3000 came from the Forest Road

Development fund while the remainder was financed by the WPA. The warehouse was not completed 

until 1940. 

Throughout the country, there were a few problems with labor organizations when it came to utilizing relief

crews for construction. Assistant Forest Supervisor Briggs experienced this when he was visited by a

committee of the Carpenter’s Labor Union. The visitors, headed by a Mr. Thompson, had received reports 

that unskilled workmen were using carpenter’s tools in violation of the local union. Briggs explained that

they were acting as carpenter’s helpers and there were few instances where they used the tools. That 

settled the matter until Briggs heard that the Plumbers’ Union was taking steps to require the Forest

Service to use union labor for the plumbing work. Briggs also reported that the Painters’ Union was said to 

be strong in Ely and would probably insist that they use union labor. He stated that the masonry work on 

the chimney was minimal so they might not have to employ union labor, but he did not know what the 

union requirements on the wiring would be. His concern was that the organized labor situation in Ely 

would significantly increase the cost of the project.195

 194 Unrau, 248. 195 A.E. Briggs, “Memoirs of a U.S. Forest Ranger, 1963” TMs [photocopy], Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA

Forest Service. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 153
Landscaping 

Howard W. Young, a junior landscape architect in the Regional Office, prepared a landscaping plan for the

new compound in 1938. He specified numerous berry plants, red dogwood, creeping juniper, lilac,

Siberian elm, bolleana poplar, silver leaf poplar, Rocky Mountain red cedar, and Pfitzer’s spreading juniper. 

This and other sitework, which included an underground sprinkler system, low retaining walls and 

sidewalks, were completed in the summer of 1939. Some of the original landscaping remains. Attention

was paid to other landscaping features such as the flagpole, fencing and signage. A nicely designed wood 

fence was built of three rails and posts of alternating heights. The Forest Supervisor selected a design for 

the sign after conferring with other supervisors in the Region. 

The landscaping was highly admired and Forest Supervisor Briggs described it as a “showplace.” He

reported that the yard was often shown off by the Ely Garden Club to prove what could be accomplished

with native plants.196 

Later Developments 

Two structures were moved to the Ely compound. One was the Murray Summit Cabin, which was 

constructed at the Ward Mountain campground in 1956 and moved to the Ely site around 1989. The other 

was the Baker Ranger Station dwelling, originally located in Baker, Nevada. The CCC built the Baker 

house of Region Four’s Plan 1 in 1933-34. Moving the house, which became the Assistant Ranger’s 

dwelling, was justified by the lack of adequate housing in Ely. In December of 1958, Nevin Munson moved 

it to Ely and placed it on a basement next to the office. 

ELY POWDER HOUSE AND CAP MAGAZINE 

Sometimes referred to as the Murray Canyon Powder House, this structure is located about five miles 

southwest of Ely in Powderhouse Canyon just off US Highway 6. Carpenter Louis Johnson, assisted by 

laborers John and Harold Johnson, built the structure in 1932-33.197 Supervisor C.J. Olsen instructed

Ranger George Moore to take the necessary steps to withdraw the site in 1933,198 but withdrawal was not

requested until 1947. It was approved on May 7 of that year. In 1985, the powder house was being 

leased to a private individual. At some point, the interior was lined with gypsum board, a plywood floor was 

added, and the doors replaced. It is presently vacant. 

According to Forest Service records, a cap magazine was built nearby. It was a 2’-5” x 2’-9” stone

structure set into a berm or hillside. At present, the location of the cap magazine is undetermined. 

ELY WAREHOUSE SITE 

In 1932, the Forest Service built a warehouse on Lot 22, Block 1 in the Dickerson Addition of Ely. Although 

regulations prohibited construction of government buildings on leased land, the Forest Service received 

approval to build the warehouse while it finalized the purchase. On April 4, 1934, Supervisor Olsen 

acknowledged receipt of the deed for the 0.11-acre site, which was bought from Katherine Jackson

Bennett for $40. Some records indicate the purchase date as February 12, 1935, but this refers to the date 

when the Attorney General approved the purchase. The Government bought the adjacent Lot 21 from A.J.

and Emma E. Proctor on March 8, 1934 for $80. 

 196 Ibid., 182. 197 Supervisor C.J. Olsen to Ranger Moore, 30 November 1932. 198 Ibid. 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 154 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
The 22’ x 60’ warehouse was constructed of 2x6s, clad in corrugated metal, and had a concrete floor. It 

was a front-gabled building with two large sliding doors. In 1940, after the new warehouse was built at the 

Supervisor’s Office compound, Supervisor Briggs proposed to dispose of the old warehouse and its lot. 

The Regional Office directed him to rent the structure under a special permit since the forest’s future

facilities needs were unknown. After one year, Briggs had not found a renter and he proposed to keep the

lot but demolish the warehouse and salvage its materials. The local WPA manager indicated that WPA 

labor would be available to carry out the work. 

Little more is known about the site. In 1975, there were efforts to determine ownership of the lot. 

Research revealed that 0.11 acre was purchased in 1935 and the last record of the site was a 1941 letter.

According to the White Pine County Assessor, the US Government was the current owner of the property. 

Although nothing about the transferal of the property could be found, it was believed that the Soil

Conservation Survey (and maybe the US Geological Survey) was using the existing metal building for 

storage. It is not clear if this building was the 1932 warehouse. 

OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE SITES 

Baker Creek Administrative Site. Although shown on a 1929 map, this site on the Snake Division was 

not officially approved until 1936. At that time, it comprised 34.21 acres and served as a pasture for the 

Baker District Ranger, who was based five miles away. In 1952, the approval was replaced with a

withdrawal of 40 acres. When the district ranger recommended the revocation of the withdrawal in 1985, a

pasture fence enclosed ten acres. 

Baker Creek Snow Survey Cabin. Little information has 

been found about this snow survey cabin on the Snake

Division. It was located at Baker Creek, but not at the 

Baker Creek Administrative Site. Since most snow survey 

cabins were located at higher elevations, it is likely that the 

cabin was located in what is now the Great Basin National

Park. According to improvement records, it was transferred 

from the Toiyabe National Forest to the Nevada National

Forest in October of 1946. This indicates it was relocated,

possibly from a guard station, a CCC camp or a CO camp.

A 1952 photo of the cabin, printed in Nevada Highways and

Parks,

199 shows that it was an unpainted, board-and-batten

cabin with a gable roof, vertical 6-pane windows, and a fivepanel door in the side. The cabin still existed in 1975 but it 

is not known what happened to it since then. 

Baker Creek Snow Survey Cabin, 1952 

Berry Creek Snow Survey Cabin. This cabin was located on the Schell Creek Division. According to 

labeled historic photos,

200 it was also known as the Deer Lodge Cabin. One label states it was “owned by

Walter E. Inwood et. al. of the Nevada Consolidated Copper Company of McGill, Nevada. Located in the

head of Berry Creek on the Nevada National Forest.” A later photo is labeled “Snow Survey – Berry Snow

Course, March 1961 by D.E. Cox” and written below it is “Kennecott Lodge, Berry Creek.” It is of note that

the building has shutters with the Forest Service pine tree logo. It also has narrow vertical siding and a

large exterior stone chimney. Beyond is a long building that may be a barn. The locations of these 

buildings are presently undetermined.

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 155

 199 Robert Branstead, “Nevada’s Snow Crop Last Winter Was a ‘Humdinger,’ “ Nevada Highways and Parks, 12, no 2 (July-December, 

1952), 5. 200 Historic photo files, Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service.
Buckskin Ranger Station. There is some confusion about the exact location of this site, which was on

the east side of the Schell Creek Range. Some records state that an area in T18N, R66E, S15 was 

withdrawn on September 7, 1909 but was released April 26, 1910. On that same day, the Buckskin

Ranger Station, consisting of 26.11 acres in Section 23, was approved. It was released on March 16,

1926. A 1916 land classification report indicates the site was in T17N, R66E, S15, about 1⁄4 mile from the 

Taft Ranger Station. According to an accompanying map, a telephone line extended from the Buckskin 

Ranger Station north to the Spring Valley Ranger Station and west to Berry Creek Ranger Station. 

California Springs Administrative Site. Although this site on the White Pine Division was not formally

withdrawn until 1959, it was used prior to that. A 12’ x 12’ cabin was built or placed on the site in 1955. In 

1957, it was described as having a corrugated metal roof, two windows with screens, and adjacent to a

five-acre pasture. 

Cave Creek Administrative Site. In 1920, a pasture fence was completed at this site on the Schell Creek 

even though the site was not approved until March of 1935. A withdrawal of 20 acres on November 5,

1956 superceded the 1935 approval, but revocation of the withdrawal was recommended in 1983. A 1926

survey map shows a cabin north of the pasture, but it is not clear if it was a Forest Service cabin. In 1983,

the only feature left on site was “an old pasture fence.” 

Cedar Cabin Administrative Site. This site was also known as the Cedar Spring Administrative Site. The

1916 land classification records include a large map showing the “Cedar Cabin and Spring,” but it is not

clear if this was a Forest Service cabin. Located on the Snake Division, the area appears as an 

administrative site on a 1929 map and in December of 1933, Ranger Warren Taylor wrote that the Cedar 

Cabin pasture contained five acres. Ranger Reed Thomson posted it as an administrative site and

recommended its withdrawal in December 1942. Its designation as a horse pasture was considered its 

highest use and there were no other improvements at that time. The two-acre site was withdrawn on

January 23, 1943. 

In the 1970s, Harvey Tibbs and another Forest Service employee moved a sheepherder’s trailer from the

Troy Canyon Administrative Site to this site.

201 According to real property records, the 8’ x 15’ trailer was

“built” in either 1941 or 1952. The trailer, a 2,000-gallon water tank, and a pasture still existed on the site in

1986. 

Cleve Creek Administrative Site. Also known as Cleve Spring Administrative Site, this site on the Schell 

Creek Range was used as a pasture. It was located a quarter mile above the junction of Cave Creek Trail

and the South Fork Road. Relief work crews completed the fence, which enclosed an area of 14 x 16 

rods, on May 15, 1940. There was a 120-square feet cabin there by 1969, but it must have been removed

because a c.1978 document reported that the only improvement on site was a 25-acre fenced pasture.

The withdrawal date of the site is presently unknown, but it was recommended for revocation in 1984. At

that time, there were tables, fire pits and a vault toilet on the 60-acre site. 

Corduroy Administrative Site. First known as the Ellison Creek Administrative Pasture, this site on the

White Pine Division was enclosed with a fence in the fall of 1939. The half-acre pasture was located at the

head of Ellison Creek and included a spring. The site had not been formally withdrawn at that time. The 

name of the site was changed to the Corduroy Administrative Site on February 18, 1941 just before it was 

withdrawn. The pasture fence existed as late as 1971. 

Dog Springs Administrative Site. This two-acre site, approved on December 3, 1927, was on the Mount

Moriah Division but was used as early as 1919 when a pasture was fenced. It was posted as an 

administrative site and recommended for formal withdrawal on December 7, 1942. This was superceded 

in 1956 with a withdrawal of 40 acres. A 10’ x 12’ frame cabin was built or placed on the site in 1952.

 201 Personal communication with Harvey Tibbs, 24 January 2000. 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 156 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
Although the site was recommended for release in 1984, the cabin and a latrine remain. There is also an

administrative pasture located to the northeast of the buildings.202

Hayden Canyon Administrative Site. Located on the White Pine Division, just north of Sage Hen Spring

in a canyon bottom, this one-acre pasture was enclosed with a fence in the fall of 1939. On December 28,

1940, Assistant Forest Ranger Foyer Olsen prepared a report recommending withdrawal of the site. The

pasture fence existed as late as 1971. 

Ice Cream Springs Administrative Site. This one-acre pasture on the Schell Creek Range was 

approved on December 3, 1927. By that time, the Forest Service had already constructed a pasture fence 

there. This site was shown on a 1943 map, but little is known about its use after that time. 

Mattier Creek Ranger Station. This ranger station, located on the north end of the Schell Creek Range, 

appears on maps dated 1912, 1916 and 1918. A 1917 report stated it was occupied, thus indicating that 

there was a structure there. According to later records, the 43.3-acre site was abandoned, but the date of 

this action is presently unknown. 

Murphy Wash Administrative Site. A 1916 map shows a cabin and spring along Murphy Wash but it is

not known if this was a Forest Service cabin. Located on the Snake Division, the site was withdrawn as a

pasture on April 4, 1942 and again in 1956. Around 1954, a 10’ x 12’ overnight cabin was built or placed

on the site. It was a frame structure of shiplap single wall construction with an aluminum roof and

tempered Masonite floor. The exterior was painted sage green. 

Murray Summit Cabin Site. The guard cabin on this site, located near the Ward Mountain Campground, 

was moved to the Ely Administrative Site sometime after 1989.203 It is presently used for storage. 

North Creek Administrative Site. There was a fence around this 1.25-acre pasture on the Schell Creek

Range when it was approved in 1927. The approval was replaced with a withdrawal of twenty acres on

December 8, 1953. Although revocation of the site was recommended in 1983, a pasture fence remains 

there.204

Raise Creek Administrative Site. This site on the Snake Division was withdrawn as a horse pasture on

March 3, 1941. Little else is known about it at this time. 

Siegel Creek Ranger Station. This site is located on the north end of the Schell Creek Range. Deputy 

Supervisor Charles F. Patterson proposed its withdrawal of 130.83 acres on November 15, 1909. He 

wrote, “There is an old log cabin about 14’ x 32’ and a small cabin 10’ x 12’ both in poor condition, worth

about $25.00.” The buildings had been abandoned and Patterson did not know of any claimants. The

ranger station appears on maps dated 1912, 1916, 1918 and 1929. A survey map drawn by Ranger

Larson in 1916 shows a house and stable. Forest Service records from 1971 indicate that a trailer was 

located on the site. According to Hank Vogler, a local camptender, a cabin labeled “Centreville Ruins” on

the Forest Service map still exists. According to his predecessor, this was a Forest Service cabin. A 

spring located about 100 yards above the cabin is enclosed by an exclosure fence.205

Snake Creek Administrative Site. This name was applied to a two-acre site on the Snake Division that 

was approved on December 10, 1929, by which time a fence had already been constructed. This was 

superceded by two more withdrawals in 1942 and 1953. It appears that the withdrawals either corrected

the legal description or shifted the site to a nearby location. In 1984, release of the site was 

recommended.

 202 Personal communication with Jay Pence. 203 Personal communication with Harvey Tibbs, 24 January 2000. 204 Personal communication with Jay Pence. 205 Personal communication with Jay Pence. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 157
Snake Ranger Station. The small amount of information about this station on the Snake Division comes 

from references to it in early correspondence. On March 30, 1911, Supervisor Mathias wrote to the District

Forester to justify the withdrawal of the Baker Ranger Station. He explained that it was much more

accessible than the Snake Ranger Station, which must be reached by wagon over “a circuitous route of at 

least five miles over a rough, washed-out road, with a stiff grade.” He also wrote, “The Snake Ranger 

Station is entirely off the road, and headquarters there would hinder the prompt execution of Forest Service 

business. . . . The Ranger now lives in a borrowed cabin, above the Snake Ranger Station. . . . As you 

probably noticed in the report recommending the withdrawal of the Snake Ranger Station, it is desired only

for a pasture.” It is possible that the Forest Service retained this under the name of the Baker Creek 

Administrative Site. 

Spring Valley Ranger Station. This ranger station on the east side of the Schell Creek Range was 

withdrawn in 1913. It is shown on a 1916 map with a telephone line to Buckskin Ranger Station to the 

south. It also appears on maps from 1918 and 1929. 

Strawberry Administrative Site. This pasture on the Snake Division was approved on March 3, 1941, 

but may have been used earlier. 

Taft Ranger Station. This was shown on a 1912 map of the Nevada National Forest as a year-round 

station along Taft Creek on the Schell Creek Range. It also appears on a 1916 map, about a quarter-mile

from the Buckskin Ranger Station. 

Teapot Springs Administrative Site. This site is located on the Schell Creek Range. A 10’ x 12’ frame

cabin was built or placed on the site in 1954. It was described as shiplap single-wall construction with an

aluminum roof and tempered Masonite floor. It was a front-gabled structure on skids with a metal

stovepipe, 5-panel door, and 6-pane window in front. It was painted sage green and enclosed by a fence. 

In 1993, vandals pulled the front of the cabin off and the entire structure was burned later that summer.

The latrine and pasture remain.206

White River Administrative Site. This one-acre pasture on the White Pine Division was approved on

December 10, 1929 but the approval was cancelled on December 12, 1946. A pasture fence existed as

late as 1971. 

 206 Personal communication with Jay Pence, 7 December 99. 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 158 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
TONOPAH RANGER DISTRICT 

One of the early districts on the Toiyabe National Forest was the Manhattan Ranger District, sometimes 

referred to as the Manhattan-Tonopah or Jefferson district. Raymond G. Steele was its first district ranger,

serving from 1908 to about 1917. Rangers in the 1920s and 1930s included Albert Mayett, Charles Keller,

Phil Kennedy, and Anderson C. Walker. 

Forest directories suggest that the Manhattan Ranger District became part of the Reese River District

around 1934. Ten years later, the Reese River, Potts, and Kingston districts were consolidated to form the 

Tonopah and Austin districts and the town of Tonopah became a district headquarters. The Tonopah 

Ranger Station was built to provide living quarters for the district ranger, but the original location of his 

office is unknown. In 1967, the ranger moved his office to the post office where he remained until 1975. At 

that time, the ranger’s office was moved to a building owned by Bob Perchetti. After ten years, the Forest

Service leased and later purchased the present office building at 1400 S. Erie Main Street.207

The size of the Tonopah District decreased when the Fallon District was created from it and the Austin

District in 1957. This action was reversed in 1977 and the Tonopah District regained much of its old area. 

The district’s area increased again in 1989 when land previously managed by the BLM was transferred to

the Forest Service under the Nevada National Forest Enhancement Act. Encompassing about 1.2 million 

acres, the Tonopah Ranger District is the largest ranger district outside of Alaska and includes parts of the 

Toiyabe, Toquima, Monitor and Hot Creek mountain ranges. 

HUNTS CANYON GUARD STATION 

This guard station is located along Cottonwood Creek on the southwest side of the Monitor Range. The 

date of its first use is presently unknown. The existing cabin was reportedly relocated from California,

208

most likely around 1957 when Forest Ranger Jesse A. Palm received approval to develop a spring nearby 

for drinking water. It is identical to the Gold Creek Bunkhouse #2 and the Tonopah Stable Barn (formerly 

the Peavine Cabin). Little is known about these buildings, but it is possible that they were located at Camp

Antelope, which served as a camp for the Civilian Conservation Corps (1939-42) and Conscientious 

Objectors (1942-46). The cabins, with their board-and-batten siding and six-pane windows, are typical of

camp buildings as shown in 1935 and 1946 Forest Service building manuals for Regions Four and Five.

Other site features include a latrine, a military surplus communications unit used as storage, a well, and a

pasture. 

MEADOW CANYON GUARD STATION 

This administrative site, located on the southeast side of the Toquima Range, was used before its official 

withdrawal in 1932.209 A pasture fence was built in 1921 and Ranger Phil Kennedy constructed a corral in

1928. Three years later, a cabin from the Barley Creek Ranger Station (located about 15 miles east on the 

Monitor Range) was moved to the site with the intention of reconstructing it. Unfortunately, it was 

damaged in the process, so the building material was salvaged and used to build the latrine. 

 207 Personal communication with Virgil Mink. 208 Personal communication with Virgil Mink who said tire tracks from the moving vehicle are still visible in the crawlspace. 209 Assistant Regional Forester Nord to Forest Supervisor, 18 March 1949. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 159
Ranger Anderson C. Walker built the existing one-room cabin in the fall of 1931. Walker may have been

assisted by J. T. Hightower of Goldfield who wrote, “I will be ready to start for Meadow Canyon on or 

before the 5th of Sept. . . . would like 

complete instructions as to how you 

want the house built.”210

The site has enjoyed continual use,

not only by the Forest Service, but

also by the Youth Conservation Corps 

in the 1970s and the Nevada Division

of Wildlife in the 1980s. This 

expanded use led to the construction

of another latrine and a tack shed, and

the placement of two crew trailers on

site. These were removed sometime

after 1985 and only the cabin and a

latrine remain. Ranger Walker stands proudly in front of the Meadow Canyon cabin, 1932

SANDIA DWELLINGS 

Several Forest Service employees in Tonopah live in agency-owned dwellings known as the Sandia

houses. These buildings, located on a terraced site at the north base of Mt. Butler, were moved from the

Babbitt Housing Area of the Hawthorne Naval Depot. Babbitt was created as a residential area during 

World War II to house married civilian workers and 580 duplexes were constructed between 1940 and

1945. Edward J. Maher and Norman K. Blanchard, former Forest Service architects of Region Five,

designed the partially pre-fabricated units for the US Navy Bureau of Yards and Docks.211 They were

described as 27’ x 55’ frame buildings with asbestos siding and casement windows. Many of the Babbitt 

duplexes were sold at the end of the Korean conflict, although this halted with the start of the Vietnam 

conflict.

212 

Some of the duplexes were purchased by the Sandia Corporation, which tested ballistics and non-nuclear

features of atomic weapons for the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). The company used the Tonopah

Test Range as a temporary site, designating it as a permanent site in 1959. At that time, the company 

transferred many of its employees from the Salton Sea test area to Tonopah, where there was a lack of

adequate housing. The company investigated several options, including FHA funding and construction by

contractors, to alleviate employee dissatisfaction with the housing situation. In May of 1960, the Sandia 

Corporation awarded a contract to the Reynolds Electrical and Engineer Company, another contractor at

the Nevada Test Site, to move surplus duplexes from the Babbitt Housing Area. They were moved to 

Tonopah were some were remodeled into single-family homes.213 The first employees were scheduled to

occupy the houses in March 1961.214

 210 J.T. Hightower to Forest Supervisor Olsen, 23 August 1931. 211 Joe C. Freeman, Terri Myers and Gordon Marchant, “Draft Report, Hawthorne Army Ammunition Plan/Historical American Building 

Survey Documentation of the Babbitt Area, Hawthorne, Nevada, 24 March 1993” TMs [photocopy], Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe 

National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 212 Ana Beth Koval, “National Register Nomination for Hawthorne Naval Ammunition Depot, April 1989” TMs [photocopy], Elko Office, 

Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 213 Leland Johnson, Tonopah Test Range: Outpost of Sandia National Laboratories, Sandia Report SAND96-0375, (March 1996), 39 

and 41. Located at the Central Nevada Museum in "Book #797, Nevada Test Site." 214 Ibid. 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 160 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
The Sandia crew was transferred from Tonopah to Las Vegas in late 1968215 and the AEC sought to

dispose of the Sandia houses. Tonopah still suffered from substandard housing, so the Forest Service

acquired two of the houses (#16 and #17) for its employees in 1974. The Bureau of Land Management

and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) received some neighboring houses. In 1978, the FAA 

transferred four duplexes (#8, #9, #10, and #24) to the Forest Service. Duplex #9 was damaged by fire on

April 10, 1980 and was removed or torn down. The Forest Service also acquired house # 4 in 1985. 

STONE CABIN ADMINISTRATIVE SITE

This site, situated along the Toiyabe Crest Trail, is in the Arc Dome Wilderness of the Toiyabe Range.

Ranger Basil Crane, assisted by a French-Canadian named Clarence and CCC enrollees, built a stone

cabin here in late 1941.216 They gathered stone and sand near the site but used mules to pack in lime,

cement, shingles, and barbed wire. Some creative packing was required to transport the two 16-feet long

2x6s for the gable ends, the door, and the cookstove. They handled the 2x6s by tying the two mules in a

line and strapping one piece on each side of both mules. The weight and bulk of the cookstove were 

balanced by tying bales of straw on the mule’s sides.

217 Crane and his assistants finished the interior walls 

of the cabin, which was to be used during snow surveys, with smooth concrete.218 

Originally known as the Reese River Snow Survey Cabin, this structure was built in response to a tragedy 

on the Jarbidge Ranger District. Ranger Karl Wilkinson was killed and his partner severely injured while 

conducting snow surveys near Coon Creek in early 1941. The Nevada Cooperative Snow Survey

encouraged the construction of more snow survey cabins to accommodate injured surveyors in such

cases. Funds were quickly authorized to build the Stone Cabin and the first snow measurements were 

taken there on March 1, 1942.

219

TONOPAH STABLES 

The Tonopah Ranger District keeps its horses at the Tonopah Stable Sites, a County-owned facility about

one mile east of town. The Forest Service leased the corral from Nye County in 1974 for a 99-year period.

Presently, there are two structures on site. One is a makeshift hay storage shed consisting of a flat roof 

over two surplus military communications boxes acquired by the Forest Service in 1980. The age of the 

communications boxes is presently undetermined. 

The "barn" or tack shed is a former cabin that was moved from the Peavine Guard Station on the south

end of the Toiyabe Range. It is identical to the Gold Creek Bunkhouse #2 and the Hunts Canyon Cabin.

Little is known about these buildings, but it is possible that they were located at Camp Antelope, which 

served as a camp for the Civilian Conservation Corps (1939-42) and Conscientious Objectors (1942-46).

The cabins, with their board-and-batten siding and six-pane windows, are typical of camp buildings as

shown in 1935 and 1946 Forest Service building manuals for Regions Four and Five. The cabin was at

the Peavine Guard Station by 1958 and relocated to the Tonopah Stables Site between 1977 and 1983. 

 215 Ibid., 54. 216 Crane, 62. 217 Ibid., 33 218 Ibid., 65. 219 Ibid., 62. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 161
TONOPAH RANGER STATION 

The original Tonopah Ranger Station, currently referred to as the "Magnolia site" for the street on which it

is located, was developed in 1945 in the town of Tonopah. This was in response to the creation of the

Tonopah Ranger District and the reconfiguration of the Austin Ranger District from the Potts, Reese River, 

and Kingston districts. Tonopah replaced Reese River Ranger Station as district headquarters 

Due to building restrictions during World War II, the Forest Service needed approval from the War 

Production Board to construct the station. On March 26, 1945, the Board authorized the project, which

consisted of moving the office and garage from the Potts Ranger Station. Housing was scarce due to the 

occupation of military personnel working at the 

Tonopah Army Air Field so the office was 

remodeled into a two-bedroom house. The

garage was converted to a storeroom/garage.

Conscientious Objectors (COs) from Civilian 

Public Service Camp #37 at Camp Antelope

carried out the work, which was mostly

complete by November 1945. It was not until 

1948, however, that George H. Holcomb's 

donation of the 0.19-acre site was recorded in

the county deed books.220

In 1950, Ranger Buckhouse developed plans

to add a bedroom to the house by attaching a

one-room building that was already on the lot.

It appears that the building was the original office of the Reese River Ranger Station. In 1945, Ranger 

Basil Crane proposed moving "a building on the Reese River site which is a part of the old CCC camp."

Constructed in 1929, the office was at Tonopah by 1950 when it was attached to the main dwelling. The

appearance of this addition corresponds with early photos of the Reese River office. In addition, its large

1/1 windows suggest it is a pre-CCC era building. 

Tonopah Ranger Station, 1953 

OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE SITES 

Most of the sites withdrawn on the Tonopah District served as administrative pastures. Few were

improved with more than a pasture fence. 

Barley Creek Administrative Site. This site on the Monitor Range was withdrawn on June 13, 1908 but 

cancelled on August 15, 1955. The Tonopah District Ranger requested reinstatement of the site in 1977

so that it could be used by packers in support of the Youth Conservation Corps and forest administration. 

By that time, a trailer had been moved onto the site to serve as the packers' quarters. In 1983, the trailer 

was set on sturdy blocks and a porch and a yard fence were built. Small buildings were installed to store

grain and wood. 

Cottonwood Administrative Site. The Regional Forester approved this 1.81-acre site on March 1, 1932

but it must have been used earlier because it appears on a 1931 map. Located in the Table Mountain

Wilderness Area, it was recommended for abandonment in 1984 because the Little Fishlake Valley 

Administrative Site was to be developed as an alternative to it and the Blackburn, Savory, and Danville 

administrative sites. 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 162 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1

 220 Nye County Recorder, Deed Book 52, p. 597, 30 June 1948. The Attorney General approved the title on April 25, 1949. 
Danville Administrative Site. The withdrawal date of this pasture is unknown. It was located on the east

slope of the Monitor Range and was considered the most remote site on the Tonopah District. Along with

the Cottonwood Administrative Site, it was recommended for abandonment in 1984. 

Jefferson Ranger Station. This 46-acre site on the Toquima Range was withdrawn on August 3, 1909

and revoked on January 4, 1927. 

Ledbetter Administrative Site (aka Indian Valley Administrative Site). The Indian Valley 

Administrative Site consisted of four acres and was withdrawn on November 5, 1934. This was 

superceded by a withdrawal of 160 acres on May 1, 1956. Located on the Toiyabe Range, it became 

known as the Ledbetter Administrative Site. A front-gabled, one-room cabin was constructed but was 

destroyed sometime after 1958. 

Manhattan Ranger Station. One of the first districts on the Toiyabe National Forest was the Manhattan

Ranger District. The early rangers operated from Manhattan, an early twentieth-century mining town

located on the south end of the Toquima Range. The exact location of the ranger station is presently 

unknown, but maps dated 1920, 1931 and 1935 show it in T8N, R44E, S30. In 1936, the Assistant

Regional Forester wrote, "At Manhattan, we also need a building site very badly, . . . It is believed that 

three lots in Manhattan would be donated by the county as one of the county Commissioners has made

this promise, and they have acquired three very desirable lots through tax delinquency."221

Moores Creek Administrative Site. A withdrawal of ten acres on the Toquima Range was approved for 

this site on March 13, 1926 and cancelled on August 15, 1955. Nevertheless, the site was still being used

as an administrative pasture in 1984. 

Morgan Administrative Site. Although it appears on a 1931 map, this three-acre site on the Monitor 

Range was not approved until March 1, 1932. The Regional Forester cancelled the withdrawal in 1955. 

Mud Springs Administrative Site. This site, located on the Monitor Range, appears on a 1931 map of

the Toiyabe National Forest. It was not until November 5, 1934 that the Regional Forester approved its 

withdrawal of three acres; he cancelled it on June 21, 1955. There was still an administrative pasture here

in 1984. 

Peavine Administrative Site. On April 28, 1908, the Regional Forester withdrew 25.86 acres for this site 

on the south end of the Toiyabe Range. He cancelled the withdrawal on August 15, 1955. A one-room

cabin, similar to the Hunts Canyon Cabin and the Gold Creek Bunkhouse #2, was placed on site sometime

before 1958. The cabin was moved to the Tonopah Stable between 1977 and 1983, but the Tonopah 

District staff continued to use the site as a pasture. 

Pine Creek Ranger Station. In 1943, this site had a domestic water supply. Four years later, it was 

reported "The Reclamation Service deposited $11,000 in working funds for the salvaging and moving of

Pine R.S. buildings to Mountain Home, and we retained the buildings and all salvage."222 It is not clear if 

this site was really used as a ranger station, or if it was for public use. Located on the Toquima Range, it 

was originally withdrawn as a public service site in 1936, perhaps as part of the New Deal work on the

forest. This withdrawal was released in 1952 but another withdrawal, for the Pine Creek Forest Camp on

the same site, was approved in 1956. 

Shoshone Creek Administrative Site. This 26.72-acre site on the southwest end of the Toquima Range 

was approved on November 11, 1908 but was later revoked (date unknown). 

Silver Creek Administrative Site. This site, comprising 26.24 acres on the south end of the Toquima

Range, was withdrawn on May 1, 1909 and was released on May 15, 1921. 

South Twin River Administrative Site. The Regional Forester approved this withdrawal of six acres 

(date unknown). It is mentioned in a 1949 Big Game Management Plan for the Tonopah Ranger District, 

 221 Acting Forest Supervisor Ernest R. Hill to Regional Forester, 31 March 1936. 222 J.N. Kinney to “Toiyabe,“ 28 April 1947. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 163
but no other historical information is available. The withdrawal was superceded in 1956 by another for 160

acres. It is now located in the Arc Dome Wilderness and in 1994, volunteers removed the pasture fence 

under the supervision of Wilderness Ranger Virgil Mink.

Table Mountain Administrative Site. This site is shown on a 1942 map of the Monitor Range, but no

other information about it has been found.

Three Forks Administrative Site. This 20.4-acre site in the Arc Dome Wilderness was withdrawn on

November 11, 1908 and cancelled in 1955.

Upper Corral Administrative Site. This seven-acre site on the Toiyabe Range appears on a 1931 map

but it was not formally approved until November 5, 1934. This was replaced by a withdrawal of 160 acres 

in 1956. The site was used as an administrative pasture. 

Werdenhoff Administrative Site. Also known as the North Twin or Wardenhof Administrative Site, this 

pasture is located along the North Twin River in the Arc Dome Wilderness. It was mentioned in a 1949 Big

Game Management Plan, but no other historical information is available at this time. In 1983, it was 

reported that an old camper’s shelter on site should be removed. In July of 1994, volunteers under Virgil 

Mink’s guidance removed all of the fencing.

Willow Creek Administrative Site. This site appears on a 1931 map of the Monitor Range, but it was not

formally approved until March 14, 1932. A trailer was moved on to the site before 1972. By 1977, there

were two trailer pads and a pasture fence. In 1985, it was reported that this summer site had two crew

trailers, a pit toilet, a fenced pasture and a water system. It was proposed to build a tent-frame structure, a 

tent shelter and vault toilet. 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 164 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
Chapter Nine: Southern Nevada 

SPRING MOUNTAINS NATIONAL RECREATION AREA 

Located near Las Vegas, the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area has a history of numerous

administrative changes, most of which occurred in its first ten years. It began when the southern part of

the Charleston Mountain Range was designated the Charleston Forest Reserve on November 5, 1906. A 

year later, on December 12, 1907, the Vegas Forest Reserve was established. It comprised the Sheep

Mountain Range and the northern part of the Charleston Mountain Range. The two reserves consolidated

to become the Moapa National Forest in 1908, but in 1915, the Moapa was transferred to the Toiyabe

National Forest. After only a year, the Moapa Division was transferred to the Dixie National Forest, which 

had most of its area in Utah and Arizona. In 1918, land on the Sheep Mountain Range and much of the

Charleston Mountain Range was eliminated from the forest.223 Eventually the name of the Moapa Division

was changed to the Charleston Mountain Division. 

Forest officials recognized the need to administer the Charleston Mountain Division from Nevada, rather

than Utah. In 1937, they transferred it from the Dixie to the Nevada National Forest (NNF) where it was 

designated the Las Vegas Ranger District. The situation was stable for twenty years but in 1957, the NNF 

was eliminated and its lands were transferred to the Humboldt and Toiyabe national forests. By that time,

the headquarters of the Toiyabe was in Reno and it was decided to transfer the Las Vegas Ranger District

to that forest due to regular air travel between Reno and Las Vegas. Another reason was that the interest 

and activities on the Charleston Mountain Division, especially those relating to recreation, were similar to

those on the Toiyabe National Forest.224

Some of the first rangers on the Las Vegas Ranger District included Robert Clark Anderson (1937-39), 

Jack J. McNutt (1939-43), Arnold Hansen (1943-44) and Henry C. “Hank” Hoffman (1944-62). The district

ranger operated from the Kyle Canyon Ranger Station in the summers but moved to Las Vegas in the 

winters. While in the city, he lived at the Las Vegas Ranger Station but worked from an office in the Post 

Office, which the CCC constructed in 1936.

225 In 1958, the ranger moved his office from the Post Office to 

900 South 5th Street. Two years later, the office was moved to the vacated ranger station where it 

remained until 1967 when the station became a residence for the Recreation Staff Officer. In August of 

1967, the district office was relocated to the new Federal Building.

226 Presently, the office is in a leased

building on Valley View Boulevard. 

In 1993, Congress designated the district as the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area, one of only

16 such areas in the country.

227 

EARLY RANGER STATIONS 

Forest Service files indicate that as the Moapa Division, from 1915 to 1933, the area was administered by

forest guards, rather than full-time rangers. A ranger occupied the Kyle Canyon Ranger Station shortly

after the CCC constructed it in 1933, but the name of this person is presently unknown. At that time, the

Moapa Division was part of the Dixie National Forest. 

 223 McNutt, 5. 224 Chief Richard E. McArdle to Senator George W. Malone, 20 June 1957. 225 McNutt, 9. 226 "History of the Toiyabe National Forest.” 227 Moskowitz, "A History of the Spring Mountains," 12. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 165
The lack of a permanent ranger before 1933 may explain why there were no developed administrative

sites prior to the CCC era. A 1911 map of the Moapa National Forest showed the following ranger

stations, all of which were on the southern part of the Charleston Range. The forest supervisors of the

Vegas, Charleston and Moapa forests probably operated from these but at present, it is not known if any

buildings were constructed. 

• Twin Springs Ranger Station (NE 1⁄4 NE 1⁄4 of Section 6, T21S, R56E and SW 1⁄4 SW 1⁄4 of S30, 

T20S, R56E) 

• Cold Springs Ranger Station (SE 1⁄4 of S14, T20S, R56E) 

• Dugout Ranger Station (W 1⁄2 of S1, T20S, R57E) 

• Twin Cabin Ranger Station (SE 1⁄4 SE 1⁄4 of S3, T20S, R56E) 

It is interesting to note that although they are unlabeled, symbols for ranger stations are shown on a

January 1909 map in the vicinities of the first three ranger stations. No symbol is shown near the Twin 

Cabin Ranger Station. This contradicts records dated June 1921, which state the Twin Cabin Ranger

Station was withdrawn on August 9, 1907. Of the fifteen administrative sites on the Dixie National Forest in

1921, it was the only one on the Moapa Division. It was in T19S, R56E, S3 and consisted of twenty acres.

The station was not being used at that time and had no improvements.228

THE NEW DEAL AND WORLD WAR II

New Deal relief programs remedied the lack of administrative facilities in the 1930s. In 1933, CCC Camp

F4 was established adjacent to the site of the Kyle Canyon Ranger Station, which the CCC men began 

constructing that year. The men occupied the camp during the summers from March 1933 to June 1942.

During the winters, they stayed in Moapa where they worked on flood control and soil erosion control 

projects.

229

Both the CCC and WPA contributed significantly to the recreational development of the area with the 

construction of trails, campgrounds, roads and other improvements. Recreation activities increased 

dramatically with the construction of Hoover Dam and the growing population of Las Vegas. The Forest

Service began issuing special use permits in 1935 for summer homes in Rainbow Canyon. The following

year, the Forest Service constructed the first ski facilities in southern Nevada just north of a lodge on Mt. 

Charleston. Forest Supervisor Alonzo Briggs realized this was just the beginning. In 1939 he wrote, "We

may expect 10 to 15 thousand recreationists to use the area each year. Winter sports are developing

rapidly and Lee Canyon rather than Kyle Canyon will be the center of these sports activities."230

A new user of the district arrived with America's entry into World War II. In June of 1941, the Army Air 

Corps (AAC) established the Las Vegas Army Gunnery School near the city. To counteract the oppressive

heat of Las Vegas, the AAC used the former CCC camp adjacent to the Kyle Canyon Ranger Station as a

rest camp for trainees.231 The AAC used the camp, known as "Camp Charleston," for the duration of the

war and abandoned it sometime after October 1946.

232 The school, renamed Nellis Air Force Base, was 

reactivated in 1949 to train fighter pilots heading to Korea. The rest camp also re-opened but, at present, it

 228 Atlas, Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 229 McNutt, 6. 230 Forest Supervisor A.E. Briggs to Regional Forester, 31 October 1939. 231 Forest Supervisor J.M. Herbert to Regional Forester, 14 October 1946. 232 Ibid. 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 166 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
is unknown when the AAC discontinued its use.233 By 1969, only a generator shed and a former CCC 

barracks remained. The Forest Service used the latter as a private residence and as a crew barracks until

it was torn down around 1969.234 

KYLE CANYON RANGER STATION 

The Kyle Canyon Ranger Station, first developed in 1933, has continually played a significant part in

Forest Service administration of the Charleston Mountain Division. It is located on the site of pioneer

Conrad Kiel's sawmill, which he built in the 1870s.235 On July 21, 1933, the Forest Service withdrew 

twenty acres in Kyle Canyon encompassing the site of the former sawmill. This was superceded by a 

withdrawal of 44.98 acres on December 8, 1953. 

The station, initially known as the Charleston Mountain

Administrative Site and later as the Kyle Canyon Ranger

Station, first served as the ranger's year-round

headquarters. The boys of CCC Camp F-4, located 

adjacent to the site, developed the ranger station in two

phases. In 1933, the first buildings were constructed and

included an office (R4 Plan 7), ranger's house (R4 Plan 8), 

and two garage/storerooms (R4 Plan 21). Four years later,

the CCC built a guard dwelling (R4 Plan 7A) and a barn

(R4 Plan 13).

The people in charge of construction took a good deal of 

initiative. They made numerous changes to the standard

plans and chose a white/green paint scheme over the

brown scheme that the Regional Office deemed

appropriate for a conifer landscape. Whether or not they 

received the required approval from the Regional Office is

unknown, but in late 1939 a regional officer wrote, "We

believe that the Kyle Canyon Ranger Station buildings . . . 

should be continued in color scheme No. 4. This group is individual in itself and looks well in white and

green, even though it is in a conifer setting."

236

The Kyle Canyon Ranger Station barn was

remodeled into a bunkhouse in the late 1950s and

early 1960s

Designers gave a good deal of attention to landscaping the site, which was shaded with ponderosa pines,

scrub oak and mahogany. In 1936, Recreational Planner Reg. C. Pragnell prepared a planting plan that

included red cedar, ponderosa pine, mountain juniper, snowberry, rose, currant, dogwood and quinine

bush. The plan showed a drying yard, vegetable garden, nine parking spaces, and a wood enclosure for 

firewood. Much of this plan was implemented but several of the plants were not suited to the site and

apparently died. 

The 1936 plan also shows a water supply line that led to the adjacent CCC camp. The simple water 

system, built by the CCC in 1933, was supplied by a spring 2.7 miles away. In 1940, the CCC expanded 

the system, incorporating water from Rainbow Creek Spring and Stanley "B" Spring, with 51⁄2 miles of pipe

ranging from 10" to 1" in diameter. The water was carried to three storage tanks ranging in size from 3,000 

 233 Thomas D. Burke, and Christine Savage Palmer, Cultural Resources Inventory and Evaluation for Nevada Forest Highway 11 

(State Route 157/Kyle Canyon Road), Clark County, Nevada (Virginia City, NV: Archeological Research Services, Inc., May 1993), 

32. 234 "Administrative Improvement Plan, Las Vegas Ranger District, Toiyabe National Forest, Region 4, 31 January 1969" TMs 

[photocopy], p. 2 and 5, Las Vegas Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 235 Ibid., 21. 236 Assistant Regional Forester W.B. Rice to Forest Supervisor, 18 December 1939. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 167
gallons to 10,000 gallons. The system supplied water to campgrounds and picnic areas, the Rainbow

Canyon Summer Home area, the CCC Camp, and the Kyle Canyon Ranger Station.237

Three buildings at the ranger station are not of standard Forest Service design. One is a metal shed

acquired from the Atomic Energy Commission and moved on site in 1973 for use as a tack shed. It is now

used as a sign shed. A larger building, measuring approximately 12' x 14' and clad with corrugated metal, 

was the generator shed for the Nellis Air Force rest camp. The Forest Service acquired it before 1963 and

has used it to store recreation supplies since at least 1973.238 The third structure is a non-historic, prefabricated storage shed placed on the site in 1991.239

KYLE CANYON CAP HOUSE 

According to a 1940 report, there was a powder house made of logs and miscellaneous lumber. It was 

located just north of the ranger station in T19S, R57E, S20, but it has not been found. The CCC and WPA

may have used this to store explosives used in road building. The 1940 report also noted that there was a

small cap house in T19S, R57E, S29. This may be the small structure (about 14" x 20") east of the ranger

station near an explosive cache built by Bob Simmons and Gail Herrmann in 1971. 

The Kyle Canyon Ranger Station continues to be an important administrative center for the Spring 

Mountains National Recreation Area. In 1998, archeologist Kathy Moskowitz evaluated the Kyle Canyon

Ranger Station for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. She found that it was eligible

under Criteria A, B, and C. 

LAS VEGAS RANGER STATION

The Las Vegas Ranger Station was built on 0.33 acres that A.C. Delkin donated to the Forest Service on

October 8, 1941. Located at 1217 Bridger Street, the station consisted of two buildings: a two-car garage

(R4 Plan 20) and a house (R4 Plan 1). Men from the CCC or WPA began construction of the two

buildings in early 1942. Despite the outbreak of World War II, work continued on the buildings and the 

landscaping from 1943 through 1945. 

By 1969, the Forest Service had recognized the value of the Las Vegas Ranger Station land. A report

written that year stated, "The City has somewhat grown up around this site. It is surrounded by two

schools and numerous apartment houses. As a result the property is considered extremely valuable even

though the dwelling itself is in need of considerable repair and maintenance." The report proposed

investigating an exchange for a larger parcel of land on the outskirts of Las Vegas.240

According to real property records, the Las Vegas Ranger Station was designated as surplus property and

assigned to the Department of Health, Education and Welfare on June 15, 1978. The following 

September, it was deeded to the First Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and School. The buildings were 

demolished or removed and the property is now a playground for the church's elementary school.241

 237 H.C. Hoffman, "Historical Information on Charleston Division of Toiyabe National Forest, 20 January 1960" TMs [photocopy], Las

Vegas Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 238 Photo Files in Las Vegas Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 239 Purchase order for this Bally brand building is dated 1991 and is located in the Real Property files, Sparks Office, USDA Forest 

Service. 240 "Administrative Improvement Plan," 1 and 4. 241 Personal communication with Larry Benham. 

SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 168 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
Some archival records mention a Forest Service warehouse in Las Vegas, but little is known about it. 

According to improvement records, it was “acquired without cost” on December 16, 1941. 

LEE CANYON GUARD STATION 

The WPA and CCC constructed this guard station in response to increasing recreational use in Lee 

Canyon. The Forest Supervisor gave additional reasons for construction when he wrote, "A guard 

stationed here would also be beneficial for fire protection, particularly in Clark and Wallace canyons to the

west and Cold Creek to the north. The guard would also handle grazing trespass, timber trespass 

prevention, and insect control and roadside cleanup."242

Although the site plan, prepared in 1938 by Junior Landscape Architect Howard W. Young, shows a barn,

a garage/storeroom and a house, only the latter was built. The WPA started the house, which is of Region

Four Plan 7A, in December of 1939 under the direction of WPA District Manager Claude J. Mackay. 

Progress was slow and in January of 1941, Mackay wrote "after notice was given about work on this

building, no further work was done by the W.P.A. until December 1940, when the doors, windows and 

casings arrived. We put those in to protect the work already done." Mackay also indicated "a large

amount of the work was done by a CCC Spike camp. They put in the water line, plumbing, grading, 

landscaping and other work on the building.”

243

The house, completed in the fall of 1942, was clad with V-groove siding and painted Color Scheme One to

harmonize with the landscape and the neighboring Lee Canyon Organization Camp.244 This scheme,

intended for conifer settings, called for a brown, terra cotta or "red stone" body, and a green or brown roof. 

The other building on site, a generator and storage shed, was constructed in the 1960s but is sympathetic

in design to the original station.245

In 1998 archeologist Kathy Moskowitz evaluated the Lee Canyon Guard Station for eligibility to the

National Register of Historic Places. She determined it was eligible under Criteria A and C.246

 242 Forest Supervisor A.E. Briggs to Regional Forester, 31 October 1939. 243 Claude J. Mackay, District Manager WPA, to Gilbert C. Ross, State Administrator WPA, 16 January 1941. 244 Forest Supervisor A.E. Briggs to Regional Forester, 9 December 1939. 245 Moskowitz, "A History of the Spring Mountains," 16. 246 Ibid. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 SUPERVISORS’ OFFICES & RANGER DISTRICTS - 169

PART THREE 

Architectural History
Previous page: The Kingston Guard Station, located on the Austin Ranger District, was constructed by the 

CCC in the late 1930s. 

ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 172 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
Chapter Ten: 1891-1907, Pinchot Provides 

Direction 

SITE WITHDRAWALS 

Numerous administrative sites were withdrawn from public use to accommodate forest officials as they 

carried out office duties and fieldwork. Early maps designated all of these as ranger stations while later 

maps differentiated between ranger stations, guard stations, and administrative pastures. The latter were

often overnight pastures and tent camps that were spaced a day’s ride from each other. The rangers and 

guards spent their nights at these sites when doing the rounds on their districts. The sites typically had a

fenced area for the saddle and pack stock but, unlike the ranger stations or guard stations, had no

buildings. Forest Assistant R.B. Wilson recognized the importance of these sites in 1906 when he wrote, 

“The sites for pastures are very important and should be picked out with a view to having plenty of good, 

fairly open winter range as well as summer range.” He also recommended that there be plenty of water to

raise alfalfa for the winter.

1

Ranger stations were sited to take advantage of water, existing or potential pastures, shelter from the

weather, and accessibility. To a lesser extent, forest officials considered the availability of mail delivery and 

the potential of laying telephone lines when selecting a site. The 1906 Use Book provided some guidance

in the task of site selection: 

Lands needed for supervisors’ headquarters, rangers’ cabins, gardens, or pastures, and

Forest Service nursery sites should be selected, so far as possible, from nonmineral,

unclaimed lands, and will be specially reserved from any form of location or entry. 

Supervisors should recommend sufficient reservations to meet the future as well as the

present needs of the Service. If it becomes necessary to recommend the reservation of

land probably valuable for mining purposes or embraced in an invalid claim, a special 

report should accompany the recommendation, showing the necessity for reservation

and the character of the claim.2

The manual went on to guide the location and conditions of the Supervisor’s Office: 

Reserve headquarters should be located in the nearest town to the reserve that offers

proper railroad, telephone, telegraph, and mail facilities, and may be secured only

through the permission of the Forester. In every case an office should be equipped with a 

proper sign. Request for authority to rent an office must describe the location and 

condition of the building and the rooms, and give in detail what is secured with the office, 

as light, heat, telephone, or janitor service. The danger from fire should be carefully 

considered and reported upon. In every case a lease will be prepared in the Washington

office for execution by the lessor. Supervisors must never occupy an office that is

furnished rent free by a company or individual.3

At first, the withdrawal process was informal. The ranger or other forest official submitted a “Report on a 

Proposed Administrative Site” that described the character of the terrain and any improvements. If the 

Forest Supervisor approved, he signed the report and forwarded it, with its attached map, to the District 

Forester for final approval. 

 1

 Wilson, 32. 

2

 US Department of Agriculture, The Use Book (1906), 25. 3

 Ibid., 121. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 173
 

IMPROVEMENTS 

When the forest reserves were created, they were not expected to be self-supporting for some time. This

was partly due to the amount of construction needed to support the basic functions of the Forest Service.4

 

The rangers needed trails and roads to inspect rangeland, timber and water resources, while lookouts, fire

lines and telephone lines were necessary for an effective fire protection system.5

 The first ranger stations

were built with the ranger’s own money and 

it was not until 1903 that the country’s first 

officially funded ranger station was built. 

This was the Wapiti Ranger Station,

consisting of a log dwelling and a log office, 

on the Shoshone National Forest.6

 

The transfer of the forests to the 

Department of Agriculture in 1905 brought 

about increased funding for the construction

of improvements,7

 and the Forest Service

began building the necessary facilities.

Pinchot directed the rangers to spend as

much time on roads and trails, but also

encouraged them to build cabins and 

fenced pastures where needed. He

indicated that abandoned settlers’ cabins

could be used.

8

lackburn Ranger Station in central Nevada may have been an

ndoned cabin when the Forest Service began using it in 1908. 

The B

aba

The 1906 Use Book emphasized cooperation with local authorities to build roads and trails and

encouraged the immediate construction of telephone lines between supervisors’ offices, ranger stations,

and lookout stations.

9

 In 1906, the Forest Service formed the Reserve Engineering Section to supervise 

this work.

10

The minimal funding from Congress and negligible income from forest receipts were used for 

infrastructure, leaving little to construct buildings. Even when money was available, the $500 building limit 

set by Congress did not pay for anything but the most basic, small structures. As a result, regional and

forest headquarters were typically located in rented commercial buildings or even houses, while the

rangers often lived in tents on the forest, sometimes year-round.

11

After a 1906 court case, Light vs. USFS, confirmed the Forest Service’s jurisdiction over forest resources,

the agency’s supervision of grazing and other uses increased. This led to a need for more administrative

structures.

12 According to the 1906 Use Book, all efforts were made to provide year-round rangers with

permanent cabins: 

 4

 Boerker, xliv. 

5

 Ibid., xliv-xlv. 

6

 Hartley and Schneck, 37. 7

 Woods, 20. 

8

 US Department of Agriculture, The Use Book (1905), 72. 9

 US Department of Agriculture, The Use Book (1906), 106-7. 10 Hartley and Schneck, 37. 11 Boerker, xliv-xlv. 12 Hartley and Schneck, 37. 

ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 174 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
It is the intention of the Forest Service to build these as rapidly as funds will permit. 

Wherever possible cabins should be built of logs, with shingle or shake roofs. 

The hardware, glass, and door and window frames may be purchased on authorization 

from the Forester. Cabins should be of sufficient size to afford comfortable living 

accommodations to the family of the ranger stationed in them, and this ranger will be held 

responsible for the proper care of the cabin and the ground surrounding it. It is 

impossible to insist on proper care of camps if the forest officers themselves do not keep 

their cabins as models of neatness.

Rangers’ cabins should be located where there is enough agricultural land for a small

field and suitable pasture land for a few head of horses and a cow or two, in order to

decrease the often excessive expense for vegetables and feed. In course of time several

rangers’ camps will be needed for each township, and selections of sites should be made

with this view. The amount of agricultural land necessary to supply a ranger’s family with

vegetables and to raise hay and grain enough to winter his saddle and other stock will

vary greatly in different localities, but as a general rule it will not be less than 10 nor more

than 40 acres. The field must, of course, be inclosed [sic] by a stock-proof fence. 

The pasture should be of sufficient size to support the stock not in use by the ranger 

during the summer, and only in cases where it is obviously necessary should they include 

land that could be used for agriculture. They will vary in size, according to the quality of 

the feed, from 40 to 200 acres. A two or three wire fence strung on posts or trees 30 feet 

apart will, in most cases, be sufficient to protect these pastures from range stock. 

Other improvement work necessary for the proper administration of the reserve, such as

corrals, drift fences, counting wings, or tool houses will be authorized when their need is

shown in a report to the Forester.13

Efforts were made to give the Forest Service buildings a “professional yet amiable” appearance for the 

sake of the public.

14 Under Pinchot’s direction, ranger stations “were to be neat and sanitary, providing

examples for campers” and the “Rangers’ privies had to be more than fifty yards from the house with at

least a six-foot vault.”15 Pinchot and his staff also decided that the American flag should fly over the head 

man’s tent in the field.16 These instructions were the seeds of a standardized approach to building 

construction, design and layout that became widespread by the 1930s. 

 13 US Department of Agriculture, The Use Book (1906), 108-109. 14 Hartley and Schneck, 13. 15 Steen, The U.S. Forest Service, 83. 16 Ibid., 64. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 175
Chapter Eleven: 1908-1929, The Pioneer 

Tradition 

SITE WITHDRAWALS 

Around the country, forests were consolidated and subdivided as the Forest Service adjusted and refined

its goals and policies. These actions resulted in redrawn boundaries and the withdrawal of numerous 

administrative sites. Many were merely posted as administrative sites but some were formally withdrawn 

under the Reclamation Act of 1902 in an effort to protect water power sites since there was no other 

authority to do so at the time.

17 President Theodore Roosevelt had no problem doing this but Taft, elected

in 1908, felt this method was illegal. Although he did not rescind those that had already been approved, 

Taft prevented further withdrawals until Congress authorized such actions.

18

On February 1, 1912, new procedures for administrative site selection and withdrawal went into effect.

The policy stated that if land for rangers’ headquarters, pastures, corrals, and other administrative uses

could not be found on the forest, then vacant and unappropriated public land could be withdrawn under an

act of June 24, 1910. Proposed withdrawals were to consider present and future uses as well as

administrative needs. Rangers’ headquarters, which would typically be no more than 160 acres, were to

be sited where there was enough agricultural land for a pasture and garden, as well as enough water for 

irrigation.

19

Once a site was selected, it was to be located by legal subdivisions if on surveyed land or by a metes and 

bounds survey if on unsurveyed land. The site was to be posted with notices, and a map and report

discussing proposed improvements sent to the Forest Supervisor. If the Supervisor approved, he would 

send the report to the District Forester for final approval. Lands not within forest boundaries would be

formally withdrawn by an Executive Order. The District Forester could cancel withdrawals if they had not

been withdrawn by the Secretary of the Interior or by Executive Order, otherwise they had to be formally 

revoked by the Secretary or by another Executive Order.20

This formal procedure sought to protect against mining and homesteading claims. According to District

Forester Sherman, Region Four sites that were already posted and occupied by the Forest Service were 

“sufficiently ‘withdrawn’ for that use and purpose to constitute protection from June 11 [homestead] 

applications, or other appropriation including mineral.”

21

Availability of services and roads continued to determine the locations of administrative sites. The 1915 

Use Book stated “The district rangers have their headquarters at the nearest business center; or if that is 

not practicable, permanent headquarters, with barn and pasture, are provided on the Forests.”22 As

before, small areas of land sited conveniently around the ranger district were withdrawn from use to serve 

as overnight camps and pastures to accommodate fieldwork. 

As dictated by the Washington Office, the names of administrative sites reflected local people and 

geographic features. On the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, most were named after water features

(Meadow Creek, Hot Springs), the setting (Little Meadows, Red Bluff), settlements (Fort Halleck, 

 17 Pamela Ann Conners, “Patterns and Policy of Water and Hydroelectric Development on the Stanislaus National Forest, 1850 to 

1920” (MA thesis, University of California, Santa Barbara, 1989), 91. 18 Ibid., 92. 

19 US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, The National Forest Manual (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1912), 52. 20 Ibid., 53. 

21 District Forester Sherman to Supervisor Thompson, 11 October 1912. 22 US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, The Use Book (1915), 15.

ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 176 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
Manhattan), and people (Jim Bob, Pete Holm). Others referred to flora and fauna (Clover, Rattlesnake, 

Groundhog, Snake) while some took peculiar local names (Ice Cream Springs, Corduroy, Teapot Springs,

Frying Pan). 

Of interest was the availability of these administrative sites to the public, who could use them under

special-use permits as long as there was no conflict with forest work. Even those sites used as ranger 

stations could be occupied when the Forest Service was not using them or if joint use was deemed

practical.23 Land classification records show that this approach was used in Region Four, with grazing

permittees typically using the cabins or pastures. On the Humboldt National Forest, the Lindsay, Minola, 

South Fork and Meadow Creek ranger stations were under special use as were the Blackburn and Green 

Creek stations on the Toiyabe National Forest. 

In the 1920s, automobiles and more roads improved access to the forest. Districts were sometimes 

consolidated and the ranger was able to live in town, as noted in a 1921 bulletin: 

. . . employees have found it necessary to live where social conditions are unfavorable in

poor and inadequate living quarters and often under adverse climatic conditions. We can 

not change the climate but we are gradually changing from the plan of putting a man and

his family up in some isolated canyon, to one of locating him on the main thoroughfares 

and sometimes in centers of population where the conditions are less severe and the 

opportunities for communication and transportation are better.

24 

Ranger stations in rural and remote areas became guard stations that were used during the field season, 

while others fell out of use completely. In 1923, the Humboldt National Forest held 30 administrative sites

but only used ten. The Nevada used six of their ten sites, while the Toiyabe held 16 but used only half.

The average area of administrative sites was highest on the Humboldt at 95 acres as compared to an

average of 56 acres for the Nevada National Forest sites and 42 acres for the Toiyabe sites.25 

Despite these statistics, measures were taken to facilitate acquisition of more sites. An act of March 3, 

1925 authorized the purchase of land for headquarters or ranger stations “where no suitable Government 

lands are available.” The maximum cost was set at $2,500 and all purchases and donations had to be

approved by the U.S. Solicitor.26

Forest officials were instructed to select administrative sites, which were to be kept to a minimum, after 

careful consideration of future activities and needs. They could withdraw sample plots for regional 

experiment stations but were to avoid mineral lands and, unless absolutely needed, agricultural lands.27 

Officials were given instructions on withdrawing sites: 

While land classification has removed most of the danger that tracts valuable for public

purposes will be listed, a continuation of the practice of reserving such tracts is desirable 

to emphasize their special values and to prevent impairment of those values by issuance

of ill-considered permits. . . . Not all reserved areas are a matter of formal record or 

posting, since forest lands are already reserved. In a certain sense all national forest 

lands are reserved for public service purposes, and any area may be used for the

purposes enumerated. Special reservation is necessary only where there may be some 

other demand for the land, and only areas which may possibly be later claimed or

coveted for private purposes require the protection of a recorded dedication. Such

 23 Ibid., 58. 

24 US Department of Agriculture, Alumni Bulletin, 44. 25 US Department of Agriculture, Intermountain District Forest Statistics, 10. 26 US Department of Agriculture, The National Forest Manual (1928), 63-A. 27 Ibid., 57-L and 58-L. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 177
special reservation is accomplished by use or dedication inside the forests, or use or 

Executive order outside the forests.28

FOREST ENGINEERS 

Before forest engineers got involved with building design and construction, they were primarily concerned

with surveying activities and civil engineering projects such as roads, bridges and water control features.

W.E. Herring was the first chief of the Washington Office Engineering Section. Pinchot created this section 

in late 1906 with ten civil engineers, several telephone experts, and draftsmen. When the forests were

reorganized into Districts in 1908, Herring became a district engineer and O.C. Merrill became Chief of

Engineering at the WO.29

In 1920, Merrill was succeeded by T.W. Norcross who had joined 

government service shortly after receiving his civil engineering degree in

1904. He began his career with the USGS, leaving from 1907 until 1909 

for a stint with the City of Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1910, Norcross 

transferred from the USGS to the Forest Service where he was District

Engineer for the Rocky Mountain and Southwestern districts. He was 

promoted to Assistant Chief Engineer at the WO in 1913; seven years 

later he became the Chief. By the time Norcross retired from the Forest

Service on December 31, 1947, the Engineering Division was in charge

of all construction and maintenance work, including the architectural and

structural design of administrative improvements.30

Theodore W. Norcross

While Herring was still Chief, A.T. Mitchelson served as his assistant in 

Ogden in 1908.

31 Mitchelson may have been the first engineer in Region

Four but this is not certain since his duties and position are unclear. At 

that time, Engineering was a branch within the Division of Operations.

32 

Later the Engineering Branch was nearly abolished, with work being

carried out with the assistance of an engineer headquartered in San 

Francisco. 

Joseph P. Martin, appointed Region Four's Chief Engineer in 1910, graduated with a degree in civil 

engineering from Lehigh University in 1900 and worked for U.S. Steel and the Virginia railways before 

joining Region Four eight years later. In 1911, shortly after Martin arrived, the Region Four Engineering

Office was re-established, focusing primarily on water power investigations. 

In 1916, the Federal Aid Road Act was passed and roadwork was transferred from Region Four’s

Operation Division to Engineering.

33 This led to the establishment of a separate Section of Engineering

the following year. The job of the new section was to carry out: 

. . . the work of Geography, including the Atlas work, and the Road work under the 10%

and Section 8 funds, the greater portion of the Water Power work, and all survey work

 28 Ibid., 57-L. 

29 Byrne, 3. 30 “Theodore W. Norcross (1883-1965),” in The History of Engineering in the Forest Service, (Washington, DC: USDA Forest Service, 

1990), 15. 31 R.F. Grefe, “Engineering in Region 6: USDA Forest Service,” in The History of Engineering in the Forest Service, (Washington, DC: 

USDA Forest Service, 1990), 274. 32 US Department of Agriculture, Alumni Bulletin, 51-52. 33 Ibid. 

ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 178 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
except Entry Surveys and such topographic survey work as may be done in Grazing or

Silvicultural Reconnaissance.34 

The section included several surveyors, clerks, printers and draftsmen. By 1921, chief draftsman Don

Jackson was overseeing three draftsmen, a misnomer since they were all women: Inez Corn, Rosalie

Holberg and Mary Malan.35 Holberg was one of the few people who came west from the WO when the

Forest Service was decentralized.36 The section grew and in 1927, it was the largest in the Region Four 

office, having fourteen of the 50 employees in the office.37 

IMPROVEMENTS 

The 1907 Agricultural Appropriation Act provided funds to construct permanent improvements on the 

national forests. The work was to improve the protection and administration of the forests by providing

better means of communication and transportation.

38 Many roads, telephone lines, trails, cabins, barns, 

and pastures were constructed with the money provided by this act. 

By 1916, the nation’s forests boasted 227 miles of roads, 1,975 of trails, 2,124 miles of telephone lines, 81 

lookout structures, and 545 dwellings, barns and other structures. Two years later, there were over 3,000 

miles of roads, 25,000 miles of trails, 23,000 miles of telephone lines, and 360 lookout cabins and towers, 

thus demonstrating the burgeoning infrastructure of the Forest Service.39 The Humboldt National Forest 

enjoyed considerably more improvements than the Nevada or Toiyabe forests as seen in the following

table published in 1922:

40

Forest Telephone Lines Buildings Fences Roads Trails 

 (Miles) (Number)* (Miles) (Miles) (Miles) 

Humboldt 79 30 60 108 156 

Nevada 29 9 5 88 93 

Toiyabe 11 8 10 50 61 

The first administrative buildings were crude cabins constructed of available materials with the tools at

hand. Some were abandoned cabins, often by miners or homesteaders, but others were built by the first

rangers. Although required to be handy with an axe and have some knowledge of construction, the ranger 

was more concerned with providing shelter at a minimal cost during his free time or in the few hours that

he was not fulfilling his administrative duties. 

Following in the pioneer traditions, the rangers built one- or two-room cabins of logs, stone or milled wood

resting on a primitive foundation of stone or wood. The roof, typically front-gabled, was often sod or bare

earth, later to be replaced with metal or wood shingles. Earth floors were sometimes upgraded to

concrete, although with his limited experience, Ranger Asdale discovered the difficulty of working with such 

a material and asked for materials to build a wood floor over his poorly constructed concrete floor: 

I wish to know whether or not you can grant me enuff [sic] money to put a floor in the Pole

Cr. Ranger Station cabin. It is 16 ft. x 25 ft. and is at present floored with an attempt at 

 34 “The Intermountain Review Ranger,” 1, no 2 (10 January 1917), 4. 35 Shank, 182. 

36 Ibid., 184. 

37 Alexander, “Reflections On The Heritage Of Region 4.” 38 Conners, “History of the Stanislaus.” 39 Boerker, xliv-xlv. 40 US Department of Agriculture, Intermountain District Forest Statistics, 41.

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 179
concrete, but is very dusty and dirty as none of us understood concrete making when we

put the floor in and the result is far from satisfactory.41

Asdale’s description of the log cabin he built at the Pole Creek Ranger Station provided additional 

information about building materials and techniques. He wrote, “I see the practical necessity of putting

something over the dirt roof we expect to put on. We intend to put gunny sacks over poles and cover 

these with fir boughs and then the dirt on these.” When Asdale discovered that the soil was loam and

didn’t “turn” water well, he requested approval to put sheet iron over the dirt stating, “The ranchers in this

part of the country are all beginning to use sheet iron and say it is the only roof.”42

Further details are found in the Humboldt Supervisor’s instructions for building a cabin at Jim Bob Springs 

on the Jarbidge District. Although it was not constructed, the Supervisor provided an idea of what was 

being built at the time: 

I would like to have the Cabin built 24x12 or 14, put a door in the end and leave half

window holes at each end of the Cabin, that is, so that there will be a window in each 

room if it is ever partitioned. Make the door and window holes to fit either of the standard

windows or doors, about the same size as the one you have in the Cabin there, and then

we will get windows and doors some time during the next summer to put in. Notch

corners will be good enough and trim the logs a little on the inside. A dirt roof will be 

sufficient as we are going to use it only in the summer.

43

Although some of these utilitarian structures served only as temporary stations to be used by guards or 

rangers during the field season, others were meant to be permanent homes for the ranger and his family. 

The cabins were often poorly constructed and provided minimal shelter against the snow and wind, but 

were an improvement over the tents in which some families lived, even during the winter. They were 

typically heated by stoves although some, such as the Blackburn Ranger Station on the Austin District, had 

fireplaces. The main reason these early buildings were so small and cheaply constructed was the $500 

construction limit set by Congress. The limit was raised to $650 by 1917. 

The remoteness and distances traveled by rangers justified the construction of numerous ranger and 

guard stations. As former Supervisor Clarence Woods wrote: 

In a number of cases ranger stations were built at places where they were not long

needed nor used extensively. Generally, we started out with more ranger districts and

more rangers than we were willing to continue many years.44 

When constructing stations, the rangers' labor was to be included in the building cost limit, “except at times 

when the men would be idle otherwise.”

45 Although the Use Book stated, “Physical soundness and 

endurance are essential on account of the heavy labor and exposure involved in such work as building 

improvements,”46 many of the new, technically trained rangers lacked the “pioneer construction skills” 

necessary to build cabins and barns. Contractors were gradually brought in to carry out construction.47 

Henry S. Graves, a professional forester who replaced Pinchot in 1910, justified permanent improvements 

in his 1911 report: 

 41 Joseph W. Asdale to Forest Supervisor, 5 August 1915. 42 Ranger Joseph Asdale to Forest Supervisor, September 1911. 43 Forest Supervisor to Messrs. Cross, Garrison, and McNamara, 16 November 1910. 44 Woods, 28. 

45 US Department of Agriculture, National Forest Manual (1928), 65-A. 46 US Department of Agriculture, The Use Book (1915), 15. 47 Hartley and Schneck, 52. 

ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 180 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
The purpose of the construction of permanent improvements on National Forest is to

facilitate (1) protection from fire, (2) the administration of the business of the Forests, and 

(3) the development of their resources . . . The administration of the Forests requires the 

construction of quarters for field offices and facilities needed in the regulation of the use of

forest resources.48

Although the building limit was raised to $800, rangers continued to live under primitive conditions. A 1920 

inspection of 310 ranger stations found that only 46 had running water and three had bathtubs.

49 This led 

to efforts to upgrade the ranger’s living and work environment: 

More of our appropriations for improvements are being used to better living conditions at

the stations. Offices or office rooms are being provided where business can be removed

from the family living room. Cellars are becoming the rule instead of the exception, and

water situations are being remedied. Use of linoleum and other improvements is being

extended as funds will permit. . . . The building limitation has been raised gradually to 

$1000 . . .50

Building quality improved after Congress raised the building limit from $1000 to $1,500 in 1925. These

building limits came with certain restrictions that recognized the Forest Service’s pattern of moving and

salvaging structures: 

Existing buildings may be purchased for not more than $1500. Buildings constructed

under lower limits may be completed or added to up to a limit of $1500. When relocated,

the cost of moving and reconstruction need not be counted against the building limitation,

but the material and labor needed to reconstruct anything that was destroyed as part of 

the move does. When there is no wreckage in the movement, the move is not counted

against the cost. The salvage value and transportation costs of recycled materials must

be counted against the cost.51

Congress also authorized the “construction, improvement or purchase during each fiscal year of three 

buildings for national forest purposes at costs not exceeding $2,500 and three at costs not exceeding

$2,000 each.”

52 The Region Four District Forester encouraged the improvement of the permanent ranger 

stations stating, “Ordinarily we should figure on putting yearlong dwellings in good shape before all other 

buildings, since quarters allowance deduction is made from the salaries of Forest officers occupying such

yearlong dwellings.”53 Forest Service policy stated: 

Only where there is an undeniable need for them and when it is impracticable for the 

officer to rent his own living quarters will houses be constructed at Government expense 

on either Government or leased land.54 

District rangers would be provided with offices when necessary but they had to be apart from the house. 

Office space in dwellings owned or rented by the ranger was to be rented at government expense. Barns 

or garages were provided when autos or horses were needed to carry out work.55

There continued to be an emphasis on the appearance of the Forest Service structures. When a Forest

Service Inspector evaluated the Baker Ranger Station in 1916, he noted that the ranger station proper

 48 Ibid., 13. 49 Steen, The U.S. Forest Service, 170. 50 US Department of Agriculture, Alumni Bulletin, 44. 51 US Department of Agriculture, National Forest Manual (1928), 66-A. 52 Ibid., 64-A1. 

53 Partial document from District Forester R.H. Rutledge, Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 54 US Department of Agriculture, National Forest Manual (1928), 63-A. 55 Ibid. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 181
served as an office, storage space and housing for Ranger Thompson and his family (a wife and four 

children). This, in combination with the unfenced, weedy yard and the dilapidated barn, resulted in an

“undignified appearance” and the inspector criticized it for being “of a lower standard than the ranch

houses in Baker.”

56 As former Ranger Archie Murchie recalled: 

And our dwellings, whether they were Forest Service cabins or privately rented, had to be

kept up neat and clean. You got called on it if you had a dirty house, even if it was your

own property . . . because, say some permittee comes in and sees your house in a mess 

– that’s the impression that he’s going to get of the Forest Service.57

BUILDING DESIGN

Very little is known about the Forest Service's standard building plans prior to the Depression. They

existed as early as 1908 as noted in the August Field Program for that year: 

The Standard Plans for Rangers’ Cabins and Bills of Material have been sent out to all 

supervisors. The set bound in heavy board covers is to be retained in the supervisor’s 

office, and the sets bound in manila are for use in the field, if desired. Supervisors who 

have not received these plans or who require additional sets should make requisition for 

them to the Property Clerk, Ogden, Utah.

58

A 1911 publication mentioned a dwelling plan with three rooms, one of which was designated as official

office space.59 The standard dwelling plan had grown to five rooms by 1913.60 An undated, typed

description of the Jack Creek ranger dwelling refers to a “book of plans.” The document describes the 

house as a 14' x 24' frame building with one interior partition. It was to have rustic siding and a third-pitch 

(30 degree) roof with wood shingles having a 4-inch exposure. There was to be one door and one window

in each room and a panel door in the wall separating the two rooms. Invoices detailing the Jack Creek 

The Meadow Creek Ranger Station, withdrawn in 1911, was built of local materials in vernacular tradition.

 56 Unrau, 249. 

57 King, 369-70. 

58 US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Field Program for August 1908 (n.p.: 1908), 44. 59 US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, 1911, 7. 60 Hartley and Schneck, 42. 

ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 182 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
building materials included three rim locks, two sash doors, a panel door, and two windows. There were

also four types of molding: bed, lattice, quarter-round and astragal. The quantities and types of paint 

ordered suggest that the exterior walls were white, the roof red and the trim and/or window and doors were

Prussian blue. 

There is evidence that the Forest Service had also established standard color schemes at an early date. 

In 1916, Ranger Charles Butler requested paint (white lead, red mineral paint, a small can of coloring blue, 

and yellow ochre for priming) for the Jack Creek dwelling addition. The Supervisor replied that they would

not purchase paint at that time because the District Forester was contemplating a standard color scheme

for the ranger stations.

61 Regarding the Reese River Ranger Station, a 1917 letter from the Pacific

Portable Construction Company stated, “It often happens that buildings for the forest service have to

conform to certain standards as regards color, type of architecture, etc.”

62

In several regions, standardization of construction was apparently taken lightly or ignored, with some

forests creating their own plans.63 Standard plans were often modified depending on the available labor,

materials, and site. Further modifications resulted from the use of materials that were recycled from earlier 

buildings. These older, lower-quality buildings became available as ranger and guard stations were 

abandoned and new stations were developed in response to changing policies and forest boundaries. For 

example, the buildings of the Mound Valley Ranger Station on the Ruby Mountains District were built of 

materials salvaged from older ranger stations at South Fork, Minola, and Harrison Pass. 

Materials, equipment and finishes were somewhat dictated by the Washington Office. In 1908, the 

direction for Supervisors’ Offices stated: 

A well-laid floor of wood kept in good condition by painting or oiling needs no covering.

Linoleum is best adapted to worn and uneven floors or those made of inferior lumber. . . . 

Carpets and rugs should be used only when linoleum can not be purchased, or when the

floor is too rough for its use.64

By 1928, the WO issued more instructions regarding furnishings, interior finishes, and other equipment: 

No rule can be laid down for what should be furnished at summer stations. For dwellings

at yearlong stations, Government-owned or rented by the Forest Service, the following

equipment only may be furnished. 

Screens . 

Window shades. 

Cook and heating stoves. 

Stove boards. 

Kitchen tables. 

Cupboards. 

Linoleum for floors. 

Garbage cans. 

Such equipment as it may be good judgment to install for the use of visiting officers. 

Water-using equipment and where needed storm doors and sashes are installed as a

part of the permanent structure in Government-owned buildings.

65

 61 Forest Supervisor to Forest Ranger, 25 April 1916. 62 Berne Baker of Pacific Portable Construction Co. to Forest Supervisor W.W. Blakeslee, 19 February 1917. 63 Hartley and Schneck, 42 and 47. 64 US Department of Agriculture, Field Program for February 1908, 27. 65 US Department of Agriculture, National Forest Manual (1928), 38-A. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 183
Examination of archival records and physical evidence does not reveal the extensive use of standard plans 

on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest prior to the Depression. There were similarities among buildings 

as reflected in building form (rectangular plan, gable roof, front porch) and materials (sawn lumber, shiplap 

siding, wood shingles), but the size and layout varied. 

From an architectural standpoint, Forest Service structures of this period can best be described as

vernacular rather than by stylistic definitions. Rangers relied on locally available materials, simple forms, 

and little or no ornament. Some details, such as exposed rafter tails, made subtle references to the

Bungalow and Arts and Crafts movements. The latter, with its emphasis on natural forms and materials,

replaced the ornate Victorian and Classical Revival styles at the turn of the century. The Bungalow 

movement, which adopted numerous styles, is best known for its relationship to the Arts and Crafts

movement. Its affordability, efficient use of space, and aesthetics appealed greatly to the American public.

Bungalow plans were available in pattern books while kits, complete with materials and instructions, could 

be purchased from mail-order companies such as Sears.

One of these kit homes still exists on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. In 1918, the Forest Service

bought two kit homes from the Pacific Portable Construction Company on the argument that they could be

shipped and erected at a lower cost than a traditional building. One was erected at Reese River Ranger 

Station and the other at Potts Ranger Station. The Potts dwelling was eventually sold to a local rancher 

and moved off site, but the dwelling at Reese River remains. 

Ranger Ivan Dyreng and his family in front of the Potts ranger dwelling, located in Monitor Valley,

Central Nevada. Dyreng was the Potts District Ranger 1930-35. 

SITE DESIGN

The Forest Service hired a landscape architect, Professor Frank Waugh, as a consultant in 1917. In one 

of his two reports, Waugh emphasized the need for landscape engineers in the Forest Service and in early

1919, Arthur Carhart was hired as the agency’s first permanent landscape architect.

66 Carhart, a graduate 

of Iowa State College, first worked in the Rocky Mountain Region. During his short tenure with the Forest

Service, he advocated the protection of wilderness areas and the development of recreation sites.

Unfortunately, the agency was not yet ready for someone like Carhart – the field of recreation was just 

developing – and he resigned at the end of 1922. He was replaced with Ingvald Horgan, who only stayed

ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 184 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1

 66 Wayne D. Iverson, “Landscape Architects and the US Forest Service,” paper presented to the USDA Forest Service Inter-Regional 

Landscape Architects Workshop at the Doubletree Hotel in Tucson, Arizona on May 21, 1990, transcript, Elko Office, HumboldtToiyabe National Forest, US Forest Service. 
a few months. Although recreation planning began to receive more attention, the Forest Service did not

hire another landscape architect until the New Deal era.67

The lack of site design professionals is reflected in the layouts of early ranger stations. The relationship of

buildings to each other was dictated by basic needs such as the location of a spring or creek and the 

development of a pasture. Although most of the early ranger stations in central and northeast Nevada

were minimally landscaped, those on the Mono National Forest (now the Bridgeport and Carson ranger 

districts) were enhanced with numerous trees, shrubs and flowers. 

FIRE LOOKOUTS 

Fire lookouts hold a great deal of fascination for many people and much has been written about them. The

National Register of Historic Lookouts recognizes significant examples of this building type and interest 

groups have been formed to preserve and use them. Although there are no historic lookouts remaining on

the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, a brief summary of their development is provided here to provide

the reader with an understanding of what has been lost. 

Severe forest fires in 1910, particularly in Idaho and Montana, ushered in the 1911 Weeks Act that, among

other things, provided funding to improve fire control efforts. This led to the construction of roads, fire 

breaks, and trails, as well as support structures such as lookout towers, fire caches and houses. The 

telephone gained more importance, not only in carrying out forest administration, but also in fire control.

Since remote and inaccessible sites relied on quick communication, telephone lines were some of the first

improvements constructed. 

In the early years of the Forest Service, a network of lookouts on high peaks provided continuous

coverage for early fire detection. Those serving as lookouts typically lived in tents, as no buildings were 

constructed at these remote locations. Eventually, small cabins and cupolas were constructed by 1911.

Some advances were made in 1914, when the Aeromotor Company began providing lookout towers in

Region Five. Constructed of 7’ x 7’ cabs on steel or wood towers, these lookouts were used for

observation only, not as living quarters. The Aeromotor Company, located in the Midwest, supplied the 

cabs and towers to the Forest Service until the 1930s.

68 The cabs were for day use only, with the lookout 

man occupying a separate cabin at night.69 

Lookout use and design advanced in the early 1910s after Region Five’s District Forester, Coert DuBois,

wrote the first fire plan in the country. 70 Region Five, which includes the vast forests of California, has 

always been concerned with fire protection and DuBois’ efforts paved the way for advancement in other 

parts of the country. He took his plan a step further in 1914 when he wrote a report titled Systematic Fire

Protection in the California Forests. He discussed lookouts, proposing that a one-room structure, 

measuring not more than 12 feet square, serve as the lookout man’s home, office and workroom.71 

The location of a lookout was determined by topography, views, positions relative to other lookouts, and

accessibility.72 In 1915, James Adams described the construction and furnishing of different lookout 

stations:

 67 Ibid. 

68 John R. Grosvenor, A History of the Architecture of the USDA Forest Service, USDA Forest Service Engineering Staff Publication 

EM-7310-8 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1999), 96. 69 Mark V. Thornton, “A Survey and Historic Significance Evaluation of the CDF Building Inventory,” 23. 70 Ibid., 9. 

71 Grosvenor, 96. 

72 Adams, 31. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 185
The station house is usually a one-room building so constructed as to resist high winds

and heavy rain and snowfall, with protection against lightning. A continuous window or

strip of glass extends entirely around the building in order that a view may be obtained in

every direction. As on shipboard, economy of space is necessary and the furnishings are

designed with this in view. In addition to the simplest kind of domestic furniture, a work 

table on a raised platform in the center of the room is provided. This table is equipped

with maps, fire locator, a telephone, and other appurtenances for carrying on the work.

Lookout men are usually subsisted by the Service and the best grade of provisions

procurable are furnished. These as well as water and fuel must be packed to the station. 

It frequently occurs that the type of station building just described can not be used on flattop mountains, broken and rocky peaks, and twin summits, since an unobstructed view in

all directions can not be obtained from the level on which the station building must be

erected. The same difficulty is met where the summit is covered with a stand of timber

which obstructs the view. This is overcome by the construction of a tower of sufficient 

height to overlook the obstruction, and the erection at or near the base of the tower of a

separate building for living quarters. The platform at the top of the tower is enclosed and

provided with the standard equipment for carrying out the work. 

Towers are frequently erected for use in the incidental type of patrol in timbered areas 

where there are no natural elevations from which a view of the surrounding forest may be 

obtained. These are of simpler construction, sometimes being no more than a platform

on poles, or a “Crow’s Nest” in the top of a high tree, reached by spikes set in the trunk.

73

Lookout design enjoyed several refinements and in 1917, DuBois designed a 14’ x 14’ live-in cab. This 

was the precursor of all live-in cabs to be built in California74 and was adopted as a standard in Region 

Four by 1921. 

Due to the terrain and vegetation of the Great Basin, there were few lookouts on the Humboldt-Toiyabe

National Forest. Some were built on the Mono National Forest (now the Bridgeport and Carson ranger

districts) but none are known to have existed in eastern Nevada. A 1915 report explains this: 

The [Ruby National] Forest being almost surrounded by telephone lines, and visible in its

entirety from numerous ranches in the adjacent valleys, no extra expenditure is at present

justified for the purely protective purposes, with the exception of two miles of Telephone 

line to connect the Ruby R.S., $70. Future improvement such as short telephone lines 

across the mountain, and pasture sites, constructed for better administrative purposes will

aid materially in protection. 

For the next five of six years a system of lookouts embracing all Post Masters and Star 

Route Mail Carriers on both sides of the mountain and a few Forest users whose ranches

are located at good observation points, will be sufficient. These are shown on the map 

with range of vision. No compensation will be necessary for this, the observers merely 

notifying the nearest Forest officer or the Supervisor, by Telephone when a fire is sighted.

Two guards should be employed for a period of two months to assist the two regular 

rangers. A purely protective patrol is unnecessary but constant vigilance will be

maintained by the local force during the fire season, in connection with their 

administrative duties. No instruments will be necessary to locate fires. The Supervisor

will send written instructions to each Post Master Rural Mail Carrier, and other selected 

observers on June 1 of each year relative to the manner of reporting fires. The Rangers 

in each District will see that each observer understands where to report. A placard of

 73 Ibid., 31-33, and 35. 74 Grosvenor, 97. 

ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 186 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
instructions how to report on fires will be posted at all post-offices adjacent to the Forest.

Ranchers cooperate.

75

SNOW SURVEY CABINS 

As the science of snow surveying developed, a new building type emerged. Although it was usually a 

simple, one-room cabin, the snow survey cabin was built specifically to accommodate snow surveyors. Dr.

Church and his students built the first building of this type in 1907 on Mt. Rose near Reno. They

constructed the pieces of an 8’ x 8’ four-bunk building in Reno, hauling it to the mountain where they

assembled it. The seven-foot high cabin had a plate glass window that afforded views toward Lake Tahoe 

and was heated by coal and wood carried in by the surveyors.76 Later, an overnight cabin was built

directly below at an elevation of 9,300 feet, becoming “the world’s first overnight resting places for snow

surveyors.”

77 

In 1926, Dr. Church received a special use permit to build a 14' x 16' cabin to store supplies and shelter 

snow surveyors. The vernacular structure, known as the Buckeye Snow Survey Cabin, is located in the

Hoover Wilderness Area and is the earliest known snow survey cabin on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National

Forest. More cabins would be constructed in the 1930s as snow surveying became widespread. 

 75 “General Administration Policy, Ruby National Forest, 1915.” 76 J.E. Church, “Mt. Rose Weather Observatory, 1905-1907,'' Sierra Club Bulletin 4, no. 3 (June 1907), 183-84. 77 W.B. Berry, “Snow Survey - Top Mountain Winter Even - Is Under Way,'' Sacramento Bee, 24 March 1948.

. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 187
Chapter Twelve: 1930-1942, A New Identity 

FUNDS AND LABOR 

This era saw a dramatic change in the number and quality of improvements constructed on the national

forests. Although the nation experienced seriously grim conditions during the Depression, the Forest

Service and other federal agencies benefited from increased relief funding and labor pools. In 1932-33, 

the Forest Service hired hundreds of engineers, architects, landscape architects, and recreation planners 

to design and supervise construction of roads, trails, buildings, utility systems, communication systems,

campgrounds and watershed improvements.78 These, along with administrative buildings, were usually 

constructed with relief funds and labor. 

The number of buildings at ranger stations increased for a variety of reasons: a national mandate to

provide separate quarters for the resident ranger and visiting officials, an increase in government-furnished 

vehicles requiring garages, and a desire to provide more comfortable working conditions.79 For the first

time, there was also money to build special structures for housing items such as flammable liquids, water 

pumps and equipment. Sizes of buildings, particularly houses, increased as funds came from a variety of

sources and building limits grew from $1500 to $2500 in 1930. 

The flurry of building activity that started in 1933 received a good deal of planning. The Forest Service

hired architects and landscape architects to develop standard building plans and guidelines for site layouts.

Forest officials were encouraged to consider carefully their needs with particular attention toward the

future. Chief Forester Stuart emphasized this when he wrote, "I hope no single structure will be erected

nor excavation made which will later be found unused."

80 He also recognized that the agency would not 

always enjoy the benefits provided by the relief programs: 

When the unemployment relief emergency is over we will have small excuse for asking

appropriations for improvement construction except to meet needs unforeseeable at this 

time. When the unemployment relief program is over we should be able to carry 

administrative and protection forward with little or no improvement funds except for 

maintenance.81

On the present-day Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, forest officials capitalized on the situation and 

oversaw construction of many new administrative sites as well as improvements of older ones. The CCC

carried out much of the work, but the WPA and crews drawn from local relief rolls can also be credited with

some of the projects. Many of the enrollees had little or no construction experience but were guided and

trained by forest personnel and foremen from the local community. After inspecting the Lamoille Ranger 

Station, Region Four architectural engineer George Nichols wrote: 

. . . all labor on this job has been CC [sic] except for one carpenter foreman, and 

considering this, I feel that we have a remarkable job. The job lacks professional finish

but much of this can be improved and covered up when the final painting work is

completed. If we had someone on this job who could pick out the places that need 

attention to make the job one of first quality, I am sure it would be worthwhile . . .82

 78 Byrne, 5. 79 US Department of Agriculture, National Forest Manual (1928), 63-A and Hartley and Schneck, 55. 80 Supernowicz, “Contextual History,” 11. 81 Ibid., 11-12 

82 George L. Nichols to Operations, 17 July 1936. 

ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 188 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
Not all ranger stations were adequately improved during this period of activity. Ranger Q. David Hansen 

expressed the lack of heat at his workplace when he had to write a letter by hand: 

This typewriter hasn’t warmed up since this last cold spell set in. Peck’s Ranch reported 

–34 degrees the other night and my 35 cent thermometer went to a –23. Last night was 

only –10 but the machine doesn’t seem to respond or maybe I am up too early.83

Conditions did not improve for Hansen. In November of 1940, he signed a letter in pencil with an

explanatory note that said “ink frozen up.”84

THE DESIGNERS 

Although the engineering units carried out much of the facility design and planning, the Forest Service 

began to recognize the need for building design specialists. A consultant, architect W. Ellis Groben, played

a strong role in developing the agency's architecture by promoting standard plans and raising the quality of

design. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and L’Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Groben served

as chief architect for the City of Philadelphia before he was hired as a consulting architect for the Forest

Service. He advocated the idea of an agency identity while allowing for flexibility in design and materials to

conform to regional styles and environment. Groben issued several publications (discussed below) that

directed the development of Forest Service architecture and site planning. 

At the start of this period, T.W. Norcross continued to serve as Chief Engineer in the Washington Office. In 

Region Four, Joseph P. Martin remained as Chief of Engineering with the help of administrative assistant

and former Forest Supervisor, W.W. Blakeslee. Martin left and was replaced by Arval L. Anderson in

1938. The drafting section included Architectural Engineer George L. Nichols, who was hired in 1928 as

the Region’s first architect and who is credited with designing many of the standard plans. 

In Region Five, Donald G. MacBean was the forest engineer of the Mono National Forest from 1938 until 

September 16, 1943 when he transferred to the Tahoe National Forest. He was with the Tahoe prior to 

joining the Mono. The Mono’s project superintendent, Ray Breiding, took his place.

85

As the amount of improvement work became apparent, Region Five created a separate architectural unit

headed by Assistant Regional Forester Louis A. Barrett. When architects Edward J. Maher and Norman

K. Blanchard were hired in 1933, the California Ranger exclaimed that a "revolution in Forest Service 

architecture was about to occur."86 Although the two left in 1938 to join the firm of Robert Spencer, they 

are credited with creating a homogeneous identity for Region Five. They were succeeded by Keplar B.

Johnson, a graduate of the University of California Berkeley. 

The trend toward hiring trained design professionals became apparent with the addition of landscape 

architects. In 1935, the Forest Service hired a consulting landscape architect, A.D. Taylor, to prepare a 

report on recreation facilities. Although Taylor visited Region Four in the summer of 1935, he did not 

inspect any of the Nevada forests nor Region Five. His photographs and report titled Problems of 

Landscape Architecture in the National Forests reflect the design philosophy of the time and made

recommendations for landscaping and signage of primitive areas, roads, and recreation sites. Taylor

 83 David Hansen to Ranger Rowher, 18 February 1935. 84 Q. David Hansen to Forest Supervisor, November 1940. 85 “Forest Engineer To Be Transferred,” Reno Evening Gazette, 6 September 1943. 86 Supernowicz, “Contextual History,” 13. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 189
urged the Forest Service to hire landscape architects and by 1937, there were 75 in the agency, most of 

whom were involved with recreational and/or ranger station development.87

Taylor wrote that Region Four had two landscape architects in 1935. He may have been referring to

Landscape Architect H.L. Curtiss and Recreational Planner George E. Martin whose signatures appear on

planting plans as early as 1935. By 1937, a Junior Landscape Architect by the name of Howard W. Young 

was also preparing plans. Region Five also had two landscape architects, L. Glenn Hall and George 

Gibbs, both of whom were hired in 1933. 

STANDARDIZED PLANS 

During the CCC period, the Washington Office encouraged the regions to develop standard building plans

that reflected their identities. In 1935, Groben compiled technical information and design guidelines to

assist the regional designers. This document was supplemented in 1936 and 1937 before it was published

in 1938 under the title of Principles of Architectural Planning for Forest Service Administrative 

Improvements. A few examples of Groben's guidelines reveal his architectural training as well as his 

personal preferences: 

• Buildings in a group should be of similar character and appearance. Older buildings

that would be retained may dictate the appearance of new construction. 

• Combinations of materials should be avoided (e.g. a stone building with brick and 

wood porch posts). Local materials should be used whenever possible.

• Textured and tinted plaster or paint is desirable for interior spaces when no wallpaper 

or other applied covering is used. 

• Wood siding should not be more than 8" in width. Drop siding and imitation log siding

should be avoided because the former gives a "miniature, toy-like appearance" and 

the latter looks "too uniform."

• Avoid "X" and "Z" bracing on the exterior side of garage and barn doors since it is

"disturbing and unsightly." 

• Color schemes made of several shades of the same color are best. Add ochre to

white paint to give it a warmer appearance. Avoid "delicate colors" when painting the

interiors of buildings used primarily by men. 

It is interesting to note that several of these principles were ignored by the designers in Regions Four and

Five. Drop siding, imitation log siding (also known as Shevlin siding), and "X" and "Z" bracing were 

commonly found on Region Four buildings, while Blanchard and Maher adopted 10-inch wide siding as a 

standard in Region Five. 

Groben's guidelines were supplemented with a publication titled Acceptable Plans Forest Service 

Administrative Buildings. Issued in 1938, this document is a compilation of sample standard plans from

each region. It portrays different architectural characters through the application of various materials and

styles. Many designs tend to be of a vernacular nature but the Pueblo Revival, Park Rustic, Colonial

Revival and Art Deco styles are also represented. The Region Four plans for a guard station (Plan 53),

 87 Iverson, 5. 

ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 190 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
office (Plan 54), CCC central repair shop and mess hall are included. Region Five plans for a Cape Cod 

residence, a rustic stone shelter, a guard station and a dormitory are also in the collection. 

In 1940, Groben wrote Architectural Trends of Future Forest Service Buildings, in which he criticized 

standard buildings that did not work in plan, but were praised because they blended externally with the 

environment. He called for more creativity and a unique identity for the Forest Service.

88

Site planning and landscape design were addressed in 1936 by consultant A.D. Taylor, author of Problems 

of Landscape Architecture in the National Forests. Taylor addressed building placement and advised

locating the dwelling across a driveway from the office and service buildings. In urban areas, he advised

that offices and houses should be oriented toward the street, while rural offices and houses should face a 

road, driveway or scenic view. Support structures such as the barn and garage should sit at the rear of the

site.

89

REGION FOUR 

In 1933, the Region Four office, most likely under George Nichols’ guidance, developed a building 

handbook that set forth guidelines and standards for site development and building design. Revised in

1935 and 1937, the Building Construction Manual provided guidance on everything from site design,

building orientation, appropriate styles and paint schemes. The manual included standard plans, materials 

lists and specifications for houses, barns, sheds, cellars, toilets, garages and storage buildings. Nichols 

designed many of these buildings, of which there were four types:

1. Facilities for the permanent officers and equipment, consisting of housing, an office, 

and support structures such as warehouses, equipment buildings, shops, barns and 

garages. These were considered the most “pretentious" and were sited in groups of

three or more as headquarters for supervisors and district rangers. 

2. Facilities for temporary officers and equipment, consisting of housing, an office, and 

support structures. These were less "pretentious," with only one to three structures

assembled together. 

3. Fire protection including housing, lookouts, storehouses and caches. The locations

and number of these facilities were determined by fire control needs. 

4. Recreational structures such as kitchens, shelters, and toilets. 

Many of Nichols’ designs are utilitarian with few architectural details and may be classified as vernacular.

Some of them, primarily dwellings and offices, reflect the influences of prevalent styles of the time. The 

Plan 8 dwelling exhibits the symmetry of the Colonial Revival style, while the “temple front” of the Plan 7 

dwelling refers to the Classical Revival style. 

Modifications to the standard plans were allowed, but this required official approval that was not always

sought. The forest officials and foremen directing the CCC crews often added or eliminated windows or

doors in response to local weather conditions, adjusted room sizes to accommodate specific functions, and 

omitted some elements due to budgetary constraints. 

 88 Hartley and Schneck, 91. 89 Ibid., 76 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 191
The Region Four building manual encouraged a thorough analysis of building needs before choosing a 

particular plan, stating: 

Region Four Plan 8 for a ranger dwelling reflected the popular Colonial Revival style, while Plan 7 for a guard station was a 

vernacular interpretation of the Classical Revival style. While only one of the former was built on the Humboldt-Toiyabe

National Forest (at Kyle Canyon Ranger Station), the latter was quite popular and built at numerous sites on the forest. 

Care and consideration should be given, in planning your needs, that you look reasonably 

into the future, but caution should be used to make certain that we are not building too far 

ahead. It is certain that we do not wish to have on our hands in a few years a number of

empty or unused buildings. The first cost of the building is not alone the important

consideration, and we must not lose sight of the fact, in this building program, that we will 

have a perpetual job of maintenance for every improvement we construct. Certainly we

should not build anything that we do not intend to maintain, and every additional building

is going to take a material amount of maintenance.90

Building plans were assigned a number and there were often several versions of each plan. For example, 

Plan 1 was a dwelling with a basement; Plan 1A had no basement. The guidelines for selecting these

plans were set forth in the manual as follows: 

DWELLINGS 

The house was considered the most important of all structures on a site and was to be placed in a 

prominent position such as the highest point on the site. All other buildings were to “serve as a frame or

background." Dwellings for supervisors could be either Plan 3B or 3C while year-round ranger stations

were to be of Plan 1 (several versions) or 2. Ranger and guard stations that were used for more than five

months but not year-round would be Plans 7, 8 or 53. For those sites used for 3-5 months, the houses 

would be Plans 7 or 51. Plans 4, 5 and 6 were for houses occupied 11⁄2 to 3 months. Plumbing fixtures

were typically not provided unless running water was readily available or could be obtained at a reasonable

cost.

ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 192 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1

 90 US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Region, Building Construction Manual, (n.p.: 1935), BP-11. 
OFFICES 

Offices, which were to be built at year-round headquarters only, would be Plan 5 or 51 for rangers and 

Plan 54 (of which there were several versions) for supervisors. Office buildings were usually of more than 

one room so that they could also be used as storage or quarters for seasonal employees. As the second

most important building, the office was to be highly visible and accessible to the public.

BARNS AND FLY SHEDS 

Barn Plans 11 (4-horses) and 12 (6-horses) could be built at year-round stations. At temporary stations, a 

2-horse barn (Plan 13) was permitted although fly sheds were preferred. The standard fly shed was a oneroom structure with an opening, but no door, in one end. There were no stalls or mangers as found in the 

barns. 

SUPPORT STRUCTURES 

Construction of support structures such as warehouses, equipment buildings, powder houses, cellars, and 

woodsheds was to be based on need and was not dictated by the Regional Office. Guard stations and

lookout sites, which would typically consist of just a dwelling and latrine, might include a one-car garage,

with or without a storeroom. Combination buildings were encouraged to decrease the number of buildings

on site and for reasons of economy. Buildings such as gas houses and blacksmith shops that posed a fire 

hazard were to be separate and placed away from the other buildings on site. When there was no 

basement for cold storage, cellars 

could be constructed. These were

to be of double-wall construction 

with 18 to 24 inches of sawdust 

between them and in the ceiling. 

SITE DESIGN

The 1935 handbook provided

sample site plans that carefully

considered access, image and the

relationship of buildings to each

other. To create a pleasing

arrangement, a building was to be

placed at right angles to, but not 

lined up with, other buildings on the

site. Those that were used most

frequently, such as the house,

garage, woodshed and cellar, were

grouped closely together while 

others were set towards the back

with the barn being furthest away. 

For reasons of privacy, housing for 

temporary men was to be set away

from the ranger’s house. To reduce fire hazards, buildings were to be at least 50 feet from each other. 

Site Plan for the Kyle Canyon Ranger Station. Note the attention given to

vegetation, sidewalks, fences and parking. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 193
Although the rangers and supervisors on each forest were responsible for developing the initial site plans,

designers in the Regional Office produced the final plans. They often considered future needs by showing

future buildings and developed planting plans. The house typically had a lawn or yard enclosed by a fence

(Plan 65 or 65A) and planted with vegetation that was appropriate to the climate and water conditions. The

1935 manual advised the preservation of existing trees or, if there were none, planting of new ones. 

Standards were given for the dimensions and arrangements of driveways and walks.

MATERIALS 

In addition to standardized building plans, this era is represented by a consistent use of building materials 

throughout Region Four. Construction was to be of logs when the natural landscape consisted primarily of 

conifers. Smaller buildings could be frame construction covered with siding that was milled to look like 

logs. Called "Shevlin" siding after the company in Bend, Oregon that produced it, this product could also

be used in the gable ends of log buildings for the sake of economy. 

Frame structures were to be built in areas of broadleaf vegetation, or when neither conifer nor broadleaf

were predominant. The latter was usually the case throughout Nevada where the multitudes of frame 

buildings are clad in novelty siding, with the most common profile being cove and double-drop. 

Windows were often six-pane sliders although 6/6 double-hung or six-pane casement windows were not

uncommon, particularly on residential buildings. Shutters, louvered on the lower half, had a Forest Service

pine tree logo cut into the upper panel. While the most common door had five panels, front doors typically 

had one or more panes of glass and sometimes a fanlight. Large doors on barns, garages and

warehouses had "X" or "Z" bracing and presented a visually distinctive appearance. 

Foundations were usually built of solid concrete but if local materials and skilled labor were available, stone

was substituted. Concrete was also used extensively for floors of utilitarian buildings such as garages and 

cellars, while roofs were covered with wood shingles and stained. The interiors were finished with plaster

(in year-round dwellings) or composite board such as Nu-Wood, Firtex, Masonite or plywood (in seasonal

dwellings). Floors were usually wood, as were the built-in kitchen cabinets and trim.

PAINT 

The paint scheme of a site was determined by predominant vegetation, exposed rock or earth, or adjacent

buildings. Each of the five standard schemes provided variations for log and frame buildings and was not

to be mixed with other schemes. In other words, only one body color, one trim color (including sashes, 

frames, doors, and shutters) and one roof color were to be used for all buildings on the site. The dark 

brown stain formerly used on Forest Service buildings was no longer allowed. 

To insure consistency in color, the RO purchased and mixed all paint and stains; local purchases were not

permitted. Despite these restrictions, exceptions were made for sites that had older buildings with the

former color schemes or that had a mixture of log and frame buildings. The manual discouraged painting 

of large, older buildings such as barns, but did not prohibit it. If these types of facilities were to be painted,

the manual recommended that they be covered with new siding. 

ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 194 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
Summary Of 1935 Paint Guidelines 

Scheme & Setting Log, Log Siding, or 

Shake-Covered Buildings 

Frame or Painted Buildings 

1 (conifers) 

Body light or med. brown stain light terra cotta or red stone paint 

Trim med. brown stain or red stone 

paint 

red stone, light terra cotta or oak brown 

paint 

Roof roof green or med. brown stain roof green or med. brown stain 

(only with light brown body) (only with light brown body) 

2 (aspen, maple, 

cottonwood) 

Body silver gray stain light gray paint

Trim white paint white paint 

Roof driftwood or roof green stain roof green stain 

(only when roofs were originally 

green) 

(only when roofs were originally green)

3 (sage, prairie, willow,

oak, brush, birch)

Body silver gray stain sage paint 

Trim white paint white paint 

Roof driftwood stain roof green stain 

4 (In Towns)

Body white ---

Trim Nile green paint ---

Roof roof green stain ---

5 (rock outcrops or

cliffs, earth banks) 

Confer with regional office 

to develop color scheme. 

Interiors also had standard color schemes that varied with the function of the building. The interior paint of 

lookout buildings maximized absorption of light to prevent harmful reflections. Although it was recognized

as a depressing color, the standard lookout interior was an olive green oil stain or flat olive green paint. 

Dwellings and offices were to be painted in the following colors: 

Interior walls: Light green, light tan or buff, cream, colonial ivory 

Woodwork: If of good quality it could be covered with clear varnish or stained and 

varnished. Otherwise, it should be painted with pearl grey, light tan, nile

green, sea foam green, old ivory, colonial ivory, orchid or gloss white 

enamel paint.

Floors: Varnished, waxed, or when permitted, covered with linoleum 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 195
Porch ceiling: To match adjacent paint, or if new, covered with clear varnish

Porch floor: Dust color or light pearl floor paint 

 

REGION FIVE 

Other researchers have written about the historic architecture of Region Five. A brief summary of their 

findings is provided below but readers seeking more details should consult Contextual History of Forest 

Service Administration Buildings in the Pacific Southwest Region by Dana Supernowicz and An Evaluation

of Historic Administrative Buildings on the Stanislaus National Forest by Rebecca Conard et. al. of PHR 

Associates.

Regional Forester Stuart B. Show sought to improve the region’s standard plans prior to the New Deal

relief programs. In 1932, he wrote: 

In the interest of improving the quality and appearance of our Ranger Stations I feel it is

highly desirable that we make more systematic advance plans for the work we expect to 

do on all stations where an appreciable building or development program is

contemplated.91

Show instructed the forest supervisors to submit a map and written plan for any development for review

and approval. He also encouraged them to review the following publications when preparing station plans: 

• Farm Buildings. University of Montana Circular No. 131 of January 1926. 

• Landscape Gardening in Home Beautification. Mississippi Agricultural Experiment 

Station Bulletin No. 267. July 1929. 

• Beautifying the Farmstead. Farmers Bulletin No. 1087. Department of Agriculture. 

• For Home Lovers. National Lumber Manufacturers Association. 

BUILDING PLANS 

With the hiring of Norman K. Blanchard and Edward J. Maher in 1933, Region Five was able to provide

building plans to each forest. The two architects immediately began developing standard plans, finishing

the first group by the end of 1933. They initially identified thirteen building types that were needed by the 

Forest Service:

Designation Description 

A Forest ranger dwelling, 1200 sf

B Forest guard dwelling, 900 sf 

C Combination fire lookout and observation dwelling, 450 sf 

D 12-man fire barracks

E Office, two rooms with porch and toilet facilities 

F Office, one room with porch and toilet facilities 

 91 Regional Forester S.B. Show to Forest Supervisors, 15 February 1932. 

ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 196 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
 G 2-car garage 

 H 1-car garage 

J Combination garage and woodshed 

 K 1-room woodshed 

-- Warehouse, 30' x 50' and 30' x 80' 

 -- 4-horse barn 

 -- 2-horse barn92

During the winter of 1933-34, Blanchard and Maher revised and designed more building plans in 

preparation for the coming construction season. The following year, they revised many of the standard 

plans to house specialized equipment and to serve as storage.93 By 1937, their office had generated 200

facility designs, many of which were realized in construction soon after their completion and acceptance.94

Although the designs of Blanchard and Maher have been described as “Mother Lode Forest Bungalow,"

"Forest Service Rustic," "Craftsman-Bungalow," and even "Ranch," these terms can be misleading. The

first two are not widely recognized and the latter two do not convey an accurate picture. In truth, the 

designs retain strong vernacular characteristics as a response to regional history, climate, and local

materials. Although no particular style is fully embodied in most of the Region Five standard plans, certain

features do reflect prevalent fashions of the time. The exposed rafter tails and purlins, a variety of window

types and groupings, and asymmetrical placement of openings are typical of the Craftsman style. The 

early Ranch style is reflected in the low-pitched roofs, horizontal one-story form, and asymmetrical

massing. 

For reasons of economy, Blanchard and Maher designed buildings of "ready-cut" construction that allowed 

the building parts to be pre-cut and shipped to the site where they were assembled.95 The standard 

 

icz, “Contextual History,” 15. 

Blanchard and Maher developed Plan A for a ranger dwelling in 1933. The Bridgeport ranger dwelling was

one of the first of these buildings to be constructed. 

92 Supernow

93 Ibid., 17. 

94 Ibid., 13. 

95 Ibid., 15. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 197
building materials included 10" V-cut redwood or western cedar siding and wood roof shingles. The

interior walls were finished with clear Douglas fir or ponderosa pine panels, while floors and ceilings were 

of Douglas fir tongue-and-groove strips.

96 Standard paint schemes were also developed, much to the 

delight of a reporter who wrote: 

. . . not only will the lines of our ranger station be revamped but the color scheme will be

improved. The green roof will be retained but the French-battleship grey paint, which has 

depressed the morale of the rangers for fifteen years, will be changed to a brown stain to 

blend appropriately with the colors of the forest.97

Windows were usually 4/4, 2/4, or 2/2 double-hung or casement with 8, 6, or 4 panes; they were often 

arranged in groupings of two or three. Shutters were made of three pieces of V-cut siding held together 

with Z-bracing. Like the buildings of Region Four, doors had five horizontal panels, although the front 

doors were usually more elaborate.98 There is no indication that the pine tree logo was used extensively in

Region Five. 

SITE DESIGN

As mentioned previously, George Gibbs and L. Glenn Hall were hired in 1933 as Region Five’s landscape 

architects. George was “on loan” from Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr.’s office in Palo Verde.99 Hall, who

stayed for five years, wrote a Landscape Manual for Administrative Sites in the California Region in 1935. 

In landscaping these sites, Hall believed there were three basic goals:

First, to retain and express the rugged simplicity and naturalness which is symbolic of the

United States Forest Service; second, to adapt buildings and other structures to the sites 

in such manner as will disturb existing ground conditions the least; third to consider the 

cost of the maintenance of landscaping in planning and constructing any new

improvements.100

Hall apparently took a hands-on approach. In October 1936, he visited the Bridgeport and Mono

Lake districts to review site developments at Chris Flat, Bridgeport, Markleeville, Lee Vining and

Gull Lake ranger stations and revised his plans accordingly.101

THE PINE TREE LOGO 

The origin of the familiar pine tree logo is presently undetermined but its use throughout the Forest Service

suggests it came from the Washington Office. It is often associated with the CCC era but was used prior to

that time. A 1921 Alumni Bulletin reported: 

The Forest Service is going to make a far wider use of its “trademark” - the shield - than 

ever before. At the suggestion of D-6 the Forester has issued instructions to print the 

shield on letterheads, envelopes, publications, forms for external use, etc. This is good 

business. The lone pine tree should be known to everyone for it is the symbol of a fine

 96 Ibid., 16 

97 Ibid., 13. 

98 Conard, et.al., 2-37. 99 Iverson, 4. 

100 Supernowicz, “Contextual History,” 18. 101 Maule, "Diaries Of William M. Maule.” 

ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 198 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
ideal, and the very word “forest” carries an instinctive appeal to every normal human 

being.102

The pine tree was a prevalent

motif in Region Four’s 1935 

building plans, usually in 

decorative panels of window

shutters. The 1935 Recreation

Handbook included drawings of a 

fence with a 3⁄4” panel from which

the logo is cut. A label refers to

this as “Pine tree of universal 

design #1451.”

In her study of Region Six, 

historian Gail Throop noted that

the number, placement and

design of the logo were not

always consistent with regional

specifications. CCC crews 

seemed to use the logo as a

means of expression and 

sometimes went overboard in the 

number they cut, applied, forged and carved on shutters, gable ends, porch pediments, mailboxes, latch

plates, etc.103 Consulting architect Groben apparently felt the pine tree was overused. In 1938, he wrote: 

c

In Region Four, the pine tree logo was most prevalent in shutters like these on

Plan 133A-1 for a tourist cabin. This plan was used for three snow survey

abins constructed in the 1930s in northeast Nevada. 

The pine tree, as a painted insignia, gig-sawed out of wood or in other decorative forms, 

has become a recognized Forest Service emblem. Refrain from employing pine trees of 

different sizes in the same composition to eliminate the "old and young" or "father and 

son" conflict that always results in design when using the same motif at difference scales. 

The pine tree emblem should be used sparingly. The effect created by their repeated use 

in the same building is very unfortunate, resulting in their loss of all Forest Service

significance.

104

SPECIAL BUILDING TYPES 

FIRE LOOKOUTS 

In Region Five, Regional Forester Show gave high priority to fire detection in the 1930s, leading to the 

construction of 250 lookout towers and cabs by the CCC.105 Lookout design became more refined with a

1937 Region Five circular titled “Planning, Constructing, and Operating Forest-fire Lookout system in

 102 US Department of Agriculture, Alumni Bulletin, 31. 103 Elizabeth Gail Throop, "Utterly Visionary and Chimerical: A Federal Response to the Depression," (M.A. thesis, Portland State

University, 1979), 43-44. 104 W. Ellis Groben, Principles of Architectural Planning for Forest Service Administrative Improvements, (USDA Forest Service, 

Division of Engineering). 105 Grosvenor, 98. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 199
California.”106 This was followed in 1938 by a Forest Service publication, “Standard Lookout Structure

Plans.” 

Region Four designers included several standard plans in the 1935 Building Construction Manual. One

plan known as R4 Plan 80, was traced from Region One’s modification (Plan L-4) of the 14’ x 14’ cab that 

was originally developed in California. This was meant for observation only, while R4 Plan 82 was 

designed as a live-in lookout. It was also based on a Region One plan (Plan T-30). 

Despite the increased construction activity in Nevada, few lookouts were built since visual detection was 

made easy by the terrain and landscaping. There were some constructed in the Sierras on the presentday Carson Ranger District and Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit.

SNOW SURVEY CABINS 

Although Forest Service personnel could sometimes rely on guard or ranger stations when conducting

snow surveys, there was a need for shelter in remote areas. One ranger wrote about the snow surveys he 

carried out in Lamoille Canyon throughout the 1930s, noting that the work required a great deal of stamina

and that it was dangerous because of avalanches.

107 He also said the provision of cabins provided 

sleeping quarters as well as shelter when the weather turned bad. Jim Clark, a Conscientious Objector

who carried out snow surveys during World War II, recalled some of these cabins on the Sierra’s east front. 

He and the accompanying ranger stayed in "huts, which were spaced one day apart, the higher huts 

buried in up to 22 feet of snow, and we climbed down a wooden chimney, via attached ladder, to the cabin

below. It was stocked with canned and dried foods, a wood stove and bunks, and wood for cooking."108 

The wooden chimney mentioned by Clark was sometimes referred to as a manway or a “Santa Claus

chimney.” It allowed access when snow was deep enough to cover the cabin. The Buckeye Snow Survey

Cabin, located on the Bridgeport District, was constructed with one of these chimneys in 1926. 

As one of seven agencies cooperating to predict water availability, the Forest Service laid out survey

courses and built snow survey cabins. In 1935, Jarbidge Ranger Haycock laid out a snow course on the 

Humboldt National Forest near 76 Creek. A snow cabin was built using Region Four Plan 99 (later renamed Plan 133-A) at the 76 Creek Administrative Site. On the Mountain City District, identical cabins

were built near Coon Creek summit and the North Fork of the Humboldt River. In late 1937, it was 

proposed to designate these cabins as Government camps, which would allow them to be stocked with

supplies at government expense. Some people were apparently concerned with the rangers’ leisure time

and in 1946, Mountain City Ranger Tom Brierley received four decks of cards, compliments of a Reno

gaming establishment, to place in the snow cabins. 

In the Ruby Mountains, Ranger L.E. McKenzie supervised the construction of two snow survey cabins,

most likely around the winter of 1934-35 when the first snow measurements were taken. The one-room, 8’ 

x 10’ cabins in Harrison Pass and Lamoille Canyon each cost $150 and provided great benefit by 

permitting “higher courses and more security against the hazards of winter which heretofore have

endangered the lives of the men making these excessively long and hard trips.”

109

 106 Ibid. 107 [Lewis E. McKenzie?], “Snow Surveying, 1938(?)'' TMs [photocopy], p. 4, Elko Office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, USDA 

Forest Service. 108 Jim Clark to Kathy Pitts, 28 December 1993. 109 “Seasonal Snow Survey and Forecast of Stream Flow; Humboldt Quadrangle Survey, March 1, 1935'' TMs [photocopy], p. 3, Elko 

office, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, US Forest Service. 

ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 200 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
The cabin at Harrison Pass, located on the Green Mountain Administrative Site, was described as being

on a south slope, near a small spring and surrounded by a small patch of aspen. The Lamoille Canyon 

cabin was north of the Truck Trail, opposite the Thomas Canyon Campground on a south slope supporting

aspen, mahogany and sage.

In January 1937, the Forest Service issued a special use permit to the University of Nevada, represented 

by snow survey pioneer Dr. J.E. Church, for use of the Lamoille and Green Mountain cabins while 

conducting surveys in cooperation with the Forest Service. Around that time, a report on the Green

Mountain cabin stated that it was not in the best location and would probably be moved in 1939. It may 

have been moved to Lamoille Canyon around 1938 when one ranger reported: 

We now have two cabins in Lamoille Canyon where we store provisions, bedding and 

fuel for use on these trips. These are so located as to enable us to reach farther into the 

mountains and make surveys on more courses, which should increase the value of the

work done.

110 

Special use permits for the Ruby Mountain snow cabins were issued as late as 1950 but were abandoned

by the permittees by March of 1955. Under the direction of Clyde E. Houston who was in charge of snow

surveys, they were moved and used for other purposes.

Tonopah District Ranger Basil Crane and a French-Canadian named Clarence built a stone snow survey 

cabin with the assistance of the CCC in 1941. They used stone and sand that they found near the site and

packed in lime, cement, and shingles on mules. Some creative packing was required to transport the two 

6-feet long 2x6s for the gable ends, the door, and the cookstove. The 2x6s were handled by tying two

mules in a line and strapping one piece on each side of both mules. The weight and bulk of the cookstove

were balanced by tying bales of straw on the mule’s sides.111

On the Ely District, snow surveyors stayed at the Baker Creek Snow Cabin when working on the Snake 

Division and a private cabin at the head of Berry Creek when on the Schell Creek Division. It is interesting 

to note that the latter, owned by the Nevada Consolidated Company, had shutters with the Forest Service

pine tree logo cut into them. It is possible that the Forest Service had an agreement to maintain the 

structure although no evidence to that effect has been found. The Kennecott Mining Company was 

particularly interested in the snow surveys of that area since it relied on water for its mill operations and the 

company town of McGill.112

EXPERIMENT STATIONS 

Experiment stations received more design attention than most administrative sites. Some were developed

with special building plans or with standard plans modified in size and decorative detailing.113 

Two remote experiment stations were built on the Humboldt National Forest during this period. The Clover

Experiment Station, located on the north end of the East Humboldt Range, had two buildings. The

dwelling was of R4 Plan 7 while the garage was of R4 Plan 20. The Lamance Experiment Station was 

situated near the old Lamance Ranger Station in Paradise Valley. It had a house of R4 Plan 8 and a

garage of R4 Plan 21. Both stations were extensively landscaped. They have since been abandoned and 

the buildings removed. 

 110 [McKenzie?], 7. 111 Crane, 33 and 65. 112 King, 324. 113 Conard, et. al., 2-38. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 201
CCC CAMP BUILDINGS 

Another set of standard buildings was found in the CCC camps. Initially controlled by the Army, these

camps were laid out in precise manners depending on their designations as permanent, semi-permanent, 

or portable camps. The camp enrollees stayed in canvas tents until the cost feasibility of lumber buildings

was established.

114 Many of these lumber buildings were designed to be portable, since camp locations 

often changed. In 1934, a CCC camp near Tupelo, Mississippi was the first to receive portable camp

buildings and by 1935, the buildings were a standard feature in all camps.

115 They were typically clad with

board-and-batten or clapboard siding and had six-pane windows. The roofs were covered with roll roofing

or shingles and the interiors were lined with 1x6 paneling.

116 

A typical camp had four or five barracks measuring 20’ x 100’, a mess hall, a recreation hall, administration

buildings, officers’ quarters, a hospital, a garage and maybe a schoolhouse. The enrollees further 

improved the camps with gravel walks, trees, gates, railings, flower gardens, swimming pools and outdoor 

amphitheaters. The buildings were sometimes painted brown or green but were often just covered with

creosote or tarpaper. They were typically made of cedar and could be easily dismantled.117 

By 1935, Region Four had developed standard plans for “camp buildings.” These included an equipment

and truck shelter, tool shed, blacksmith and machine shop, office, garage, gas and oil house, and

barracks. All of these buildings were clad with board-and-batten siding and were placed on skids or post

foundations so that they could be moved easily. The CCC constructed some of these buildings at the

Forest Service’s Central Repair Shop in Reno. Located on East 2nd Street, these were eventually

demolished. 

CCC camps in Region Five were also developed with portable buildings. A description of Camp Antelope,

built in 1939, discussed the buildings there:

Buildings are of a permanent wooden type made in panels so that their erection is

comparatively simple . . . They consist of a mess hall and kitchen, barracks, recreation 

hall, latrine, hospital, army and technical service quarters, educational buildings, garage

and machine shops.118

Some of the spike camps were also developed with portable construction, as noted in one newspaper 

account: 

“. . . arrangements are being made for the construction of a number of portable houses

and equipment at strategic points during the summer season. The work at Bridgeport 

[spike camp] represents the first in the series and will take care of fifty men.”

119

The Bridgeport camp was finished in the spring of 1940. It was described as “one of the first portable

stations devised by forest service Engineer D.B. Mac Bean. Buildings of the camp including the cook 

house and bunks are built in sections that may be mounted on trucks and hauled away when desired.”120 

When abandoned, the camp buildings were boarded up or turned over to communities, the military or

government agencies. Records indicate that the Humboldt National Forest received some of these CCC 

 114 Otis, et.al., 8-9. 115 Ibid. 116 Ibid., 79. 117 Salmond, 136. 118 “Mono Forest CCC Camp is Near Completion,” Reno Evening Gazette, 12 September 1939. 119 “Forest Dept. To Oversee Projects During Summer,” Bridgeport Chronicle-Union, 28 March 1940. 120 Bridgeport CCC Camp Completed,” Reno Evening Gazette, 4 April 1940. 

ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 202 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
buildings. One small cabin was moved, presumably from Camp F-5 in Paradise Valley, to Buckskin 

Mountain on the Santa Rosa Range where it served as a snow cabin. A bunkhouse at Pole Creek Ranger 

Station appears to be a former CCC barracks and reportedly came from a camp at Flat Creek. Between 

1959 and 1965, the remaining buildings at Galena Camp F-6 (on the Tahoe National Forest) were 

transferred to the Humboldt. The locations of these buildings, if they still exist, are unknown. It is possible

that the three similar cabins at Gold Creek Ranger Station, Tonopah Corrals, and Hunts Canyon Guard 

Station are from Galena. 

BUILDING RESTRICTIONS 

The declaration of war on Japan in December 1941 marked the end of the work relief era and extensive

building activity. Some buildings, such as the Carson Ranger Station, were left incomplete, while proposed

construction required approval from the War Production Board. As manpower became scarce and 

materials limited, the Forest Service adjusted accordingly as illustrated in a 1942 letter regarding Reese 

River Ranger Station: 

. . . necessity of keeping building grounds down to a minimum size in order that large,

elaborate lawns and landscaping are not necessary, both from the standpoint of labor for 

operation and maintenance such as cutting and watering of lawns and other work which 

too frequently is given as an excuse for lack of sufficient field time on resource work by 

rangers. 

There is also a feeling in this office that the old Reese River improvements are in much

better shape than many other ranger station setups in the Region and . . no further 

building improvement money should be anticipated for the duration of the war, at this 

point.121

In addition to the building restrictions, construction was hampered by the loss of the Forest Service’s 

design professionals. Many joined the military or got jobs in the private sector. Those who remained were 

assigned to critical work such as the Emergency Rubber Project and some even served as district 

rangers.122

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 203

 121 Assistant Regional Forester John N. Kinney to Toiyabe Forest Supervisor, 3 March 1942. 122 Iverson, 6. 

A bunkhouse at the Pole Creek Ranger Station appears to be of this Region Four Plan 126G, often built for CCC barracks. 
Chapter Thirteen: 1943-1950, Pre-Fabs and 

Portables

SITE WITHDRAWALS 

Executive Order 9337, dated April 24, 1943, sought to protect administrative sites against mining claims by 

establishing a clearer withdrawal process. In Region Four, the Regional Forester directed the forest 

supervisors to evaluate existing administrative sites and ensure they were formally withdrawn.123 This led

to the release or revocation of many sites that were no longer needed and the formal withdrawal of other 

sites. 

In 1949, Chief Forester Lyle Watts issued a circular, explaining that further site withdrawals on forest land

under EO 9337 would be done by the Bureau of Land Management. Watts instructed the regions to 

prepare withdrawal requests, giving priority to those in “mineralized lands,” as soon as possible and submit

them to the WO, which would forward them to the BLM.124 Additional direction in 1950 stated that 

administrative sites subject to entry should be withdrawn under EO 9337. However, this did not apply to

those that were not subject to entry or to lands purchased under the Weeks Law and the Receipts Act.125 

On the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, numerous withdrawals of administrative sites were made in

1953 and 1956 to replace or supplement earlier withdrawals. 

DESIGNERS 

Chief Engineer T.W. Norcross retired from the Washington Office in 1947 and A.P. Dean took his place.126 

At the regional level, Region Four engineer Arval Anderson took military leave from his duties in 1942.

Henry M. Shank served in his place until he returned in 1946 to an engineering staff of 90 people.

127 

Anderson continued to serve as Regional Engineer until 1959 when he transferred to Region One, 

remaining there until 1963.128 George Nichols remained as Region Four’s architect and developed 

additional standard plans, publishing them in a 1946 manual. He left in 1956 and was replaced by William

Turner. 

In Region Five, the use of designs and plans by Blanchard, Maher and Hall continued through the 1950s,

although many of them were revised and published in a 1946 manual. The manual, titled Standard

Improvement Structure Plans, also contained many new designs by Blanchard and Maher’s successor,

Keplar B. Johnson. Johnson was involved with an experimental rubber project during the war, but returned

to serve as Regional Architect until his retirement in 1962. 

During this period, more engineers were hired on individual forests. Ray Breiding (1945-48) and Cecil 

Stowell (1948-50) worked on the Toiyabe National Forest

129 but it is not known if any engineers were

placed on the Humboldt or Nevada national forests during this period.

 123 U-Circular No. 97 from Acting Regional Forester W.B. Rice to Forest Supervisor, 30 January 1943. 124 WO Circular No. U-220 from Chief Lyle F. Watts to Regional Foresters, 16 December 1949. 125 Circular No. U-197 from Acting Regional Forester A.G. Nord to Forest Supervisor, 25 January 1950. 126 Byrne, 7. 127 Alexander, The Rise of Multiple-Use Management, 150. 128 The History of Engineering in the Forest Service (A Compilation of History and Memoirs, 1905-1989), (Washington, DC, 1990), 786. 129 Ibid., 788. 

ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 204 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
IMPROVEMENTS 

As relief funds and labor were eliminated, the Federal government implemented measures to support the 

war effort. Restrictions were placed on certain materials, the mineral and timber resources were reserved

for military use, and manpower and funds were channeled to the armed forces. As a result, there was a 

sharp decline in building activity on the national forests, as well as throughout the country. The emphasis

shifted from construction of new facilities to maintenance, reuse and rehabilitation of existing ones.

Even after the war, construction did not pick up immediately. George Nichols described the situation after 

inspecting buildings on the Nevada National Forest in 1948: 

Most of the buildings and structures have come through the war period in better shape

than was to have been expected. . . . Everywhere there was apparent there was good

care, good housekeeping and that sincere efforts were being made to bring the buildings 

and structures to proper maintenance. . . . Because there has been no assigned 

personnel on a job basis provided for this work the present and past supervisors and their 

staffs are commended.130

To meet its administrative needs, the Forest Service acquired Army surplus equipment and buildings,

some of which had been used previously by the CCC.131 As the forests became more accessible by 

vehicle, the designation of many ranger stations was changed from permanent to seasonal stations. 

These were increasingly referred to as “work centers” rather than “guard stations,” a term that picked up 

negative connotations during World War II and later the Cold War.132 Re-use of materials and adaptations

of existing buildings were prevalent as they were modified for changing uses. Garages and barns were 

converted to bunkhouses to accommodate work crews, while dwellings began to serve as offices.133

The Forest Service also began to rely on prefabricated buildings. Developed significantly during the war, 

these buildings relied on mass production for ease and swiftness of construction. Prior to the war,

prefabricated houses were sold by several private companies and the Farm Security Administration used

them to house low-income farm families. Most prefabricated houses were made of wood and plywood. 

They were supposedly “insulated, weather-resistant, flame-resistant” as well as “strong, light, and easily

handled.”

134

As the Forest Service entered the second half of the twentieth century, it prepared for an ambitious building

program that was symbolic of the nation’s relative prosperity in the 1950s. Many ranger district offices 

were moved to town and located in Ranch-style buildings, which were seen as more modern and

progressive than those of the CCC era. These district offices, still referred to as ranger stations, often 

became large compounds with the addition of more service structures, such as warehouses and radio

buildings.

135

 130 George L. Nichols, “Inspection of Buildings for Maintenance on Nevada National Forest, 1948” TMs [photocopy], Elko Office, 

Humboldt Toiyabe National Forest, USDA Forest Service. 131 Hartley and Schneck, 32. 132 Ibid., 91. 133 Ibid. 134 Office of War Information, American Handbook (Washington, DC: Public Affairs Press, 1945), 394-96. 135 Carhart, 98. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 205
SITE DESIGN

Many landscape architects left the Forest Service during the war. This, in combination with the minimal 

funding and lack of construction, led to a near halt of site development. The post-war period saw an

increase in this type of work, particularly in the area of recreation. The number of landscape architects 

increased, although most were involved with civil engineering projects.

136 The focus on rebuilding the

forests’ infrastructure caused attention to be shifted away from the improvement of ranger stations and 

recreation sites. It was not until the late 1950s, when the Forest Service initiated “Operation Outdoors” to

compete with a similar NPS movement, that funding and talent were acquired and allocated to outdoor

design and planning. Even then, nearly all of the efforts were directed toward recreation improvements,

with only a few going toward administrative sites.137

REGION FOUR 

When George Nichols published a revised manual of building plans in 1946, he included many of his plans 

from the 1930s. He also presented new plans for portable buildings and designs that reflected a shift in

Region Four’s architectural identity. In keeping with national trends, Nichols used an architectural

vocabulary of multi-pane industrial windows, banked windows, shallow eaves, and minimal detailing. In 

the 1946 manual, Nichols provided new direction on the construction of buildings at administrative sites: 

• Dwellings: Three-bedroom houses would be built at year-round stations or in town

where year-round occupancy is intended. Smaller buildings would be built as 

summer stations.

• Offices: These would be built only at year-round headquarters and were to be of R4 

Plan 54K or 51. Other plans could be used for the supervisor’s headquarters.

• Barns: Nichols noted that many of the existing Forest Service barns were not used

as much as anticipated. He attributed this to the construction of barns that were 

larger than necessary or in areas where they were not needed. In addition, the 

widespread use of automobiles reduced the need for barns. Nichols encouraged

each forest to look for surplus barns before building new ones. 

• Work Camps: This new type of administrative site accommodated work camps of 

10 to 100 men. Nichols provided site layouts and standard plans for camp buildings 

constructed of pre-fabricated panels. 

• Portable and Unit Buildings: Nichols recognized the need for portable buildings as

temporary housing noting, “Certainly this type of structure can be used far better than 

unsatisfactory or too costly housing now available at many headquarters. In timber

operations lasting a year or so, they can be used and then moved to a new

operation.”138

Although Nichols admitted that some old buildings should be removed, he also supported the rehabilitation 

of others, noting that they should be brought to current standards. He developed standard plans for 

additions to the CCC-era buildings, offering to make special plans when necessary. He also permitted the 

relocation of buildings, or even an entire station: 

 136 Iverson, 6. 137 Ibid. 138 Nichols, “Inspection of Buildings.” 

ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 206 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
On those sites where a mistake has been made in the placement of a structure, 

consideration should be given to the possibility of moving the structure to the proper 

location so that the group may be properly developed. There may be cases where it will

be desirable to abandon the present site and scrap or move present buildings onto new 

sites.139

REGION FIVE 

Keplar Johnson’s 1946 building manual included revisions of Blanchard and Maher’s plans and had new 

designs for barracks, cabins, offices and garages. He also experimented with portable buildings, designing

a portable camp dormitory in 1940. Like other architects, his designs were typical of post-war architecture, 

as exhibited in the use of minimal detailing, flat roofs, and materials such as concrete block. 

 139 Ibid. 

PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY - 207

APPENDICES 
Previous page: Mono Forest Supervisor William Maule with Rangers Tom Jones (Sweetwater), Clarence

Wyatt (Bridgeport), Fred Clark (Leevining), William Clark (Markleeville), and clerk Alfred Ratcliff at the 

Supervisor’s Office in Gardnerville, c.1915. Photo compliments of Wynne Maule. 

APPENDICES - 210 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
Appendix A: Timeline 

1862 May 15: U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is established. 

1875 September 10: American Forestry Association is formed. 

1881 Division of Forestry is established in the USDA. 

1891 March 3: Forest Reserve Act is passed, giving the President power to establish forest

reserves from public domain. 

March 30: President Benjamin Harrison creates first forest reserve (Yellowstone Timberland 

Reserve), which is administered by the GLO in the Department of the Interior (DOI).

1893 President Harrison leaves office after creating 15 reserves compiling 13 million acres. Grover

Cleveland adds 5 million acres to forest reserve area. 

1897 February 22: President Cleveland creates 13 forest reserves including the Stanislaus Forest

Reserve. 

June 4: Congress passes the Organic Act, which specifies the purposes for which forest

reserves can be established, their administration and protection. The act allowed hiring

employees to administer the forests and opened the reserves for use.

Sheep are banned from forest reserves. Grazing permits are issued for horses and cattle. 

1898 July 1: Gifford Pinchot succeeds Bernard Fernow as Chief of the Division of Forestry.

1899 February 28: Act is passed allowing recreational use on the forest reserves. 

April 13: Lake Tahoe Forest Reserve is established. 

Sheep are allowed back on forest reserves, but are regulated. 

1901 USDA Division of Forestry is renamed the Bureau of Forestry. A new Division of Forestry is

created in the DOI’s General Land Office. 

1902 The Minnesota Forest Reserve was established. It was the first created by Congress and not

by Presidential proclamation.

First grazing permits issued for sheep. 

1904 March 29: Ruby Mountains Forest Reserve is temporarily withdrawn. 

1905 February 1: Forest reserves are transferred from DOI to USDA. 

March 3: Act is passed renaming the Bureau of Forestry as the Forest Service (USFS), 

effective July 1, with Gifford Pinchot as Chief. 

September 25: Dixie Forest Reserve is established. 

PRIVIES PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 APPENDICES - 211
October 3: Boundaries of Lake Tahoe Forest Reserve are redrawn and name is changed to

Tahoe Forest Reserve. 

November 5: The Independence Forest Reserve is temporarily withdrawn. 

November 23: The Bruneau Addition to the Independence Forest Reserve is temporarily 

withdrawn. 

Grazing of sheep allowed on the Stanislaus Forest Reserve. 

Publication of the first USFS manual, The Use Book, which codifies laws, regulations and 

standards for administration.

1906 May 3: Ruby Forest Reserve is established. 

June 8: American Antiquities Act is passed, authorizing protection of antiquities and features

of scientific or historical interest on land owned or controlled by the Government. 

June 11: Homestead Act is passed, allowing agricultural lands within forest reserves to be 

available for homesteading purposes. 

September 1: Osceola Forest Reserve is temporarily withdrawn. 

September 7: First land addition to the Stanislaus Forest Reserve includes 500,000 acres 

around Lower Twin Lake, the Devils Gate Pass, West Walker River Canyon, Ebbetts Pass, 

and the northern part of the present-day Carson-Iceberg Wilderness Area. 

November 5: Independence Forest Reserve and Charleston Forest Reserve are established. 

Pinchot organizes the forest reserves into three inspection districts.

1907 The three inspection districts are reorganized into six districts. District Four’s headquarters 

were in Salt Lake City while District Five’s headquarters were in San Francisco. 

March 1: Toiyabe Forest Reserve is established by presidential proclamation. President 

Roosevelt signed 32 other proclamations that created forest reserves or added area to 

existing reserves before the Act of March 4 went into effect. 

March 4: Forest Reserves renamed National Forests; establishment or enlargement of forests 

in six western states (Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Colorado and Wyoming) is

forbidden except by Act of Congress. 

April 15: Toquima Forest Reserve and Monitor Forest Reserve are established. 

December 12: Vegas National Forest, including the Sheep Mountain Range, is established. 

1908 First experiment station is established on the Coconino National Forest in Arizona. 

May 23: Act is passed to require 25% of all money received by national forests be paid to

States to benefit public schools and public roads of counties containing national forests. 

July 1: Ruby and Independence forests are combined to form the Humboldt National Forest.

Vegas and Charleston forests are combined to form the Moapa National Forest. Monitor and

APPENDICES - 212 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
Toquima forests are added to the Toiyabe National Forest. Mono National Forest is created 

from parts of the Stanislaus, Inyo, Tahoe and Sierra forests. 

December 1: USFS’s six inspection districts were reorganized as six administrative districts 

with headquarters in Missoula, Denver, Albuquerque, Ogden, San Francisco and Portland. 

1909 January 20: Bruneau Addition is made to the Humboldt National Forest. 

February 10: Nevada National Forest is established.

Area of the Mono National Forest doubles with the addition of over one million acres in the

Sweetwater Mountains, Pine Grove Hills and Excelsior Mountains. 

1910 January 7: Gifford Pinchot is fired by President Taft and replaced by Henry S. Graves. 

November 25: Part of the Mono National Forest is transferred to the Toiyabe National Forest. 

Act is passed authorizing the President to reserve public lands for irrigation or water power 

sites.

Severe forest fires in Idaho and Montana burned more than 3 million acres and killed 85

people. 

1911 March 1: Weeks Act is passed. Authorizes federal and state cooperation in forestry and fire

protection, as well as government purchases of land in the headwaters of navigable streams 

and of forest land in the East. Leads to numerous additions to and eliminations of national

forest lands. Forest boundaries are moved to ridgelines. 

March 8: Jarbidge townsite is eliminated from the Humboldt National Forest. 

April 1: Santa Rosa National Forest is established. 

1912 California is added to the list of states that require an Act of Congress to create a national

forest. 

Utah Experiment Station is established in the Wasatch Mountains. 

June 19: Elk Mountain Division is added to the Humboldt National Forest. Ruby National 

Forest is removed from the Humboldt National Forest and re-established as a separate forest. 

October 28: Addition and elimination of land on the Nevada National Forest led to doubling of

the Mt. Moriah Division and creation of the Quinn Canyon Division. 

1914 On the Santa Rosa National Forest, District One is eliminated and its lands split between

District Two and District Three. 

1915 Strong support for recreational development. 

USFS Branch of Research is established. 

March 15: The term lease law is passed, allowing permits for stores, hotels, summer homes, 

and other structures on national forests. 

PRIVIES PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 APPENDICES - 213
July 1: Moapa National Forest is eliminated and its lands transferred to the Toiyabe National

Forest. 

1916 May 10: Moapa Division is transferred from the Toiyabe to the Dixie National Forest. 

First USFS campground is constructed.

1917 July 1: Ruby, Santa Rosa and Humboldt National Forests combined under name of

Humboldt National Forest. 

1918 July 12: Sheep Mountain Unit and much of the Charleston Mountain Unit were eliminated 

from the Moapa Division of the Dixie National Forest. 

The name of the Utah Experiment Station is changed to the Great Basin Experiment Station. 

1919 January 25: Land is eliminated from Nevada National Forest and made available to

homesteaders. 

June 12: Two-mile strip between Elk Mountain Division and Pole Creek Ranger District is

added to the Humboldt National Forest. Jarbidge Ranger District absorbs the Pole Creek and 

Elk Mountain districts.

1922 January 24: Lehman Caves is designated a National Monument. 

March 20: Act is passed, allowing the exchange of land in national forests for private land

within forest boundaries. 

On the Ruby Mountains Division, the Ruby Ranger District absorbs the Mound Valley Ranger 

District. 

On the Santa Rosa Division, District Three (Paradise Valley) absorbs District Two (Rebel 

Creek). 

1924 June 3: First wilderness area is established on the Gila National Forest in New Mexico. 

June 7: Clarke-McNary Act is passed, expanding the 1911 Weeks Act authority for FederalState cooperation in fire protection and forestry efforts. Allows purchases of forest lands in

watersheds, not just the headwaters, of navigable streams. 

1926 Arizona and New Mexico are added to the list of states that require an Act of Congress to

create a national forest. 

1928 Woodruff-McNary Act is passed, providing money for more land purchases. 

McSweeney-McNary Act is passed, establishing a ten-year forestry research program and

survey of forestry resources. Establishes regional experiment stations.

1929 On May 1, the “districts” were renamed “regions” to avoid confusion with ranger districts 

1930 Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station is established. 

1931 September 24: Toiyabe National Forest boundary is adjusted to conform to new survey. 

Hoover Wilderness Area is established on the Mono National Forest. 

APPENDICES - 214 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
1932 July 1: Toiyabe National Forest is eliminated and lands transferred to the Nevada National 

Forest. 

1933 Forest Service sends the Copeland Report to the Senate, calling for a comprehensive

management plan for the national forests, including plans for trails, recreation facilities, 

administrative facilities and lookouts. 

April 5: Office of Emergency Conservation Work is established. 

April 17: First CCC camp is established on the George Washington National Forest near

Luray, Virginia. 

May 12: Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA or ERA) is established. Included a

Works Division that later became the WPA. 

1934 June 28: Taylor Grazing Act is passed, ending unregulated grazing on national forests. 

1935 April 8: Emergency Relief Appropriations (ERA) Act is passed, permitting funding and

operation of CCC camps. 

Works Progress Administration is created from the Works Division of FERA. 

1937 June 28: Emergency Conservation Work is renamed Civilian Conservation Corps

July 1: Moapa Division of the Dixie National Forest is transferred to the Nevada National

Forest 

1938 May 9: Toiyabe is re-established from parts of the Humboldt and Nevada national forests.

The Santa Rosa Division is transferred from the Humboldt to the Toiyabe. 

Mono National Forest SO is moved from Minden to Reno. 

1939 July 28: Five CCC men are killed while fighting fire on the Santa Rosa Mountain range. 

1940 July 1: First smokejumpers go into action on the Nez Perce National Forest. 

Carson Ranger District is created on the Mono National Forest from the northern part of the 

Alpine District and parts of the Tahoe National Forest. 

The Bruneau River drainage is transferred from the Jarbidge District to the Gold Creek

District. 

September: Selective Training and Service Act is passed, recognizing conscientious

objection. 

1941 February 28: Jarbidge District Ranger Karl Wilkinson is killed by an avalanche while carrying

out snow surveys.

May 22: First Civilian Public Service camp is established near Luray, Virginia. 

1942 June 30: CCC is eliminated

June: Camp Antelope, a CPS camp near Coleville, California, is established. 

PRIVIES PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 APPENDICES - 215
1944 On the Toiyabe National Forest, the Reese River, Potts and Kingston districts are

reconfigured as the Austin and Tonopah districts.

The Mono and Toiyabe national forests are administratively combined.

1945 July 1: Land is transferred from the Tahoe National Forest to the Carson Ranger District.

The Mono National Forest is eliminated and its lands divided between the Inyo and Toiyabe 

forests. 

The Sweetwater and Bridgeport districts of the Toiyabe National Forest were reconfigured

into the West Walker and Bridgeport districts.

1946 The General Land Office and the Division of Grazing, both in the DOI, are combined to form 

the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). 

March: Camp Antelope is closed. 

1947 March: CPS program is terminated. 

1950 April 24: Granger-Thye Act is passed, upholding USFS authority to regulate and collect

grazing fees. 

1951 July 1: Santa Rosa Division is transferred from the Toiyabe National Forest to the Humboldt 

National Forest. 

1957 October 1: Nevada National Forest is eliminated and lands transferred to the Humboldt and 

Toiyabe national forests. The Humboldt acquires the Ely and White Pine districts; the

Toiyabe acquires the Las Vegas District (Charleston Mountain Division). The Ruby Ranger 

District is renamed the Lamoille Ranger District. 

The Fallon Ranger District is created from the Austin and Tonopah districts. 

“Operation Outdoors,” a five-year expansion and renovation plan for recreation facilities, is

implemented.

1958 April 9: Jarbidge Wild Area is established and consists of 64,830 acres in the Jarbidge

Ranger District. 

1959 March 13: Wheeler Peak Scenic Area is established. 

The Lamoille Ranger District is split into two districts: the Lamoille and Wells districts.

1963 Accelerated Public Works (APW) program is implemented, providing 9,000 jobs for 

unemployed men in campgrounds, tree planting, roads, trails, facilities, etc. 

1964 Wilderness Act is passed, classifying 9.1 million acres of National Forest land as wilderness 

and 5.5 million acres as Primitive Areas. 

Job Corps program is implemented to train disadvantaged youths for forest management 

jobs. 

1973 Bridgeport District absorbs the West Walker District; Carson District absorbs the Alpine

District. The Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is created. Mountain City District absorbs 

the Gold Creek District. 

APPENDICES - 216 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
1974 Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) program is implemented to employ youths in conservation

work. 

1975 February 20: the Wells and Lamoille ranger districts are consolidated to form the Ruby

Mountains Ranger District with headquarters in Wells. 

1977 Youth Adult Conservation Corps (YACC) program is implemented to hire young adults to

work in resource management. 

The Falllon District is eliminated and its lands are transferred to the Austin and Tonopah

districts.

1980 The Ely District absorbs the White Pine District. 

1986 October 27: Great Basin National Park is created around Wheeler Peak from 77,109 acres of

Ely Ranger District. 

August 23: Ruby Marsh area (14,757 acres) is transferred from BLM to HNF. Actual 

marshes remain with FWS 

1988 Nevada Enhancement Act is passed, transferring nearly a million acres from the BLM to the 

Toiyabe and Inyo forests. The Tonopah and Bridgeport districts receive a significant portion

of this land, which constitutes the largest addition to Nevada forests since 1909. 

1989 December 15: Nevada Wilderness Bill creates new Wilderness Areas on the Humboldt. 

1994 Humboldt and Toiyabe national forests are combined as the Humboldt-Toiyabe National

Forest. 

PRIVIES PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 APPENDICES - 217
Appendix B: Forest Lands Actions 

FOREST DOCUMENT APPROVED EFFECTIVE EFFECT

Stanislaus (CA) Proclamation Feb 22, 1897 Feb 22, 1897 Established 

Lake Tahoe (CA) Proclamation April 13, 1899 April 13, 1899 Established 

Stanislaus (CA) Public 49 Feb 7, 1905 Feb 7, 1905 Transferred part to Yosemite NP 

Dixie (UT) Proclamation Sept 25, 1905 Sept 25, 1905 Established 

Lake Tahoe (CA, 

NV) 

Proclamation Oct 3, 1905 Oct 3, 1905 Re-described boundary;

changed name to Tahoe 

Ruby Mountains 

(NV) 

Proclamation May 3, 1906 May 3, 1906 Established 

Stanislaus (CA) Proclamation Sept 7, 1906 Sept 7, 1906 Added land 

Tahoe (CA, NV) Proclamation Sept 17, 1906 Sept 17, 1906 Added entire Yuba and other 

lands 

Independence (NV) Proclamation Nov 5, 1906 Nov 5, 1906 Established 

Charleston (NV) Proclamation Nov 5, 1906 Nov 5, 1906 Established 

Toiyabe (NV) Proclamation March 1, 1907 March 1, 1907 Established 

Toquima (NV) Proclamation April 15, 1907 April 15, 1907 Established 

Monitor (NV) Proclamation April 15, 1907 April 15, 1907 Established 

Stanislaus (CA) Proc. 778 Oct 26, 1907 Oct 26, 1907 Added land 

Vegas (NV) Proc. 784 Dec 12, 1907 Dec 12, 1907 Established 

Tahoe (CA, NV) EO 897 July 2, 1908 July 1, 1908 Added lands from Plumas and 

Stanislaus. Transferred lands to 

Mono and Plumas. 

Mono (CA, NV) EO 898 July 2, 1908 July 1, 1908 Established from parts of Inyo, 

Sierra, Stanislaus and Tahoe 

Stanislaus (CA) EO 901 July 2, 1908 July 1, 1908 Added land from Sierra. 

Transferred land to Tahoe and 

Mono. 

Humboldt (NV) EO 908 July 2, 1908 July 1, 1908 Established by consolidation of 

Independence and Ruby

Mountains 

Independence (NV) EO 908 July 2, 1908 July 1, 1908 Became part of Humboldt. 

Discontinued name 

Ruby Mountains 

(NV) 

EO 908 July 2, 1908 July 1, 1908 Became part of Humboldt. 

Discontinued name 

Moapa (NV) EO 908 July 2, 1908 July 1, 1908 Established by consolidation of 

Charleston and Vegas 

Charleston (NV) EO 908 July 2, 1908 July 1, 1908 Became part of Moapa. 

Discontinued name. 

Vegas (NV) EO 908 July 2, 1908 July 1, 1908 Became part of Moapa. 

Discontinued name 

Toiyabe (NV) EO 908 July 2, 1908 July 1, 1908 Added the entire Monitor and 

Toquimas 

Monitor (NV) EO 908 July 2, 1908 July 1, 1908 Added entire forest to the 

Toiyabe. Discontinued name. 

Toquima (NV) EO 908 July 2, 1908 July 1, 1908 Added entire forest to the 

Toiyabe. Discontinued name 

Humboldt (NV) Proc. 832 Jan 20, 1909 Jan 20, 1909 Added land 

Moapa (NV) Proc. 833 Jan 21, 1909 Jan 21, 1909 Added land 

APPENDICES - 218 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
FOREST DOCUMENT APPROVED EFFECTIVE EFFECT

Nevada (NV) Proc. 839 Feb 10, 1909 Feb 10, 1909 Established 

Toiyabe (NV) Proc. 849 Feb 20, 1909 Feb 20, 1909 Added land 

Mono (NV, CA) Proc. 858 March 2, 1909 March 2, 1909 Added land 

Tahoe (NV, CA) Proc. 1071 July 28, 1910 July 28, 1910 Transferred parts to Eldorado 

and Plumas. Added and 

eliminated other lands. 

Stanislaus (CA) Proc. 1095 Oct 12, 1910 Oct 12, 1910 Added and eliminated lands 

Mono (CA, NV) EO 1265 Nov 25, 1910 Nov 25, 1910 Transferred part to Toiyabe 

Toiyabe (NV) EO 1265 Nov 25, 1910 Nov 25, 1910 Added land from Mono 

Toiyabe (NV) Proc. 1102 Dec 10, 1910 Dec 10, 1910 Added and eliminated land 

Inyo (CA, NV) Proc. 1117 Feb 23, 1911 Feb 23, 1911 Added and eliminated land 

Humboldt (NV) EO 1314 March 8, 1911 March 8, 1911 Eliminated land

Santa Rosa (NV) Proc. 1120 April 1, 1911 April 1, 1911 Established 

Mono (CA, NV) Proc. 1161 June 30, 1911 July 1, 1911 Added and eliminated land 

Santa Rosa (NV) EO 1429 Nov 3, 1911 Nov 3, 1911 Eliminated land

Moapa (NV) Proc. 1174 Dec 8, 1911 Dec 8, 1911 Added and eliminated land 

Humboldt (NV) Proc. 1201 June 19, 1912 June 19, 1912 Added and eliminated lands. 

Portion became part of Ruby

Ruby (NV) Proc. 1202 June 19, 1912 June 19, 1912 Established by combining 

portion of Humboldt with other 

lands. 

Nevada (NV) Proc. 1221 Oct 28, 1912 Oct 28, 1912 Added and eliminated land 

Dixie (AZ, NV, UT) Proc. 1231 March 1, 1913 March 1, 1913 Added and eliminated lands 

Toiyabe (NV) EO 1928 May 4, 1914 May 4, 1914 Eliminated land

Moapa (NV) EO 2162 April 6, 1915 July 1, 1915 Transferred entire forest to

Toiyabe. Discontinued name 

Toiyabe (NV) EO 2162 April 6, 1915 July 1, 1915 Added entire Moapa 

Stanislaus (CA) EO 2168 April 13, 1915 April 13, 1915 Eliminated land

Toiyabe (NV) EO 2380 May 10, 1916 May 10, 1916 Transferred Moapa Division to 

Dixie

Dixie (AZ, NV, UT) Proc. 1334 May 10, 1916 May 10, 1916 Eliminated land; added Moapa 

Division from Toiyabe 

Tahoe (CA, NV) Proc. 1346 Sept 1, 1916 Sept 1, 1916 Eliminated land

Humboldt (NV) EO 2631 June 6, 1916 July 1, 1917 Added entire Ruby and Santa 

Rosa forests 

Ruby (NV) EO 2631 June 6, 1916 July 1, 1917 Transferred to Humboldt; 

discontinued name 

Santa Rosa (NV) EO 2631 June 6, 1916 July 1, 1917 Transferred to Humboldt; 

discontinued name 

Humboldt (NV) EO 2739 Oct 24, 1917 Oct 24, 1917 Eliminated land

Dixie (AZ, NV, UT) Proc. 1465 July 12, 1918 July 12, 1918 Added and eliminated lands 

Nevada (NV) Proc. 1509 Jan 25, 1919 Jan 25, 1919 Eliminated land

Humboldt (NV) Proc. 1523 June 12, 1919 June 12, 1919 Added and eliminated land 

Tahoe (CA, NV) Proc. 1525 June 19, 1919 June 19, 1919 Eliminated land

Toiyabe (NV) Proc. 1599 May 25, 1921 May 25, 1921 Eliminated land

Nevada (NV) Proc. 1618 Jan 24, 1922 Jan 24, 1922 Designation of Lehman Caves 

as a National Monument 

Inyo (CA, NV) Public 465 July 3, 1926 July 3, 1926 Transferred land to Sequoia 

Tahoe (CA, NV) Proc. 1777 July 12, 1926 July 12, 1926 Added land 

Stanislaus (CA) Proc. 1815 Oct 14, 1927 Oct 14, 1927 Added land 

Toiyabe (NV) EO 4966 Sept 22, 1928 Sept 22, 1928 Eliminated land

PRIVIES PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 APPENDICES - 219
FOREST DOCUMENT APPROVED EFFECTIVE EFFECT

Eldorado (CA, NV) Proc. 1852 Sept 28, 1928 Sept 28, 1928 Added land 

Stanislaus (CA) Proc. 1904 April 14, 1930 April 14, 1930 Transferred land to Yosemite

NP 

Toiyabe (NV) EO 5725 Sept 24, 1931 Sept 24, 1931 Boundary adjusted to conform 

with new survey

Nevada (NV) EO 5863 June 23, 1932 July 1, 1932 Added entire Toiyabe 

Toiyabe (NV) EO 5863 June 23, 1932 July 1, 1932 Transferred entire forest to

Nevada; discontinued name 

Dixie (AZ, UT) EO 7607 April 19, 1936 July 1, 1937 Transferred the Moapa Division 

to Nevada National Forest 

Nevada (NV) EO 7607 April 19, 1936 July 1, 1937 Added Moapa Division of Dixie

Toiyabe (NV) EO 7884 May 9, 1938 May 9, 1938 Re-established from parts of 

Humboldt and Nevada forests 

Humboldt (NV) EO 7884 May 9, 1938 May 9, 1938 Transferred the Santa Rosa 

Division to the Toiyabe 

Nevada (NV) EO 7884 May 9, 1938 May 9, 1938 Transferred land to the Toiyabe

Toiyabe (NV) Secy. Of Interior 

Ord. 

March 18, 1941 March 18, 1941 Adjusted boundary to conform 

with surveys 

Humboldt (NV) EO 8819 July 5, 1941 July 5, 1941 Eliminated land.

Stanislaus (NV) Notice in F.R. April 4, 1942 Jan 11, 1940 Transferred land to Yosemite

NP 

Eldorado (CA, NV) Proc. 2636 Jan 13, 1945 Jan 13, 1945 Added land 

Tahoe (CA, NV) PLO 306 Dec 18, 1945 July 1, 1945 Transferred land to Toiyabe 

Toiyabe (CA, NV) PLO 306 Dec 18, 1945 July 1, 1945 Added land from Tahoe 

Mono (CA, NV) PLO 307 Dec 18, 1945 July 1, 1945 Divided entire forest between 

Inyo and Toiyabe 

Inyo (CA, NV) PLO 307 Dec 18, 1945 July 1, 1945 Added land from Mono 

Toiyabe (CA, NV) PLO 307 Dec 18, 1945 July 1, 1945 Added land from Mono 

Toiyabe (CA) Sec of Ag Adm. Ord. 

6 

May 13, 1949 May 13, 1949 Added land 

Toiyabe (CA) PLO 641 May 6, 1950 July 1, 1950 Added land from Tahoe 

Tahoe (CA) PLO 641 May 6, 1950 July 1, 1950 Added land from Plumas; 

transferred lands to Plumas and 

Toiyabe 

Toiyabe (CA) Public 559 June 16, 1950 June 16, 1950 Added land 

Humboldt (NV) PLO 740 August 3, 1951 July 1, 1951 Addition of the Santa Rosa 

Division of the Toiyabe 

Toiyabe (NV) PLO 740 August 3, 1951 July 1, 1951 Transferred Santa Rosa Division 

to Humboldt 

Coronado (AZ, NV) Proc. 2995 Nov 5, 1952 Nov 5, 1952 Transferred land to Coronado 

National Monument 

Nevada (NV) PLO 1487 Sept 9, 1957 October 1, 1957 Divided entire forest between 

Humboldt and Toiyabe; 

discontinued name 

Humboldt (NV) PLO 1487 Sept 9, 1957 October 1, 1957 Added portion of Nevada 

Toiyabe (NV) PLO 1487 Sept 9, 1957 October 1, 1957 Added portion of Nevada 

Toiyabe (CA, NV) PLO 1848 May 13, 1959 May 13, 1959 Added land 

Stanislaus (CA) PLO 2136 June 22, 1960 June 22, 1960 Eliminated land

Toiyabe (NV) PLO 3321 Jan 30, 1964 Jan 30, 1964 Added and eliminated land 

Humboldt (NV) PLO 3524 Jan 13, 1965 Jan 13, 1965 Added land (boundary

extension) 

APPENDICES - 220 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
FOREST DOCUMENT APPROVED EFFECTIVE EFFECT

Stanislaus (CA) PLO 3896 Dec 1, 1965 Dec 1, 1965 Exchanged lands with Eldorado

Toiyabe (NV) PLO 4409 April 23, 1968 April 23, 1968 Added land 

Toiyabe (NV) Public 372 August 5, 1970 August 5, 1970 Added land (boundary

extension) 

Toiyabe (CA) PLO 4899 Sept 16, 1970 Sept 16, 1970 Added land (boundary

extension) 

Toiyabe (CA, NV) PLO 5139 Oct 18, 1971 Oct 18, 1971 Added lands (boundary

extension) 

Toiyabe (CA, NV) PLO 5167 March 9, 1972 March 9, 1972 Added land 

PRIVIES PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 APPENDICES - 221
Appendix C: Personnel 

The following are lists of forest officers on the different forests and districts that now make up the

Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. Most of the names and dates have been gleaned from letters, memos,

reports, and other documents. Personnel hired after 1950 are not included. 

REGIONAL FORESTERS 

Now known as Regional Foresters, these men were originally called Superintendents, Chief Inspectors,

and District Foresters. 

INTERMOUNTAIN REGION 4 

1907 R.E. Benedict

1908-10 Clyde Leavitt 

1910-15 Edward A. Sherman 

1915-20 Leon F. Kneipp

1920-38 Richard H. Rutledge 

1939-43 Clarence N. Woods

1944-50 William B. “Ben” Rice 

PACIFIC SOUTHWEST REGION 5 

1908-11 Frederick E. Olmsted 

1911-19 Coert DuBois 

1919-26 Paul G. Redington 

1926-46 Stuart B. Show

1946-50 Perry A. Thompson 

FOREST SUPERVISORS 

RUBY AND INDEPENDENCE FOREST RESERVES, 1906-08 

1907 Franklin W. Reed 

1907 Clarence N. Woods 

1908 Charles S. “Syd” Tremewan 

 

HUMBOLDT NATIONAL FOREST, EST. 1908 

1908-13 Charles S. “Syd” Tremewan

1913-16 Scipha Bert “Doc” Arthur 

1916-17 Vernon Metcalf 

1917-18 Clarence E. Favre 

1918-19 Charles DeMoisy 

1919-23 Clarence E. Favre 

1923-38 Alexander McQueen 

1938-57 Alfred R. Torgerson

APPENDICES - 222 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
RUBY NATIONAL FOREST, 1912-17 

1912-17 James Milon Ryan

 

 

SANTA ROSA NATIONAL FOREST, 1911-17 

1911-16 Winfred W. Blakeslee

TOQUIMA AND MONITOR FOREST RESERVES, 1907-08 

1907 Mark G. Woodruff 

1908 David L. Barnett 

TOIYABE NATIONAL FOREST, 1907-32, RE-ESTABLISHED 1938 

1907 Mark G. Woodruff 

1908-09 David L. Barnett 

1909-11 Miller S. Benedict 

1911-12 V. Herbert Graff 

1912-15 Thomas J. Collins 

1915-16 Vernon Metcalf 

1916-19 Winifred W. Blakeslee

1919-25 James W. McGowan

1925-31 James E. Gurr 

1931-32 Chester J. “Chet” Olsen 

1938-43 Alexander McQueen 

1943 Jack J. McNutt and William B. “Ben” Rice

1944-46 Fred H. Kennedy

1946-50 Clarence E. Favre

 

CHARLESTON AND VEGAS FOREST RESERVES, 1906-08 

1907-08 David L. Barnett 

1907-08 Harry E. Matthews 

MOAPA NATIONAL FOREST, 1908-15 

1908-10 Harry E. Matthews 

1910-15 Thomas J. Collins 

 

NEVADA NATIONAL FOREST, 1909-57 

1909-c12 Royal Mathias 

1912-16 George C. Thompson 

1917-19 Fred L. Mott 

1918-23 Alexander McQueen 

1923-31 Charles A. Beam

1932-34 Chester J. “Chet” Olsen 

1934-38 George C. Larson

1938 Alexander McQueen

1938-45 Alonzo E. Briggs

1945-48 John M. Herbert 

1949-52 John Parker 

PRIVIES PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 APPENDICES - 223
STANISLAUS NATIONAL FOREST, EST. 1897 

1898 Allen 

1899 Langenberg 

1901 Houghet 

1902-05 Grant I. Taggert 

1905-07 S.N.L. Ellis 

1907-08 Stuart J. Flintham 

1908-19 Robert W. Ayres

1919-26 John V. Wulff 

1926-46 J.R. Hall 

1946-55 Allen F. Miller 

Part of the Stanislaus National Forest was established as the Mono National Forest in 1908. 

MONO NATIONAL FOREST, 1908-45 

1908-09 John C. Wells 

1909-38 William M. Maule 

1938-43 Darrel M. “Kelly” Traugh 

1943-45 Fred H. Kennedy

TAHOE NATIONAL FOREST, EST. 1899 

1902-05 Grant I. Taggert 

1905-06 S.N.L. Ellis

1906 D.B. Sheller 

1906-08 Madison B. Elliott 

1908-36 Richard L.P. Bigelow 

Part of the Tahoe National Forest was transferred to the Mono National Forest as the Carson 

Ranger District in 1940. 

DISTRICT RANGERS 

HUMBOLDT NATIONAL FOREST 

RUBY MOUNTAINS DIVISION 

James McNamara, Bert McNamara, James Sharp, Forrest R. Castle, John J. Boyle, Carl 

Stockbridge, Percy L. White, Vivian N. West, H.P. Talbot, Harold H. Price, W.K. Secrest, and 

Earl Templeton were rangers and guards on the Ruby Mountains Division in the early years. 

Their exact titles and dates of their service are presently unknown. Known rangers are: 

Ruby District, 1906-08 (Ruby FR), 1908-12 (HNF), 1912-17 (RNF), and 1917-present (HNF)

1917-18 James Milon Ryan 

1918-29 August C. Rowher 

1929-47 Lewis E. “Ed” McKenzie. 

1947-59 Thomas E. Brierley

 

Mound Valley District, 1906-08 (Ruby FR), 1908-1912 (HNF), 1912-17 (RNF), 1917-22 (HNF)

 Lee Jones 

APPENDICES - 224 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
 1915-22 Jack W. Mink 

 

SANTA ROSA DIVISION 

Willard W. Austin, Frank A. Herrell, and Archer Huff were rangers and guards on the Santa 

Rosa Division in the early years. Their exact titles and dates of service are presently 

unknown. Known rangers are: 

Threemile/National District, 1911-17 (SRNF) 

1911 Frank Border.

1911-15 William M. McGhie

1914-17 Alfred P. Larson

Rebel Creek District, 1911-17 (SRNF), 1917-22 (HNF)

1914-18 William S. Kalbaugh 

1917-22 C.D. "Bobby" Miller

1918 Roy Lee 

1919-21 Charles E. Smith

1921 Fred L. Woods 

1921-23 Blake A. Beatty

1923 Ralph M. Matthews 

1926-31 John Dooley 

Lamance/Paradise Ranger District, 1911-17 (SRNF), 1917 - Present (HNF) 

1912-42 Paul L. Travis 

1943-46 Sterling Righteous Justice 

1948-50 Lewis E. “Ed” McKenzie

 

CHARLESTON MOUNTAIN DIVISION: 1915-16 (TNF), 1916-37 (Dixie NF), 1937-57 (NNF) 

Mr. Fife and Mr. Fitch were forest guards on this division in the early years. In 1933, a ranger

station was built in Kyle Canyon, but the name of the first ranger there is presently unknown. 

Known rangers are as follows: 

Las Vegas Ranger District

1937-39 Robert Clark Anderson 

1939-43 Jack J. McNutt 

1943-44 E. Arnold Hansen 

1944-61 Henry C. “Hank” Hoffman

JARBIDGE/INDEPENDENCE DIVISIONS 

Jarbidge District, 1909-Present (HNF)

1909-16 Liew L. Lindsey 

1916 Harry W. Naylor

1916-19 Oscar W. Mink 

1919-21 Chester J. “Chet” Olsen 

PRIVIES PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 APPENDICES - 225
1921-24 Thomas J. Wells 

1924-29 Lewis E. “Ed” McKenzie 

1929-31 Thomas J. Wells 

1931-33 Q. David Hansen 

1933-38 Thomas Carl Haycock

1938-41 Karl J. Wilkinson

1941-43 Thomas E. Brierley 

1943-46 Ulrich H. Zuberbuhler 

1946-47 Roy C. Kuehner

1947-51 William L. Price 

Pole Creek District, 1909-19 (HNF) 

1909-16 Joseph W. “Doc” Asdale

1916-19 Ralph M. Matthews 

 

Gold Creek Ranger District, 1908-73 (HNF)

George Arnett, Archie N. Bell, John C. Brown, Charles H. Keas, Wallwin T. Job, and Maurice 

B. “Fuzzy” Cross were rangers and guards on the Gold Creek Ranger District in the early 

years. Their exact titles and dates of service are presently unknown. Known rangers are: 

1915-18 Harry W. Naylor 

1918-19? J.E. Hickman 

1919-20 Ralph M. Matthews 

1921-23 C. D. “Bobby” Miller 

1923 Don S. Chapman 

1924 Lewis E. “Ed” McKenzie 

1924? Jack W. Mink 

1924-28 Thomas J. Wells 

1929-49 August C. Rowher 

1950-51 Wayne J. Cloward

Jack Creek Ranger District, 1908-1930s (HNF)

Known officially as District 1, this merged with District 2 (Independence Ranger District) in the 

1930s. Charles E. Butler was a ranger on this district the late 1910s and early 1920s, but little 

else is known about other rangers. 

 

Mountain City Ranger District, 1908-Present (HNF)

Burton Jarvis, Charles H. Keas, and Harry W. Naylor were rangers and guards on the 

Mountain City (Independence) Ranger District in the early years. Their exact titles and dates 

of service are presently unknown. Known rangers are: 

1910s Paul Schultz 

1918- Warren C. Taylor

1921-24 Lewis E. “Ed” McKenzie 

1925-27 Willard B. Hamlin 

1927 W.K. Secrest

1928 Charles E. Butler 

1931-32 August C. Rowher 

1933 Wilford E. “Emer” Tangren

1934-40 Q. David Hansen 

1940-43 Ben R. Stahmann 

APPENDICES - 226 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
1943-46 Thomas E. Brierley

1946-53 Roy C. Kuehner or D.M. Gaufin

NEVADA NATIONAL FOREST 

The numbers and configurations of early rangers districts on the NNF are unclear. Charles P. Thompson, 

Doctor B. Bailey, Robert E. Burke, Barney McNulty, James A. Cahill, C.R. “Mud” Townsend, Frank E.

Gray, M.C. Sorenson, Lloyd Robison, Frank O. Kohler, Charles F. Patterson, William L. Thorne, and Will

H. Tremewan were rangers or guards on the Nevada National Forest in the early years. Their exact titles

and dates of service are presently unknown. Known rangers are as follows. 

White Pine District 

John N. “Jack” McGuire 

1912-19? George C. Larson

1921-28 George E. Moore 

1929-32 Thomas Windous

1933-39 George E. Moore 

1940-44 Foyer Olsen 

1944-45 Robert A. Williams 

1947 P.M. Reese 

1951-52 Horace Jensen

Currant District

1933- Thomas A. Windous

Spring Valley District 

1933- George E. Moore

1937-40 Ben R. Stahmann

 

Baker District, 1909-57 (NNF) 

1916 Charles P. Thompson

1918 George C. Larson 

1921- Graham S. Quate

1930s Warren C. Taylor

1937-40s Sylvan D. Warner 

1945 Reed Thompson

1951 M.I. Bishop 

Ely District 

The present-day Ely District may have encompassed other districts (e.g. the Currant Ranger 

District). Those known to have worked from Ely included: 

1941-43 Q. David Hansen 

1944-47 Foyer Olsen 

1947-59 Archie Murchie

PRIVIES PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 APPENDICES - 227
TOIYABE NATIONAL FOREST 

Mr. Kivott, Clyde Quinn, Mr. McDonald, Lewis E. Hardy, George B. Hiskey, Irving A. Holt, Carl Stockbridge,

M.R. Harris, F.H. Miller, R.W. Lorigan, Edward Brown, Harry H. Long, Riley Patten, Royal Mathias, and 

Robert E. Marshall were rangers or guards on the Toiyabe National Forest in the early years. Their exact 

titles and dates of service are presently unknown. Known rangers are:

Kingston/Austin District, c.1908-32 (TNF), 1932-38 (NNF), 1938-44 (TNF)

1915- James A. Cahill 

1920- McDougall 

1922- J.W. Griffith 

1924-25 F.H. Miller

1926-31 Alfred R. Torgerson

1935-38 Ivan L. Dyreng

1938-44 John L. “Jay” Sevy 

1944-48 Q. David Hansen

1948-57 Arthur M. Cusick

Potts District, c.1908-32 (TNF), 1932-38 (NNF), 1938-44 (TNF)

1915 Wholey 

1917 Percy L. White 

1920- J.D. Schoeller 

1921-25 Roy A. Brown 

1925-27? James J. Muir 

1927-c30 Arthur C. Smith

1930-35 Ivan L. Dyreng

1936-37 Lamont A. “Monte” Rowher

1937-38 John L. “Jay” Sevy 

1938-39 Basil K. Crane 

1940-41 Orville Sparrow 

1942-44 Homer W. Parks

Mohawk/Reese River Ranger District, 19??-32 (TNF), 1932-38 (NNF), 1938-44 (TNF)

1915-16 James W. McGowan

1920 J.D. Schoeller 

1922 E.W. Johnson 

1924 no ranger

1925 A.P. Paulsen 

1926 Egge

1927 Carroll Humphrey

1928-30s Phil Kennedy

1940-44? Basil K. Crane 

1944- John L. “Jay” Sevy 

Jefferson/Manhattan District, c.1908-32 (TNF), 1932-c.1934 (NNF)

1908-17? Raymond G. Steele

1917 K.C. Irvine 

1918 Clarence Wyatt 

1919-20 Albert W. Mayett 

1922 A.W. Showl. 

1924 Charles Keller 

APPENDICES - 228 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
1925 Alfred R. Torgerson 

1926-28? Phil Kennedy

1929 (Willard B.?) Hamlin 

1930- Anderson C. Walker 

1934 Phil Kennedy 

1938 Marvin S. Jeppesen

1944- John L. "Jay" Sevy 

Tonopah District, 1945-Present (TNF)

1944-46 Basil K. Crane 

1947-48 Glen R. Jones 

1948-57 Jack M. Buckhouse

MONO NATIONAL FOREST 

Carson District, 1940-45 (MNF), 1945-present (TNF)

1940-c43 Walter J. Puhn

c1943-44 Richard Droege

1944-45 Gilbert B. Doll 

1945-50 E. Arnold Hansen

Alpine District, 1908-45 (MNF), 1945-1973 (TNF)

1910-c12 Bauder 

1912-c15 Jones 

c1915-35 William J. Clark 

1935-36 William Earwaker 

1936-41 William Hayes 

1941-48 Robert A. Gardner 

1948-51 Ulrich M. Zuberbuhler

Bridgeport District, 1908-45 (MNF) and 1945-present (TNF)

1907-08 Thomas C. West

1910 Fulton

c1915-19 Tyler 

1919-41 Henry W. Atcheson 

1941 Richard Droege

1941-43 William Hayes 

1943-47 Glen R. Jones 

1947-51 Lyle Smith

Sweetwater Ranger District, c.1910-1945 (MNF)

1910-12 Jones 

1912-c15 William J. Clark 

c1915-23 Henry W. Atcheson 

c1923-25 Carl E. Johnson 

c1925-27 W.J. Brokenshire 

1927-38 Frank R. Allen 

1938-39 Albert W. Bramhall 

1939-c41 Wallace E. Green

PRIVIES PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 APPENDICES - 229
c1941-45 Henry W. Atcheson 

West Walker Ranger District, 1945-73 (TNF)

1945-52 George D. Swainston

APPENDICES - 230 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
Appendix D: Associated People 

The following is a list of people associated with the historic administration and development of the 

Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. Those who are known to have played a significant role are denoted 

with an asterisk (*). Others, while not denoted as such, are included for two reasons. The first is to

document various people associated with the forest. The second is to provide a starting point for future 

research that may identify additional significant people. 

Sources for the following information include Region Four Alumni Bulletins, the diary of Mono Forest 

Supervisor William Maule, the Humboldt Hummer, obituaries, oral history interviews, newspaper clippings,

land classification reports, and miscellaneous documents in Forest Service files. The written works of

several people were also consulted. They include, but are not limited to, the works of Pamela Conners, 

Edna Patterson, Basil Crane, Jack Wilcox, Victor Goodwin, Alonzo E. Briggs, John Grosvenor, and

George Larson. Refer to the bibliography for complete citations. 

*Abegglen, Jack C. Abegglan may have been hired during the Depression when the Humboldt National 

Forest received funds and labor to construct numerous buildings under the New Deal program. He was 

there by 1937 when he served as construction and maintenance foreman of CCC crews at the Lamance 

Experiment Station (Santa Rosa Ranger District) and the Fir Street Compound (Elko). He played a

significant role in the construction of numerous buildings and was still with the Forest Service in Elko in

1958. 

Allen, Frank R. Allen was the Sweetwater District Ranger from 1927 to 1938. 

*Anderson, Arval L. A native of Idaho, Anderson received his civil engineering degree from Idaho State 

University. He worked for the Forest Service from 1925-64, with a few years of military leave during World 

War II. In 1960, he transferred to Region One where he stayed until 1963. While at Region Four, he 

worked his way up from Senior Surveyor and Draftsman (his title in 1928) to Regional Engineer (1939-59). 

Anderson, Robert Clark. Anderson received his BS in Range from Utah State University in 1934. He 

served as ranger on the Las Vegas District from 1937 to 1939. In 1958, he was working at the Region

Four office in Ogden. 

Arnett, George. He was a ranger in the Mountain City area and may have been the first stationed at the 

Gold Creek Ranger Station.

Arthur, Scipha Bert “Doc”. Arthur was practicing dentistry in Mackay, Idaho in the early 1900s when the

Forest Supervisor of the Lemhi National Forest, James Ryan, convinced him to join the Forest Service. In

the spring of 1913, Arthur transferred from the Region Four office to replace Syd Tremewan as Forest

Supervisor of the Humboldt National Forest. Arthur resigned from the Forest Service on July 15, 1916, 

even though he had been offered the post of Forest Supervisor on the Dixie National Forest. He worked

for John G. Taylor of Lovelock, the largest sheep operator in Nevada at the time. In 1920, he went to work

at Harold B. Harris’s electrical supply shop in Elko. Two years later, he moved to Huntington Beach, 

California where he practiced dentistry. He eventually moved to Los Angeles before retiring in 1932.

Arthur died in 1938 and was buried in the Carson City cemetery. 

Asdale, Joseph W. “Doc”. A graduate of a German medical school, Asdale was the first ranger of the

Pole Creek District from 1910 to 1916. He constructed the Pole Creek Ranger Station of logs in 1911.

Asdale resigned from the Forest Service but remained in the Jarbidge area until 1940. 

*Atcheson, Henry W. Atcheson began work on the Mono National Forest in August 1909 as a forest

guard. He was eventually promoted and served as District Ranger of the Sweetwater (c1915-23 and

PRIVIES PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 APPENDICES - 231
c.1941-45) and Bridgeport (1919-41) districts. He retired in 1945 after 34 years of administering parts of

the Mono National Forest. 

Ayres, Robert W. Ayres was hired as a Forest Assistant on the Stanislaus National Forest on November 

9, 1907. He became its Forest Supervisor on June 1, 1908, serving in that position until 1919. 

Bailey, Doctor B. He was an early ranger on the Nevada National Forest, possibly on the White Pine

District. 

*Barnett, David L. Barnett was responsible for the early administration of several new forest reserves in 

Nevada. He served as the Forest Supervisor of the Charleston and Vegas forest reserves (1907-08) and 

the Toquima, Monitor and Toiyabe forests (1908). The latter three were consolidated as the Toiyabe

National Forest in 1908 and Barnett served as its Forest Supervisor until 1909. He later became Forest 

Supervisor of the Targhee National Forest, resigning from that position on February 28, 1911. 

Bauder, _____. He was a ranger on the Alpine Ranger District in 1910 and 1911. Although he was 

recommended for reinstatement in May of 1912, it is not known if was re-hired. 

Beam, Charles A. Beam transferred from the Wyoming National Forest to serve as Forest Supervisor of 

the Nevada National Forest from 1923 to 1931. 

Bean, _____. He was a guard on the Charleston Mountain Division in the early years. 

Beatty, Blake A. Beatty was the Rebel Creek District Ranger from 1921 until 1923. 

Bell, Archie N. Bell was one of the first rangers on the Gold Creek Ranger District. He was still a ranger 

on the Humboldt National Forest when he resigned from the Forest Service on May 30, 1912.

Benedict, Miller S. Benedict was the Acting Forest Supervisor of the Toiyabe National Forest in 1908 and 

became Forest Supervisor from 1909 until 1911. He joined the war effort and by June 1917 was 

commissioned as a first lieutenant in the Tenth Engineering Regiment (Forestry). He was Forest 

Supervisor of the Sawtooth National Forest in the 1920s and of the Caribou National Forest the following

decade. In 1958, Benedict was living in Clarkdale, Arizona. 

Benedict, R.E. In 1907, Benedict worked from Salt Lake City as Chief Inspector (now known as Regional

Forester) of District Four (Region Four). 

Bieroth, Hugh. He was in the livestock business in Mountain City but also worked on the Humboldt

National Forest. He was a forest guard for Ranger Charlie Butler in 1927 and later worked with the Gold 

Creek District Ranger, August Rowher. 

*Blakeslee, Winfred W. Blakeslee was the first and only Forest Supervisor of the Santa Rosa National 

Forest from 1911 until 1916. He was an engineer credited with accurately locating the boundaries of the 

Santa Rosa National Forest. In 1916, he transferred to the Toiyabe National Forest as Forest Supervisor,

serving until 1919 when he transferred to the Uinta National Forest. In June of 1922, Blakeslee married

Ruth Morris, who had worked with him on the Toiyabe and Payette forests. He was working in the Region

Four Division of Engineering by 1928. He died October 15, 1942 after 34 years of service. 

*Blanchard, Norman K. He and Edward J. Maher were architects who were hired in Region Five in 1933. 

The two produced dozens of building plans in support of an extensive construction program during the

Depression. Although they left in 1938 to join the firm of Robert Spencer, they are credited with creating

the Forest Service’s architectural identity in California. Blanchard and Maher later designed buildings for 

the military, including those at the Hawthorne Ammunition Depot. 

APPENDICES - 232 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
Border, Frank. In 1911, Border was a ranger on the Threemile/National District of the Santa Rosa

National Forest. 

Bramhall, Albert W. He came from the Modoc National Forest to serve as the Sweetwater District 

Ranger in 1938 until March of 1939 when he transferred to the Mendocino National Forest. 

*Breiding, Ray. Before he joined the Forest Service in 1933, Breiding was a tunnel engineer for the City 

of Seattle and had worked on the 80-mile water supply tunnel of San Francisco. Records indicate that he

was a CCC Superintendent on the Mono National Forest, most likely at Camp Antelope near Coleville, 

California. During World War II, he served as Camp Superintendent of the Civilian Public Service camp 

there. He remained with the Mono National Forest and in 1943 replaced Donald G. MacBean as Forest

Engineer. Breiding was responsible for the implementation of many improvement projects on the Carson 

and Bridgeport districts. 

Brierley, Thomas E. Brierley was a district ranger on the Jarbidge (1941-43), Mountain City (1943-46),

and Ruby Mountains (1947-59) districts. He later served as a district ranger at Jackson, Wyoming.

*Briggs, Alonzo E. Born and raised on a farm and livestock ranch in southeast Idaho, Briggs became a

forest ranger on November 18, 1924 at age 30. He started on the Grays Lake Ranger District in Idaho. 

After working on several Idaho districts, Briggs became Assistant Forest Supervisor for the Nevada 

National Forest on March 1, 1937. A year later, he was sent to Reno for two months before he was 

transferred back to Ely as the Forest Supervisor for the Nevada National Forest. He started in this position 

on August 1, 1938 and finished on November 1, 1945 when he transferred to the Minidoka National

Forest. During that time, Briggs was very active in the community, serving as President of the Ely Lions

Club and Chairman of the White Pine County Civil Defense Council. He also wrote the civil defense

emergency fire protection plan that was used by all of the counties throughout the state. Briggs was living 

in Ogden in 1958. 

Brown, John C. He was an assistant ranger on the Gold Creek District in 1911. 

Butler, Charles E. He was a district ranger on the Humboldt National Forest, working from the Jack 

Creek Ranger Station (late 1910s and early 1920s), Tuscarora (1920s and 1930s) and Mountain City 

(1920s). According to the Humboldt Hummer, Butler’s home was in Tennessee but he had daughters and

nieces in California with whom he visited and may have supported. He retired sometime before 1935

when he was reported ill with heart trouble in a Los Angeles hospital. In September of 1937, he was living 

in San Bernardino, California. 

Cahill, James A. Cahill worked on the Nevada National Forest in the first few years after its 

establishment. He later went to the Toiyabe National Forest, working as a ranger on the Kingston/Austin

District in 1915. In 1917, he went on a detail to the Humboldt National Forest for mineral examination

work. 

*Carhart, Arthur. In early 1919, Arthur Carhart was hired as the Forest Service’s first permanent 

landscape architect. A graduate of Iowa State College, he first worked in the Rocky Mountain Region. 

During his short tenure with the agency, he advocated the protection of wilderness areas and the

development of recreation sites. Although he resigned in frustration in 1922, Carhart is recognized as a

significant figure for his early work in the fields of wilderness and recreation. 

*Church, James Edward. Recognized as the “Father of Snow Surveying,” Church was a graduate of the

University of Michigan. He began teaching Latin and Greek at the University of Nevada in Reno in 1892.

He left for two years to get his doctorate in classics from the University of Munich in Bavaria but returned to

UNR where he pursued his love of mountaineering. Because of this interest, he offered to collect 

meteorological data on the summit of Mount Rose in 1905. This marked the beginning of the Mt. Rose

Observatory that, through his work, became the Department of Mountain Meteorology and Climatology of 

PRIVIES PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 APPENDICES - 233
the Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station in 1906. Church went on to develop snow surveying

techniques to forecast water runoff. The international significance of his work is indisputable and in 1944 a 

newspaper article described him as the “world’s leading snow scientist and inventor of the principal snow

survey and forecasting system used in almost every nation of the world.” Not only did Church serve as

Chairman of the International Commission on Snow and Ice, but he was also invited by the governments

of India and Argentina to set up snow surveys in those countries. 

Clark, Fred B. Clark was a ranger on the Mono National Forest in the first years after its establishment. 

*Clark, William J. Born and raised in Sutter County, California, Clark entered the Forest Service in 1909.

He was hired as a guard on the Mono National Forest in the spring of 1910, taking the ranger exam later 

that year. He worked mostly on the Mono Lake Ranger District (now part of the Inyo National Forest) until

1912 when he became the Sweetwater District Ranger. Around 1915, he transferred to the Alpine District

where he served as ranger until 1935. Clark was responsible for a significant part of forest administration

and management during his long tenure. He retired in 1935 and died five years later at age 69. 

Chapman, Don S. Chapman was a ranger on the Humboldt National Forest, working from Gold Creek 

and Three Creek, Idaho in the early 1920s. 

Choinski, W.F. He was a ranger on the Jarbidge District, stationed at Three Creek, Idaho, in FY1922. 

Cloward, Wayne J. He was a ranger on the Gold Creek (1950-51) and Santa Rosa (1951-55) districts,

before transferring to the Payette National Forest. 

Collins, Thomas J. Credited with being the first officer on the Toiyabe National Forest to use a 

motorcycle (1913), Collins was the Forest Supervisor of the Moapa National Forest from June 26, 1910

until 1915. During that time, he also served as Forest Supervisor of the Toiyabe, from 1912 to 1915. He

resigned on August 31, 1915 after the Toiyabe absorbed the Moapa. 

Crane, Basil K. Crane was a CCC enrollee at Paris, Idaho before attending Utah State Agricultural 

College where he earned a BS in Range (1935). Crane worked on the Toiyabe National Forest as district

ranger on the Potts (1938-39), Reese River (1940-c44), and Tonopah (1944-46) districts. In 1946, he

transferred to the Forest Supervisor’s office in Reno. By 1958, he was an Assistant Regional Forester in

Colorado. 

*Cross, Maurice B. “Fuzzy.” Cross lived in Nebraska on a farm until he was 15 years old. He spent two 

years with the Reclamation Service surveying party on the Truckee-Carson project before joining the

Forest Service in 1910. Three years later, he filed a homestead claim in Elko County, next to the 

Humboldt National Forest. Cross worked as a ranger on the Gold Creek District and contributed

significantly to forest administration by preparing the 1916 Land Classification Report for the forest. He left 

the Forest Service on July 9, 1918, but continued to live in the Elko area as late as 1921. 

*Curtiss, H.L. He was a landscape architect in the Region Four office who was hired in or prior to 1935. 

Under his direction, the first landscape plans for administrative and recreational sites were designed and

implemented.

Cusick, Arthur M. The uncle of Ranger Jack Wilcox, Cusick started working for the Forest Service in the

1920s at Pahsimannoi, then Clayton, Idaho. He was the Austin District Ranger from 1948 until he retired 

in 1957. He was still living in Austin in 1958. 

DeMoisy, Charles. DeMoisy was born in Ft. Scott, Kansas on January 10, 1884. When he was seven 

years old, his family moved to Provo where he later worked in a bank as a messenger and bookkeeper 

until 1905. After a year of constructing a railroad in north California, he returned to Utah and worked in

railroad offices. In the summer of 1909, he got a job with an improvement crew on the Ashley National

APPENDICES - 234 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
Forest and, in the fall, passed the ranger exam. On June 1, 1910, he was assigned to the Vernal District

for a month, working afterwards on the Manila, Whiterocks, and Lake Fork districts. In August of 1917, he

went to the Humboldt National Forest as Deputy Forest Supervisor. When Supervisor Favre was called

into military service in 1918, DeMoisy filled in. Favre returned in February of 1919 and DeMoisy was given 

a choice between his former job and a new position as Supervisor of the LaSal National Forest. He chose

the latter. That was followed by an assignment on the Ashley National Forest. He then worked on the 

Uinta National Forest from 1925 until 1938 when he went to the Region Four Office as Assistant to the

Chief of Range and Wildlife Management. He retired from the Forest Service in May of 1947 and was still

living in Ogden in 1958. 

Doll, Gilbert B. Doll started as an Assistant Ranger on the Carson District in 1942 and was its district

ranger in 1944-45. By 1947, he was working in the Toiyabe Supervisor’s Office in Reno. 

Droege, Richard. On June 5, 1941, he transferred to the Bridgeport Ranger District from the Stanislaus 

National Forest. He served as the Carson District Ranger from around 1943 until 1944. 

Dyreng, Ivan L. He was a district ranger on the Potts (1930-35) and Kingston/Austin (1935-38) districts. 

*Earwaker, William. First mentioned in William Maule's diary in November 1931, Earwaker worked as a 

guard on the Mono National Forest. He operated from and lived at the Wheeler Guard Station and Chris 

Flat Ranger Station, completing a significant amount of construction work at these two places. From

around April of 1935 to the summer of 1936, he was the Acting Ranger at Markleeville. During the 

Depression, he served as foreman of work relief crews and Maule praised him as the "best structural 

foreman on the works." He was in charge of a spike camp at Carson City in March of 1941 when he was 

promoted to project superintendent of Camp Antelope near Coleville, California. 

Ellis, S.N.L. He was the Forest Supervisor of the Stanislaus (1905-07) and Tahoe (1905-06) forest

reserves. 

*Favre, Clarence E. Born c.1888, Favre studied at old Salubria, Cambridge and at a prep school in

Moscow, Idaho before getting his degree in forestry from the University of Idaho. After working for a year, 

he returned to get his masters degree. He worked on the Humboldt National Forest, first as a ranger

(FY1917) and later as Forest Supervisor (1917 to January 1923). This was interrupted by his army service

in 1918-19 and his job as District (Regional) Forest Inspector in 1920-21. In 1923, Favre became Forest

Supervisor of the Wyoming-Bridger National Forest. By the late 1930s, he was at the Regional Office as

Assistant Regional Forester in charge of the Division of Range Management. In 1946, he became Forest 

Supervisor of the Toiyabe National Forest, where he remained until December 31, 1950 when he retired. 

Favre Lake, in the Ruby Mountains, is named after him.

Fife, _____. He was a guard on the Charleston Mountain Division in its early years. 

Fitch, _____. He was a guard on the Charleston Mountain Division in its early years.

Franz, Arthur R. Junior Landscape Architect Arthur R. Franz worked in the Region Four office. He 

prepared a development plan for the Terrace Guard Station in 1937. 

Fulton, _____. Fulton was an early ranger on the Bridgeport District. He was there in March 1910 but it

appears he was let go around 1912 after falsifying some reports. 

Garrison, A.W. He was an Assistant Forest Ranger in October 1909 when he surveyed the Mountain City 

Ranger Station. He was still around in August 1911 when he surveyed the Pavlak Mine near Jarbidge. 

PRIVIES PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 APPENDICES - 235
*Gibbs, George. Gibbs was one of two landscape architects hired in Region Five in 1933. He was “on 

loan” from Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr.’s office in Palo Verde. He and L. Glenn Hall were responsible for

the design and implementation of landscaping plans on the California forests. 

Graff, V. Herbert. Graff served as the Forest Supervisor of the Toiyabe National Forest from 1911 to

1912. 

*Gedney, Frank S. An attorney in Elko and a Ruby Valley ranch owner, Gedney led several ranchers in

submitting a petition to Gifford Pinchot for the designation of the Ruby Mountains as a forest reserve. He 

eventually left Elko for Idaho where he and Faustina Alsola consolidated several small sheep outfits as the

Bruneau Sheep Company with headquarters at Grandview, Idaho. The company controlled extensive

forest range rights in the Mountain City area. 

Green, Wallace E. Green may have been hired on the Mono National Forest as early as May 1913. He

and Forest Supervisor Maule planned and developed the Wheeler Ranger Station, where Green lived for a 

few years. He served as Mono Lake District Ranger from 1915 until March 6, 1939 when he was 

transferred to the Sweetwater District. He remained there until about 1941. 

*Groben, W. Ellis. Groben, a consulting architect, played a strong role in developing the Forest Service’s 

architectural identity by standardizing plans and raising the quality of design. A graduate of the University 

of Pennsylvania and L’Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Groben served as chief architect for the City of 

Philadelphia before he was hired as a consulting architect for the Forest Service. He advocated the idea of 

an agency identity while allowing for flexibility in design and materials to conform to local and regional

styles and environment. 

Gurr, James. Gurr was the Forest Supervisor of the Toiyabe (1925-31), Dixie (1931-36) and Wasatch 

(1936-44) national forests. He received his BS in Forestry from Utah State University in 1939. 

*Hall, L. Glenn. He was one of two landscape architects hired in Region Five in 1933. Hall, who stayed

for five years, wrote a Landscape Manual for Administrative Sites in the California Region in 1935. He and 

George Gibbs were responsible for the design and implementation of landscaping plans on the California

forests.

Hallock, Dick. During World War II, he was a foreman on the Toiyabe National Forest and directed 

Conscientious Objector projects. He may have been hired during the CCC era. 

Hansen, Q. David. Hansen was a long-term ranger on the Humboldt and Toiyabe forests, serving on the

Jarbidge (1931-33), Mountain City (1935-40), Ely (1941-43), and Austin (1940s) districts. In 1948, he

transferred from Austin to Loa, Utah where he continued to serve as a district ranger.

Hansen, E. Arnold. He was district ranger on the Las Vegas (1943-44) and Carson (1945-50) districts. 

Haycock, Thomas Carl. Haycock was the Jarbidge District Ranger from 1933 to 1938. He married

Mildred Lucille Lamerean of Denver on June 4, 1938 at Supervisor Torgerson’s home. He later served as

district ranger at Monroe, Utah. 

Hayes, William. Formerly on the Plumas National Forest, Hayes was district ranger of the Alpine (1936-

41) and Bridgeport (1941-43) districts.

Hamlin, Willard B. He was the Mountain City District Ranger from 1925 to 1927. He may have also been

the Ranger Hamlin who was at Manhattan, on the Toiyabe National Forest, in 1929. 

Herbert, John M. He served as Forest Supervisor of the Nevada National Forest from 1945 to 1948. 

APPENDICES - 236 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
*Herring, W.E. W.E. Herring was the first chief of the Reserve Engineering Section in the Washington 

Office. Pinchot created this section in late 1906 with ten civil engineers, several telephone experts, and 

draftsmen. When the forests were reorganized into districts in 1908, Herring became a district engineer. 

Hickman, J.E. He was forest ranger at Gold Creek in FY1919. 

*Hoffman, Henry C. “Hank.” Hoffman worked for the Forest Service for 33 years, serving as the Las 

Vegas District Ranger from 1944 to 1961. He received his master's degree in mathematics from the

University of Idaho in 1928 and worked as a ranger in Weiser and McCall, Idaho, as well as Ogden, Utah.

After retiring from the Forest Service, Hoffman worked as a building engineer. He died August 21, 1986 in 

Las Vegas. 

Holberg, Rosalie. Holberg moved west from the Washington Office after the Forest Service was

decentralized in 1908. She worked as a draftsperson in the Region Four Division of Engineering through 

the 1920s (and possibly later). In 1958, she was still living in Ogden. 

Hurl, Dick. Dick Hurl was in charge of the Lamance Experiment Station in 1946. 

Jarvis, Burton. He was an assistant ranger on the Mountain City District in 1911. 

Jeppeson, Marvin S. Jeppeson was a district ranger on the Toiyabe National Forest in 1938, possibly on

the Potts District. He resigned in 1943 to enter defense work 

Job, Wallwin T. Forest Service records list him as a ranger at Gold Creek in FY1914. He was not

assigned to a particular district and may have worked out of the Supervisor’s Office there. 

Johnson, Carl E. He was the Sweetwater District Ranger from about 1923 until 1925. 

Johnson, E.W. He was a ranger on the Mohawk/Reese River district in 1922. 

Jones, _____. He was the Sweetwater District Ranger from 1910 until 1912 when he transferred to the 

Alpine District where he remained until about 1915. 

Jones, Glen R. Jones was a district ranger on the Bridgeport (1943-47) and Tonopah (1947-48) districts. 

Jones, Lee. He may have been the first ranger on the Mound Valley (Jiggs) District. 

Justice, Sterling Righteous. Justice was born in Idaho where he worked on a ranch before joining the

Forest Service on April 1, 1908. He worked in several districts on the Idaho forests before he was 

transferred to the Santa Rosa Ranger District on January 1, 1943. Justice retired in October of 1946 at the 

age of 62. The following year he started working for the Quarter Circle A cattle outfit. In 1958, he was 

living in Nampa, Idaho. 

*Kalbaugh, William S. During 1909 and 1910, Kalbaugh worked with a field party for the Oregon Valley 

Land Company in Lake County, Oregon. During 1912 and part of 1913, he made cultural surveys and 

maps of twelve of the ranches in Paradise Valley in connection with the adjudication of water rights of the

Little Humboldt River and its tributaries. He was the Rebel Creek District Ranger from 1914 until 1918. He

also contributed significantly to the administration of the Santa Rosa National Forest when he helped 

prepare the 1917 land classification report. Kalbaugh resigned from the Forest Service on January 15,

1919. In 1921, he was living in Scott's Bluff, Nebraska. 

Keas, Charles H. He was an early district ranger stationed at Meadow Creek (on the present-day

Mountain City District). 

PRIVIES PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 APPENDICES - 237
Keener, Mike. He was an early ranger on the Independence Division (present-day Mountain City District). 

Keller, Charles. Keller was a ranger on the Jefferson/Manhattan District in 1924. Five years later, he was 

a guard stationed at the Mountain City Ranger Station. He was living in Ione, Nevada in 1958. 

*Kennedy, Fred H. Kennedy became Forest Supervisor of the Mono National Forest in 1943. In 1944, he

moved to Reno and served as Forest Supervisor of the Mono-Toiyabe National Forest, continuing in this

position after the Mono was absorbed by the Toiyabe on July 1, 1945. In 1946, Kennedy transferred to

Region Six as Assistant Regional Forester for Range Management. 

Kennedy, Phil. He was a ranger on the Toiyabe National Forest in the 1920s and 1930s, serving on the 

Jefferson/Manhattan District (1926-c28) and the Mohawk/Reese River District (1928-early 1930s). He was

the Manhattan-Tonopah District Ranger in 1934 when he was directing a transient work crew. 

King, _____. A Region Five designer named King prepared a landscape plan for the Markleeville Ranger 

Station that was implemented in 1936. 

Koch, Lewis B. Forest Service records list him as a Deputy Forest Supervisor in Elko in FY1923 and

FY1924. 

Kuehner, Roy C. Kuehner served as district ranger on the Jarbidge (1946-47) and Mountain City (1946-

53) districts. He later worked with the Soil Conservation Service in Wyoming. In 1971, he was the District

Ranger of the Mesa District on the Grand Mesa-Uncompohgre National Forest in Region Two. 

Lancaster, Fred G. He was a forest guard on the Pole Creek District in 1910. 

Larson, Alfred P. Larson was the Threemile/National District Ranger from 1914 until 1917. 

*Larson, George C. Originally from Nebraska, Larson arrived in Ely during the summer of 1901. He 

worked for Steptoe Valley ranchers for the next ten years. He joined the Forest Service on April 15, 1912

and was a ranger when he prepared the 1917 classification report for the Nevada National Forest. He

served on the White Pine District (1912-19), leaving the NNF in 1919. Larson returned as Forest 

Supervisor of the NNF in 1934, remaining in that position until 1938 when he transferred to the Uinta

National Forest. While in Ely, he was elected President of the Ely Lions Club. By 1958, he was living in

Santa Ana, California. 

*Leavitt, Clyde. Leavitt examined the Monitor and Toiyabe ranges in 1906 for the purpose of designating

them as forest reserves. He served as District Forester of District Four from 1908 until 1910. 

Lee, Roy. Forest Service records list him as a ranger at Rebel Creek in FY1919. 

Lewis, Wayne O. Forest Service records list him as an assistant forest ranger at Jarbidge in FY1925. 

Lindsey, Liew L. He was reportedly the first Jarbidge District Ranger, serving from 1909 to 1916. 

MacBean, Donald G. MacBean graduated from Cornell University in 1923 and joined the Forest Service

in June of 1933 on the Trinity National Forest. In 1938, he transferred from the Tahoe to the Mono

National Forest where he served as the forest engineer. He transferred back to the Tahoe on September 

16, 1943. 

*Maher, Edward J. He and Norman K. Blanchard were architects who were hired in Region Five in 1933. 

The two produced dozens of building plans in support of an extensive construction program during the

Depression. Although they left in 1938 to join the firm of Robert Spencer, they are credited with creating

APPENDICES - 238 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
the Forest Service’s architectural identity in California. Blanchard and Maher later designed buildings for 

the military, including those at the Hawthorne Ammunition Depot. 

Marshall, Robert E. He was a forest guard in May of 1908 when he developed the Blackburn Ranger 

Station pasture. 

*Martin, George E. As a recreational planner in the Region Four office, Martin prepared many planting 

plans for ranger stations during the 1930s. He was there by 1935 and developed landscaping plans for the

Terraces Guard Station, the Lamoille Ranger Station, and the Paradise Valley Ranger Station. 

*Martin, Joseph P. Appointed Region Four's Chief Engineer in 1910, Martin graduated with a degree in

civil engineering from Lehigh University in 1900 and worked for U.S. Steel and the Virginia railways before

joining Region Four in 1908. He served as Chief Engineer until 1938 when he transferred to the Federal

Power Commission. 

Mathias, Royal. In 1908, Mathias was stationed in the Tonopah area near Barley Creek. He served as

Forest Supervisor of the Nevada National Forest from 1909 until 1911 or 1912. 

*Matthews, Harry E. On March 1, 1907, Marshall began work as a forest guard on the Charleston Forest

Reserve. By September, he was put in charge of the Charleston and Vegas reserves, serving as Forest

Supervisor when the two were combined as the Moapa National Forest in 1908. He remained in that 

position until he retired on June 30, 1910. 

Matthews, Ralph M. He was a ranger on the Pole Creek (1916-19), Gold Creek (1919-20) and Rebel

Creek (1920s) districts.

*Maule, William M. Raised on a farm near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Maule attended the University of 

Pennsylvania where he majored in biology. Beginning in 1899, he worked as a student assistant in the 

USDA Division of Forestry on the Olympic Peninsula near Satsop. After graduating from the School of

Forestry at Cornell University in 1902, Maule worked in the Philippines where the forestry program was 

administered by the Department of the Army. While there, he served as Forestry Inspector from 1902-04

before he was promoted to Assistant to the Chief of the Bureau of Forestry. In 1906, Maule returned to the

United States for a two-month assignment in Washington, DC. He was then assigned to the Sierra South,

now the Sequoia National Forest, as a Forest Assistant. On October 21, 1909, Maule became the Forest

Supervisor of the Mono National Forest, serving in that position until he retired in 1938. 

Mayett, Albert W. Mayett was a ranger on the Jefferson/Manhattan District in 1919-20. In 1938, he

owned a garage in Tonopah and was a Nye County Commissioner. 

McGhie, William M. He was the Threemile/National District Ranger from 1911 to 1915. 

McGowan, James W. McGowan was the Mohawk/Reese River District Ranger (1915-16) and later

became the Forest Supervisor of the Toiyabe National Forest (1919-25). In FY1926, he was working on

the Humboldt National Forest as Acting or Assistant Forest Supervisor. 

McGuire, John N. “Jack.” He was a ranger on the White Pine District sometime before 1921. 

*McKenzie, Lewis E. “Ed.” After serving in World War I, McKenzie joined the Forest Service in late 1918.

He spent his entire career on the Humboldt National Forest, contributing significantly to its administration

and management. He was a ranger on the Mountain City (1921-24), Gold Creek (1924), Jarbidge (1924-

29), Ruby Mountains (1929-47), and Santa Rosa (1948-50) districts. He retired on December 31, 1950

and was living in Mountain City in 1958. 

McMillan, W.S. He was a ranger on the Sweetwater District in 1914. 

PRIVIES PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 APPENDICES - 239
McNamara, Bert. He, James McNamara and James Sharp were the first administrative personnel on the 

Ruby Mountains District. He may have been H.A. (Herbert?) McNamara, who prepared a 1908 report on 

the Clover Ranger Station. 

McNamara, James. He, Bert McNamara and James Sharp were the first administrative personnel on the

Ruby Mountains District. 

McNulty, Barney. He was a ranger on the White Pine District in the early years of the Nevada National

Forest. 

McNutt, Jack J. McNutt was the Las Vegas District Ranger from 1939 to 1943. For several months in

1943, he took over the administration of the Toiyabe National Forest after Supervisor McQueen suffered a

severe stroke.

*McQueen, Alexander. Described as “a little redheaded Scotsman,” McQueen was a native of Preston,

Idaho where he worked on his father’s ranch. He was employed at a general store and with the railway

mail service before joining the Forest Service in 1909. He first worked as an assistant ranger on the 

Pocatello National Forest, leaving after five years to pursue work in the private sector. He returned as a

ranger (reportedly on the White Pine District) in 1916 and two years later became Deputy Forest 

Supervisor of the Humboldt National Forest. He was only there for a short time before he was promoted to

Forest Supervisor of the Nevada National Forest in 1918. In 1923, he transferred back to the Humboldt

and served as Forest Supervisor there until 1938. While in Elko, he was very active with local sportsmen 

in reviving the Elko County Fin and Feather Club. In 1938, McQueen was sent to Reno where he became 

Forest Supervisor of the Toiyabe National Forest. He suffered a severe stroke in the spring of 1943 and 

retired from his position effective December 31, 1943. 

*Metcalf, Vernon. Metcalf was the Forest Supervisor of the Toiyabe (1915-16), Humboldt (1916-17), and 

Lemhi (1917-18) forests before going to the Region Four office in 1918 as Chief of Operations. In 1915, he

became the first officer on the Toiyabe to use an automobile, a Model T Ford. Metcalf left the Forest

Service on April 30, 1920 and became secretary of the Nevada State Livestock Association, a position he

retained until the 1930s. As secretary, Metcalf was an outspoken advocate for stockmen in the state.

Miller, C.D. “Bobby”. He was a ranger on the Rebel Creek (1917-22) and Gold Creek (1921-23) districts. 

Miller, F.H. Miller served as ranger on the Kingston/Austin District in 1924-25. 

Mink, Jack W. After serving in World War I, Jack Mink returned home to Idaho where he worked as a

ranger. He was the Mound Valley District Ranger from 1915 until 1922 when it was combined with the

Ruby Mountains District. He remained at Jiggs for a couple of years to supervise construction of the Ruby

Crest trail. Mink was stationed at Gold Creek in FY1925. He may have resigned around that time, for he

and his wife Sarah took up a homestead near the Gold Creek Ranger Station in 1925. Three years later, 

the Minks exchanged their property for the Hoye-Williams place on the Bruneau, owned by the Moffat

Cattle Company. By 1942, the Minks purchased Sarah’s parents’ place at Gold Creek, leaving their 

Bruneau River ranch that year. Jack and brother-in-law Lyle Kern received the contract to carry the mail 

from Dinner Station to Rowland around 1930. 

Mink, Oscar W. Mink was the Jarbidge District Ranger (1916-19) and Deputy Forest Supervisor of the 

Humboldt National Forest (1919-21). In 1926, he was the Forest Supervisor of the Lemhi National Forest. 

Mitchelson, A.T. In 1908, while W.E. Herring was Region Four’s Chief of Engineering, Mitchelson served

as his assistant in Ogden. He may have been the first engineer in Region Four but this is not certain since

his duties and position are unclear. 

APPENDICES - 240 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
Moore, George E. Moore was a ranger on the Nevada National Forest, working on the White Pine (1921-

28, 1933-39) and Spring Valley (early 1930s) districts. 

Mott, Fred L. He was the Forest Supervisor of the Nevada National Forest from 1917 until 1919. 

Murchie, Archie. Murchie was the Ely District Ranger from 1947 to 1959. He transferred to the Toiyabe

Supervisor’s Office in November 1959 as staff officer in charge of range, wildlife and watershed. His 

memoirs are recorded in The Free Life of a Ranger: Archie Murchie in the U.S. Forest Service, 1929-1965

by R.T. King. 

*Murphy, Ona S. Ona S. Harbin began work on the Humboldt National Forest as an assistant clerk by 

1925 and married a Mr. Murphy between 1928 and 1930. She worked for the forest, often as Acting 

Forest Supervisor, as late as 1956. Although little is presently known about her, her significant role in the 

administration of the Humboldt National Forest is evident in the many official documents she signed and

most likely wrote. 

Naylor, Harry W. Naylor was a ranger on the Gold Creek (1915-18), Mountain City (dates unknown), and

Jarbidge (1916-?) districts. He left the Forest Service on June 11, 1918 to take up ranching in Palo Pinto

County, Texas. 

*Nichols, George L. Hired in 1928 as a Chief Draftsman and later promoted to Architectural Engineer, 

Nichols served as Region Four’s first architect. He developed an architectural identity for the region by 

designing many, if not all, of its standard plans in the 1930s and 1940s. Nichols retired sometime before

1956, when William Turner was hired. He was still living in Ogden in 1958. 

*Norcross, T.W. Norcross began working with the USGS shortly after receiving his degree in civil

engineering in 1904. From 1907 until 1909, he worked for the City of Springfield, Massachusetts before 

returning to the USGS. In 1910, he transferred to the Forest Service as District Engineer for the Rocky

Mountain and Southwestern districts. Norcross was promoted to Assistant Chief Engineer at the WO in

1913; seven years later he became the Chief of the Engineering Division. Norcross retired from the Forest

Service on December 31, 1947. 

Olmsted, Frederick E. He worked from San Francisco as the Forest Supervisor (known at that time as

Chief Inspector) of District Five from 1907 until about 1910. 

*Olsen, Chester J. “Chet.” Olsen was born in Mayfield, Utah and grew up on a ranch in Emery County. 

He received his technical training at Utah State Agricultural College before becoming a ranger on the

Jarbidge District (1919-21). He later worked on the Fishlake National Forest where he became Assistant

Forest Supervisor in 1927. He served as Supervisor of the Toiyabe (1931-32), Nevada (1932-34) and 

Wasatch (1934-36) national forests before becoming the Assistant Regional Forester in charge of 

Recreation and Lands (1936-38). Olsen headed the Division of Information and Education beginning in

1938 and became Regional Forester in January of 1950 after Ben Rice died. Olsen was involved with the 

Boy Scouts, Community Chest, War Bond and Red Cross drives, the US Chamber of Commerce and the

Ogden Kiwanis. In 1957, he retired as Regional Forester and moved to Jarbidge. He died in December of

1962. 

Olsen, Foyer. He was district ranger of the White Pine (1940-44) and Ely (1944-47) districts. 

Parker, John. Parker was the Forest Supervisor of the Nevada National Forest from 1949 to 1952. 

*Pasquale, Virgil. Described as a talented stonemason, Pasquale was part of the Italian immigrant 

community at Paradise Valley, Nevada. He was the oldest of eight children born to Guistina Pasquale,

sister of Cristina Forgnone. In the late 1910s, he and his wife Primina lived in the upstairs of Micca House 

and ran the boarding house. He served as the masonry foreman for CCC Camp F-5 in Paradise Valley for 

PRIVIES PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 APPENDICES - 241
several years. Under his direction, the CCC boys acquired masonry skills. His craftsmanship is exhibited

in numerous stone structures, including the Lamance Powderhouse, features of the Hinkey Summit Road,

and steps at the Terraces Guard Station. Virgil and his wife Primina eventually moved to Salt Lake City, 

but are buried in the town of Paradise Valley. 

Patterson, Charles F. Patterson was Deputy Forest Supervisor of the Nevada National Forest in 1909. 

Paulsen, A.P. He was the Mohawk/Reese River District Ranger in 1925. By 1928, he was living in Reno

and working as an agent for the Maytag washing machine company. 

Pinchot, Gifford. Recognized as the father of the Forest Service, Pinchot was an avid advocate of the

conservation movement. He served as Chief of the USDA Division of Forestry (1898-1901), the USDA

Bureau of Forestry (1901-05), and the USDA Forest Service (1905-10). He was also the first president of

the Society of American Foresters (1900). He played an important role in developing the technical field of

forestry, shaping national conservation policies, and laying the groundwork for the administrative structure 

and philosophy of the Forest Service. He promoted conservation while allowing “multiple uses” of the

forests’ resources, rather than strict preservation. 

Pragnell, Reg. C. Pragnell was a recreational planner in the Region Four office. He was there as early as

1936 when he prepared a planting plan for the Kyle Canyon Ranger Station. 

Price, Harold H “Hank.” A ranger on the Ruby Mountains Division in 1929, Price worked as a Junior

Range Examiner and completed a boundary survey of the mountain range in 1930. A year later, he was 

temporarily stationed at Ogden. 

Price, William L. He was the Jarbidge District Ranger from 1947 until 1951 when he resigned and joined

the FBI in Spokane. 

Provience, Art. Provience was a Forest Service foreman who worked with Conscientious Objector crews

on the Mono and Toiyabe forests during World War II. Like many foremen, he may have been hired

during the Depression to oversee CCC crews. He remained with the Forest Service as late as 1951 when

he was a road foreman for the Toiyabe National Forest. 

Puhn, Walter J. Puhn came from the Los Padres National Forest to work as the Carson District Ranger. 

He was there from December 4, 1940 until about 1943. 

Quate, Graham S. Quate, an IRS clerk before joining the Forest Service, became the Baker District

Ranger around 1921, serving in that position until about 1924. 

Quinn, Clyde. He worked on the Toiyabe National Forest, perhaps as a ranger, until 1917 when he joined 

the military. 

*Reed, Franklin W. Reed was instrumental in the examination and establishment of the Ruby and 

Independence forest reserves. He was promoted from Forest Assistant to Assistant Forest Inspector in

1905 or 1906. By spring of 1907, he was a Forest Inspector assigned to the Ruby and Independence

forest reserves, serving temporarily as Forest Supervisor. Reed continued to advance in District Four, 

becoming Assistant District Forester in 1908. Three years later, he was an Associate District Forester. He

was with the Washington Office in 1917 and, by 1924, was District Forester of District 7, with headquarters

in Washington, DC. He eventually resigned from the Forest Service and by 1926, was practicing forestry 

in Washington, DC. In the 1930s, Reed was editor of the Journal of Forestry. 

Reese, P.M. He was a ranger on the White Pine District in 1947. 

APPENDICES - 242 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
Reiners, J. Carroll. Reiners was hired as a recreational planner in the Region Four office by 1936 when

he prepared a planting plan for the Berry Creek Ranger Station. 

Rice, William B. “Ben”. During the 1920s, he was the Forest Supervisor of the Weiser and Payette

national forests. When Toiyabe Forest Supervisor McQueen suffered a severe stroke in 1943, Rice was 

transferred from the Region Four office to act in his place. Rice returned to the RO in 1944 as Regional 

Forester, serving in that position until 1950. 

Robertson, Joseph. He was in charge of the Lamance Forest Experiment Station in the mid-1940s. 

*Rowher, August C. Rowher was the district ranger of the Ruby Mountains (1918-29), Gold Creek (1929-

49), and Mountain City (1931-32) districts. He was credited with rescuing three victims of a plane that went

down in the Ruby Mountains during a snowstorm in January 1929. His knowledge of the mountains and

wilderness travel resulted in a successful search party, possibly saving the lives of the pilot and two 

passengers. In 1958, Rowher was living in Sparks; he died in the mid-1960s. 

Rowher, Lamont A. “Monte”. Monte Rowher worked for the Forest Service in the 1920s when he helped

build the Ruby Crest Trail. In the summer of 1933, he was employed as a CCC foreman with a Camp F-1

spike camp at Camp Fort Ruby. Monte took Charlie Butler’s place as a forest guard at Jack Creek. Monte

worked as a temporary employee with the Forest Service from 1923 to 1937, serving as a ranger on the 

Potts Ranger District in 1936-37. He received a BS in Range from Utah State University in 1936. He was

living in Battle Mountain, in 1958. 

*Ryan, James Milon. Ryan was born in Utah and raised on a dry farm (crops raised without irrigation). 

He owned farms in Utah, Idaho and Nevada and joined the Forest Service around 1909. A former Forest

Supervisor of the Lemhi National Forest in Idaho, Ryan was the Ruby National Forest’s first and only 

Supervisor (1912-17). When the forest was eliminated and the Ruby Division added to the Humboldt

National Forest, Ryan was offered the supervisor’s position but turned it down and served as the Ruby

District Ranger. He, along with rangers Percy White and Vivian West, prepared the 1917 Land

Classification Report for the Ruby National Forest. Ryan left the Forest Service on January 8, 1919 and 

homesteaded in Secret Valley. In 1921, he was the Elko County Road Supervisor and in late 1922 or 

early 1923, Ryan ran for County Commissioner. He moved to Reno in 1924. 

Sack, Ivan. Sack worked on various forests in the west, serving as Forest Supervisor of the Toiyabe 

National Forest from 1951 until his retirement in 1965. He wrote several publications about plant life on the

different forests where he worked. 

*Sarasola, Pete. An expert carpenter, Sarasola worked as a foreman on the Toiyabe National Forest, 

directing Conscientious Objector crews during World War II. Like many foremen, he may have been hired 

during the Depression to oversee CCC crews. Remaining with the agency until at least 1963, he was

responsible for the construction and maintenance of many Forest Service buildings. 

Schultz, Paul. Schultz worked on the Humboldt National Forest as early as 1911. He was a ranger on

the Mountain City District from at least 1914 until at least 1917. 

Secrest, W.K. Listed as clerk at Elko in FY1925, Secrest also served as a ranger on the Ruby Mountains

(FY1926-27) and Mountain City (1927) districts.

Sevy, John L. “Jay.” Sevy received his BS in Wildlife Management from Utah State University in 1937. 

He was a District Ranger on the Potts (1937-38?), Kingston (1938-44) Mohawk/Reese River (1944-?) and 

Jefferson/Manhattan (1944-?) districts. 

Sharp, James. He, Bert McNamara and James McNamara were the first administrative personnel on the

Ruby Mountains District. 

PRIVIES PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 APPENDICES - 243
Shillingford, C.E. He was a ranger on the Bridgeport Ranger District in 1909 and 1910. 

Smith, _____. Smith, hired as a guard in June of 1910, worked on the Mono National Forest and was 

promoted to ranger by March of 1911. 

Smith, Arthur C. Smith was the Potts District Ranger from 1927 until 1929 or 1930. 

Smith, Charles E. He was the Rebel Creek District Ranger from 1919 to 1921. 

Smith, Lyle. Supervised by the West Walker District Ranger, Smith worked as Acting Ranger on the 

Bridgeport District from 1947 until 1951. 

*Stabler, Herbert O. Forest Assistant Herbert O. Stabler examined the Monitor Range and, in 1906,

prepared a report supporting the creation of the Monitor Forest Reserve. 

Stahmann, Ben R. After graduating from the University of Washington in 1933, Stahmann worked with

the Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment. He later became District Ranger of the Spring Valley 

(1937-40) and Mountain City (1940-43) districts. In 1958, he was living in San Diego. 

Steele, Raymond G. He was a ranger on the Jefferson/Manhattan District from 1908 until about 1917.

He was working as the Deputy Forest Supervisor of the Toiyabe National Forest in 1918 when he 

resigned. Around 1923, he began working for the Forest Service in California. 

Swainston, George D. Swainston received his BS in Forestry from Utah State University in 1936. He 

was the West Walker District Ranger from 1945 until 1952. He was still living in Wellington, Nevada and

working for the Forest Service in 1958. 

Taggert, Grant I. Taggert served as Forest Supervisor of the Stanislaus and Tahoe forest reserves from

1902 to 1905.

Talbot, H.P. Forest Service records list him as a ranger at Jiggs in FY1925.

*Tangren, Wilford E. “Emer”. Tangren was born in Huntsville, Utah on December 12, 1886 and was 

raised on a cattle and sheep ranch. He graduated from BYU Normal School and taught school before 

joining the Forest Service on February 1, 1917. He first worked as a ranger on the LaSal District of the 

LaSal National Forest and continued to work in Utah until around 1928 when he moved to Elko as

Assistant Forest Supervisor of the Humboldt National Forest. Sometime after FY1935, Tangren returned

to Utah to work on the Wasatch National Forest. Although he retired from the Forest Service in 1949 at the 

age of 62, he was not ready to quit working and became the Utah’s Assistant State Forester/Fire Warden.

Tangren had strong public relations skills and contributed his efforts toward education of the forest users. 

In 1958, he was living in Salt Lake City. 

*Taylor, A.D. In 1935, the Forest Service hired a consulting landscape architect, A.D. Taylor, to prepare a

report on recreation facilities. Although Taylor visited Region Four in the summer of 1935, he did not 

inspect any of the Nevada forests nor Region Five. His photographs and report titled Problems of 

Landscape Architecture in the National Forests reflect the design philosophy of the time and made

recommendations for landscaping and signage of primitive areas, roads, and recreation sites. Taylor

urged the Forest Service to hire landscape architects and by 1937, there were 75 in the agency, most of 

whom were involved with recreational and/or ranger station development. 

Taylor, Warren C. Taylor was the Mountain City District Ranger in 1918. He was working on the Nevada

National Forest by 1930 and was the Baker District Ranger from at least 1933 until at least 1936. 

Templeton, Earl. Forest Service records list him as a ranger on the Ruby Mountains District in FY1919. 

APPENDICES - 244 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
Thompson, Charles P. He was a ranger on the Nevada National Forest, working on the White Pine 

(before 1921) and Baker (there in 1916) districts. 

*Thompson, George C. Thompson was a ranger in 1908 when he prepared a report on the proposed

Bruneau Addition to the Humboldt National Forest. He later became Forest Supervisor of the Nevada

National Forest from 1912 until he retired on December 31, 1916. In 1958, he was living in Casa Grande,

Arizona. 

Thompson, Reed. Thompson, a ranger on the Baker District in 1945, received his BS in Range from

Utah State University in 1938. He was working on the Dixie National Forest in Escalante, Utah in 1958. 

*Torgerson, Alfred R. “Torg” worked on the Jefferson/Manhattan District before serving as the 

Kingston/Austin District Ranger from about 1926 until 1931. In 1938, he became the Humboldt Forest

Supervisor, remaining in that position until 1957 when he retired to Jarbidge. One rancher described 

Torgerson as being out on the forest continuously, gaining an intimate knowledge of the land and an

understanding of the ranchers’ problems. 

Townsend, C.R. “Mud.” Townsend was a ranger on the Nevada National Forest in August 1922 when

he attended the dedication of the Lehman Caves National Monument. He lived in Ely, working as a

County Agent there in 1930 and a CCC recruiting agent in 1934. 

Toyn, William. Toyn worked on the Ruby Mountains Division as early as 1928. He was still a forest 

guard in 1940 when he and his brother Tom died in a car wreck. 

Traugh, Darrel M. “Kelly.” Traugh was on the Lassen National Forest before becoming the Mono Forest

Supervisor in 1938. He transferred to the Region Five office in 1943. 

*Travis, Paul L. Travis was a long-serving ranger on the Santa Rosa range, starting there in 1912 as an

assistant forest ranger at Martin Creek Ranger Station. The following year he was promoted to District

Ranger of District Three on the Santa Rosa National Forest. For years, he made a significant contribution

to the administration and management of the Santa Rosa Division. Prior to his retirement in 1943, Travis

worked from the Martin Creek, Calico, Paradise Valley and Lamance ranger stations. He homesteaded 

near Lamance Ranger Station but, after it was closed in 1929, moved to the town of Paradise where he

bought a house next to the Paradise Valley Ranger Station. In 1958, he was living in Montague, Michigan. 

*Tremewan, Charles S. “Syd.” Tremewan was born August 11, 1881 in Austin and moved to Tuscarora

at age seven. Ten years later, he moved to Rowland where he became the first postmaster at the age of

19. He married Rosa Riffe in 1906 and moved to Lamoille where they were in the ranching business. 

Tremewan was put in charge of the Ruby and Independence forest reserves in 1908. He became Forest 

Supervisor when the two reserves were consolidated as part of the Humboldt National Forest but resigned 

on March 30, 1913 after disagreements with the Regional Office about several issues. These included the

relocation of the Supervisor’s Office to the dying town of Gold Creek and the Regional Forester’s decision

to raise livestock limits for large stock owners while reducing them for small stock owners. In 1916, the

Tremewans moved to North Fork on the Independence Range, where they continued ranching operations.

Tremewan served as president of the North Fork Cattle Association in the 1920s. In 1932, two years after 

his wife died, he sold his ranch and moved to Elko where he lived until he died. Tremewan was active in

the community as a member of the Masons, Elko Shrine Club, Jarbidge Chamber of Commerce, and Elko

Carpenter’s Union. As a member of the Presbyterian Church, he helped build the Lamoille Presbyterian

Church. He was also the deputy assessor for 10 years, retiring at age 82. Tremewan died on February 4,

1971 at the age of 89. 

Tremewan, Will H. He was a ranger on the Nevada National Forest when he left the Forest Service on 

August 20, 1910. 

PRIVIES PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 APPENDICES - 245
Tyler, ____. He was an early ranger on the Bridgeport District. He was there by 1915 but died or resigned

in 1919. 

Urdahl, George. Born in 1905, Urdahl moved with his family in 1912 to Jarbidge where his father was a 

mine foreman. He went to high school in Worthing, South Dakota, then attended Idaho Tech in Pocatello

and Oakland Polytech in California. He joined the Forest Service in 1934 as a seasonal technician at the 

Mahoney Ranger Station under District Ranger Carl Haycock. He worked on the Humboldt National 

Forest every season since 1934 except for a few years during World War II. A dispersed camping site in

Jarbidge Canyon was named after him. 

*Von Wernsted, L. He was a forest examiner or inspector in 1906 when he examined land in central 

Nevada and proposed the creation of the Ely, Steptoe, Osceola, and Snake forest reserves. 

Warner, Sylvan D. Warner worked with the Intermountain Range and Experiment Station before 

becoming a ranger on the Baker District in 1937, the year he also received his BS in Range from Utah

State University. He was still on the Baker District in August 1940. By 1958, he was living in Oklahoma

City. 

Waugh, Frank. The Forest Service hired Waugh, a landscape architect, as a consultant in 1917. In one

of his two reports, Waugh emphasized the need for landscape architects in the Forest Service. 

Wells, John C. First appointed as a ranger on the Stanislaus Forest Reserve in 1902, Wells served as 

Forest Supervisor of the Mono National Forest from July 1908 to October 1909. By 1926, a campground

on the East Fork of the Carson River was named after him (Camp J.C. Wells) "in memory of the late

Ranger John C. Wells who saw service on the Mono and Stanislaus Forests." 

Wells, Thomas J. Wells was the District Ranger on the Jarbidge District (1921-24 and 1929-31) and Gold 

Creek District (1924-28). He is credited with rescuing John Parker, a prospector lost in the blizzard in

January 1929. Even though the man died due to prolonged exposure, Wells was awarded a letter of

commendation from the Secretary of the Agriculture. 

West, Thomas C. Hired in 1905 on the Stanislaus Forest Reserve, West was a ranger on the Bridgeport

District in 1907-08. 

*West, Vivian “Viv” N. West was born in Utah and raised on a farm where he assisted his father in

farming and marketing crops until he was 20. He began his Forest Service career around 1914 on the 

Ruby National Forest and helped write its 1917 land classification report. He was a ranger on the Ruby

Division for many years but finished his career as on the Wasatch National Forest as Pleasant Grove

District Ranger. He also served as the mayor of Pleasant Grove. 

*White, Percy L. Born in Utah, White helped his father run a large ranch in Huntington Valley, next to the 

Ruby range, for four years. He started work with the Forest Service around 1915 on the Ruby National

Forest and helped write its 1917 land classification report. He was the Potts District Ranger in 1917. 

White, _____. He was listed as a Forest Ranger at Three Creek (Jarbidge Ranger District) in FY1921 

*Wilkinson, Karl J. Wilkinson received his BS in Range Management from Utah State University in 1937.

He became Acting Ranger on the Jarbidge District from 1938 to 1939 when he was promoted to District 

Ranger. In 1941, he was killed in an avalanche while conducting a snow survey on the Jarbidge Ranger 

District. His death prompted improved safety measures by agencies conducting snow surveys. 

Williams, Robert A. He was a ranger on the White Pine District in 1944-45. 

APPENDICES - 246 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
*Wilson, R.B. Wilson was a Forest Assistant in June of 1906 when he prepared a report on the proposed

Bruneau Addition to the Independence National Forest. 

Windous, Thomas. He was a ranger on the Nevada National Forest from at least 1928 until at least

1934. 

*Winters, Frank. In 1907, he and C.S. Tremewan rallied support for the designation of the Independence 

Mountains as a national forest. In a 1908 letter to Pinchot supporting the Bruneau Addition, he stated he

was "one of the first to settle in this country" and that he was the Elko County Sheep Inspector in 1901-02. 

*Winter, William. Winter was a Forest Assistant at the time he prepared a report on the proposed Elk 

Mountain Addition to the Humboldt National Forest in 1909. 

*Woodruff, Mark G. Woodruff worked from Austin as the first Forest Supervisor of the Monitor, Toquima 

and Toiyabe forest reserves from 1907 until 1908 when he became Supervisor of the Cache National 

Forest. 

*Woods, Clarence N. Woods began working on the Shoshone Division of the Yellowstone Forest

Reserve in July of 1902. He worked on the Teton National Forest before he was sent to Elko in February 

1907 to take charge of what was to become the Humboldt National Forest. After ten months, Woods was 

promoted to Forest Supervisor of the new Sawtooth National Forest in Idaho. For over thirty years, 

beginning in 1912, he served in the Region Four office in such positions as Inspector of Grazing, Assistant

Regional Forester in charge of Operations, and Associate Regional Forester. Woods became Regional

Forester in 1939 and retired from the Forest Service in 1944. He was community oriented, serving as

director of the Ogden Chamber of Commerce, a Rotary club official, and a member of the Boy Scout 

council and the Ogden Safety Council. In 1958, he was still living in Ogden. 

Woods, Fred L. He was a ranger at Rebel Creek in FY1922. 

*Woolley, Herbert E. Woolley was a Regional Land Examiner based in Ogden in July 1910 when he

prepared a report on the proposed Santa Rosa National Forest. He was a ranger on the Caribou National

Forest when he left the Forest Service on September 5, 1914. 

Wright, _____. In his diary, Mono Supervisor Maule referred to a Ranger Wright at the Sweetwater 

Ranger Station in October 1910. He also mentioned a Guard Wright in November 1910 and a Ranger

Wright at Masonic in February 1911. It is not clear if these were the same people. 

Wyatt, Clarence. Hired as a guard on the Mono National Forest in 1910, Wyatt eventually became a

ranger and was working from the Hot Springs Ranger Station in 1917. By 1918, he was a ranger on the 

Tonopah District. 

*Young, Howard W. Young was a junior landscape architect in the Regional Office. He was there by

1937 and prepared many landscaping plans for administrative sites on the H-TNF, including the NNF

Supervisor’s Office, the Lamoille Boy Scout camp, the Clover Experiment Station, and the Lee Canyon

Guard Station. 

Zuberbuhler, Ulrich H. He was the District Ranger on the Jarbidge District (1943-46) and Alpine District

(1948-51) before transferring to Fire Control in the Region Four office in 1951. He was still in the Regional

Office as of 1971. 

PRIVIES PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 APPENDICES - 247
Appendix E: Historic Administrative Sites 

Site Name Location

Earliest Use 

or Mention Approved Withdrawn Purchased 

Supervisor's Office

Elko Warehouse Site T34N, R55E, S15 1934 5/15/1934

Reno Central Repair Shop T19N, R19E, S12 1939 11/29/1939

Toiyabe Ranger Station T19N, R20E, S19 1937 11/18/1937

Austin

Austin Ranger Station (old) T19N, R44E, S19 1911 7/10/1911

Berlin Ranger Station T12N, R39E 1916

Blackburn Ranger Station T15N, R48E, S26 1908 7/14/1908

Butler Administrative Site T14N, R49E, S22 1931

Charnac Administrative Site T16N, R49E, S8 1927

Gold Park Administrative Site T15N, R39, S13 1931

Hickison Administrative Site T18N, R49E, S30 1931

Kelly Creek Administrative Site T18N, R48E, S14 & 15 1931

Kingston Guard Station T16N, R43E, S8 & 17 1920 7/18/1956

Lebeau Park Administrative Site T12N, R37E, S1 1931

Marshall Canyon Administrative 

Pasture T19N, R44E, S30 1939

Mohawk Ranger Station T13N, R41E, S15 1908 5/5/1908

Potts Ranger Station T14N, R47E, S24 1912 9/28/1912

Reese River Guard Station T13N, R40E, S15 1917 1/3/1917

San Juan Administrative Site T15N, R42E, S32 1931 11/25/1955

Sawmill Administrative Site T11N, R41E, 1908 11/11/1908

Stoneberger Administrative Site T14N, R46E, S7 pre-1955

Tierney Creek Administrative Site T14N, R42E, S28 1941 11/25/1955

Underdown Administrative Site T15N, R 40E, S14 & 23 pre-1955

Bridgeport

Big Hole Administrative Site T7N, R23E, S17 & 18 1909

Big Springs Administrative Site T10N, R22E, S18 1918 10/21/1918

Bridgeport Ranger Station T5N, R25E, S33 1908 11/17/1908

Buckeye Snow Survey Cabin T4N, R23E, S20 1926

Calevada Administrative Site T6N, R24E, S26 & 35 pre-1955

Camp Antelope Administrative 

Site T8N, R23E, S22 1930s 11/7/1955

Chris Flat Guard Station T7N, R23E, S3 or 4 1909

Coyote Valley Administrative Site T7N, R22E, S27 & 34 1908 4/2/1908

Desert Creek Ranger Station T9N, R24E, S9? 1910

APPENDICES - 248 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
Site Name Location

Earliest Use Approved Withdrawn Purchased or Mention

Dumont Ranger Station T8N, R21E, S27 1908 9/18/1909

Dunderberg Administrative Site T3N, R25E, S17 1940s

Frying Pan Administrative Site T6N, R24E, S2 1914

Green Creek Administrative Site T3N, R24E, S13 1905

Hambone Administrative Site T7N, R21E, S4 1908 4/18/1908

Huntoon Spring Administrative 

Site T5N, R24E?

Leavitt Meadows Guard Station T6N, R22E, S27 & 34 1908

Little Long Valley Administrative 

Site T6N, R24E, S32 pre-1955

Lobdell Administrative Site T7N, R24E, S1, 17 & 20 1914

Mountain Glen Administrative 

Site T6N, R23E, S17 & 18

Pickel Meadows Guard Station T6N, R22E, S23 & 24 1907 3/11/1907

Piute Meadow Guard Station T4N, R22E, S15 1908 2/5/1908

Sardine Falls Administrative Site T5N, R21E, S1 1914

Sierra Gem Administrative Site T3N, R24E, S22-23, 26-27

Summit Meadows Administrative 

Site T7N, R22E, S35 1909

Sweetwater Ranger Station T7N, R25, S4 1909

Topaz Guard Station T9N, R22E, S11 1953 2/2/1954

Twin Lakes Administrative Site T4N, R24E, S27, 28 & 33 1907 9/26/1907

Unknown T5N, R22E, S2 1909

Unknown T6N, R23E, S27-28, 33 & 

44 1909

Unknown T6N, R23E, S4 1909

Unknown T7N, R 21E, S4 1908 4/18/1908

Virginia Creek Administrative Site T3N, R25E, S33 pre-1955

Wellington Ranger Station T10N, R25, S2 1939 8/14/1939

Wheeler Guard Station T6N, R23E, S22 & 23 1913 11/18/1913 5/25/1953

Wildhorse Ranger Station Unknown 1910

Wiley Meadows Administrative 

Site T6N, R27E, S29 pre-1955

Carson

Babbitt Peak Lookout T20N, R17E, S8 1920s

Barney Riley Administrative Site T10N, R21E, S3 1913 7/14/1913

Border Ruffian Administrative Site T9N, R19E, S17 1914

Buckskin Administrative Site T7N, R21E, S1 & 12 1908 4/18/1908

Carson Ranger Station T15N, R20, S20 1942 1/10/1942

Connells Camp Administrative 

Site T7N, R22E, S18 1911? 1972

Dog Valley Guard Station T20N, R17E, S25 1935 2/28/1935

Eldorado Guard Station T13N, R18E, S32 1946

Galena Creek Guard Station T17N, R19E, S9 1945

General Creek Guard Station Unknown 1946

PRIVIES PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 APPENDICES - 249
Site Name Location

Earliest Use Approved Withdrawn Purchased or Mention

Glenbrook Guard Station T14N, R18E, S10 1946

Granite Peak Lookout T19N, R17E, S24 pre-1934

Heenan Lake Ranger Station T9N, R21E, S4 1909 5/25/1953

Hope Valley Administrative Site T10N, R19E, S6 1914

Hot Springs Ranger Station T10N, R20E, S19 & 24 1907 

Markleeville Guard Station T10N, R20E, S21 1934 6/1/1934 

McClellan Peak Lookout T16N, R20E, S14 1932 2/12/1932

McCline Guard Station T16N, R18E, S22 1946 

Minden Administrative Site T13N, R20E, S29 1934 5/21/1934

Peavine Lookout T20N, R18E, S23 1942

Raymond Meadow

Administrative Site T9N, R20E, S31 1909

Sheridan Administrative Site T12N, R19E, S15 pre-1955

Slide Mountain Lookout T17N, R19E, S30 1940s

Soda Springs Guard Station T8N, R21E, S27 1908 1915?

Stateline Lookout T16N, R18E, S19 1934

T8N, R21E, S10 1909

Unknown T8N, R21E, S11 1909

Unknown T8N, R21E, S14 & 15 1909

Unknown T8N, R21E, S14 & 23 1909

Unknown T8N, R21E, S33 1909

Unknown T8N, R21E, S7 1909

Unknown T8N, R21E, S8 1909

Unknown T9N, R18, S12 1909

Unknown T9N, R19E, S19 1909

Unknown T9N, R19E, S21 1909

Unknown T9N, R19E, S27 1909

Unknown T9N, R19E, S29 1909

Unknown T9N, R19E, S31 1909

Unknown T9N, R19E, S5 & 8 1909

Verdi Peak Lookout T19N, R17E, S25 & T20N, 

R17E, S28 1934

Woodfords Administrative Site T11N, R19E, S35 1930 1/5/1966

Zephyr Cove Lookout T13N, R18E, S10 1932 3/1/1963

Ely

Baker Creek Pasture T13N, R69E, S14 1929 10/9/1936 11/5/1956

Baker Ranger Station T13N, R70E, S9 1911 5/16/1911

Berry Creek Ranger Station T17N, R65E, S4, 5, 9 1909 6/23/1909 11/5/1956

Buckskin Ranger Station T17N, R66E, S15 1909 9/7/1909

California Springs Administrative 

Site T16N, R 58E, S8 1955 11/5/1957

Markleeville Lookout T10N, R20E, S30 1935 2/28/1935 

Unknown

APPENDICES - 250 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
Site Name Location

Earliest Use Approved Withdrawn Purchased or Mention

Cave Creek Administrative Site T15N, R65E, S10 1920 3/2/1935 11/5/1956

Cedar Cabin Administrative Site T11N, R69E, S28 1929 2/1/1943 11/5/1956

Cherry Creek Guard Station T4N, R56E, S34 1909 1/26/1909

Cleve Creek Administrative Site T16N, R66E, S28 1940 3/3/1941

Corduroy Administrative Site T13N, R58E, S11 1939 3/7/1941 

T46N, R60E, S31 1912

Currant Creek Administrative Site T11N, R58E, S25 1910 10/10/1910

Dog Springs Administrative Site T17N, R69E, S32 1927 11/20/1927 5/26/1952

Ellison Guard Station T14N, R59E, S28 1929 5/2/1930 11/5/1956

T16N, R63E, S15 1932 9/23/1937

Ely Warehouse Site (old) Town of Ely 1932 2/12/1935

10/4/1956

Hayden Canyon Administrative 

Site T15N, R59E, S30 1939 3/7/1941

T20N, R65E, S23 1927 12/3/1927

Mattier Creek Ranger Station

4/4/1942 11/5/1956

Murry Canyon Administrative Site T16N, R63E, S30 1933 5/7/1947

T19N, R65E, S4 12/3/1927 11/5/1956

Raise Spring Administrative Site T13N, R68E, S20 1941 3/3/1941

Siegel Creek Ranger Station T22N, R65E, S34-35 1909 11/18/1909

Snake Creek Administrative Site T13N, R69E, S8 1929 12/10/1929 11/5/1956

Snake Ranger Station T13N, R69E, S13 & 14 1911 1/18/1911

Spring Valley Ranger Station T18N, R66E, S25 1914 5/9/1914

Strawberry Administrative Site T14N, R68E, S34 1941 3/3/1941

Taft Ranger Station T17N, R66E, S15 1912 4/26/1920

Teapot Springs Administrative 

Site T21N, R65E, S32 1954

Unknown T21N, R65E, S2 1912

White River Administrative Site T12N, R58E, S1 1929 12/10/1929 4/4/1942

Jarbidge

Camp Creek Administrative Site T44N, R59E, S2 1941 1/27/1942 2/26/1959

Draw Creek Pasture T43N, R59E, S4 1925

Jim Bob Ranger Station T46N, R59E, S3 or 10 1911

Klondyke Ranger Station T47N, R57E, S21 or S22 1911 3/4/1911

Mahoney Guard Station T46N, R58E, S4-5 & 8-9 1909 7/9/1909 2/26/1959

T44N, R58E, S23 1911 11/17/1911 2/26/1959

Pole Creek Administrative Site T46N, R59E, S13 1911 11/13/1911 2/26/1959

T Creek Administrative Site T43N, R59E, S8 1942 1/27/1942

Cottonwood Guard Station

Ely Supervisor's Office 

Groundhog Administrative Site T46N, R40E, S25 & 36 1956 

Ice Cream Springs Administrative 

Site 

T21N, R65E, S18-19 1912 

Murphy Wash Administrative Site T11N, R68E, S25 1942

North Creek Administrative Site 1927

Marys River Administrative Site

PRIVIES PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 APPENDICES - 251
Site Name Location

Earliest Use Approved Withdrawn Purchased or Mention

Mountain City

76 Creek Administrative Site T44N, R58E, S6 1936 2/26/1959

Coon Creek Snow Survey Cabin T45N, R57E, S12 1937

Gold Creek Ranger Station T45N, R56E, S29 & 32 1911 12/11/1911 2/26/1959

Jack Creek Guard Station T42N, R53E, S19 & 30 1907 8/15/1907 2/26/1959

Mahala Ranger Station T40N, R54E, S21 1911 11/13/1911

Mardis Ranger Station T44N, R57E, S36 1911 11/17/1911

McAfee Ranger Station T42N, R54E, S17 1907 8/28/1907

Meadow Creek Ranger Station T46N, R56E, S31 1911 12/2/1911

Mountain City Old Compound T45N, R54E, S18 1911 2/8/1911 2/26/1959

North Fork Snow Survey Cabin T42N, R53E, S1 1936

Red Bluff Ranger Station T46N, R56E, S23-26 1911 12/21/1911

Salmon Creek Ranger Station T47N, R54E, S14 1911 10/3/1911

Winter Creek Ranger Station T41N, R54E, S17 & 20 1908 3/2/1908

Ruby Mountains

Ackler Creek Administrative Site T36N, R60E, S14 1925 3/4/1943 10/4/1956

Agee Ranger Station T34N, R61E, S27 1909 1/16/1909

Clover Guard Station T37N, R61E, S22 1908 6/18/1908

Fort Halleck Ranger Station T34N, R59E, S22 1907 11/8/1907

Green Mountain Administrative 

Site T28N, R57E, S2 1937 3/4/1943

Harrison Pass Ranger Station T29N, R57E, S31 1907 8/28/1907

Hennan Administrative Site T32N, R57E, S14 1928 3/4/1943

Lamoille Administrative Site 

(Pasture) T33N, 58E, S28 1912 10/11/1912 2/26/1959

Lamoille Guard Station T33N, R58E, S19 1934 7/26/1935

Lamoille Snow Survey Cabin T32N, R58E, S14 1935

Lindsay Ranger Station T27N, R56E, S12 & 13 1907 11/22/1907

Minola Ranger Station T26N, R56E, S34 1907 11/22/1907

Mound Valley Ranger Station T29N, R56E, S4 1918 11/17/1919 11/17/1919

Pete Holm Administrative Site T25N, R56E, S5 1916

Rattlesnake Administrative Site T30N, R57E, S8 1909 5/21/1909

Ruby Guard Station T33N, R60E, S20 1913 9/28/1913

South Fork Administrative Site T31N, R57E, S27 1907 11/27/1907

Terraces Guard Station T32N, R59E, S19 & 30 1937 1/22/1942 

Toyn Administrative Site T28N, R56E, S1 1908 11/25/1908

Trout Creek Ranger Station T37N, R61E, S20 1909 1/16/1909

Wiseman Administrative Site T34N, R61E, S2 1907 1/16/1909

Santa Rosa

Buckskin Snow Survey Cabin T45N, R39E, S25 1941

APPENDICES - 252 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
Site Name Location

Earliest Use Approved Withdrawn Purchased or Mention

Calico Ranger Station T45N, R41E, S16 1912 5/22/1912

Lamance Administrative Site T42N, R39E, S17 1914 5/29/1914

Martin Creek Guard Station T44N, R39E, S13 & 24 1911 8/13/1913

National Ranger Station T46N, R39E, S32 1911 5/08/1911

Paradise Valley Guard Station T42N, R39E, S25 1933 10/2/1934

Quinn River Ranger Station T47N, R41E, S19 & 29-30 1912 5/23/1912

Rebel Creek Ranger Station T43N, R37E, S13 1912 6/19/1912

Spring Mountains NRA 

Cold Springs Ranger Station T20S, R56E, S14 1911

Dugout Ranger Station T20S, R57E, S1 1911

Kyle Canyon Guard Station T19S, R57E, S32 1933 7/22/1933

Las Vegas Ranger Station T20S, R61E, S30 1942 1/3/1942

Lee Canyon Guard Station T19S, R56E, S3 1938 1/22/1943

Lee Canyon Organization Camp T19S, R56E, S10 1937

Twin Cabin Ranger Station T20S, R56E, S3 1911

Twin Springs Ranger Station T21S, R56E, S6 & T20S, 

R56E, S30 1911

Tonopah

Barley Creek Guard Station T9N, R47E, S15 1908 6/13/1908

Cottonwood Administrative Site T10N, R48E, S9 1931 3/1/1932

Danville Administrative Site Unknown 1985

Farrington Ranch T9N, R40E, S5 1916

Garrison Administrative Site T22S, R20W, S1 1909 6/29/1909

Hunts Canyon Administrative Site T7N, R46E, S23 1956 1956

Indian Valley Administrative Site T10N, R 40E, S3 1934 11/5/1934 5/1/1956

Jefferson Ranger Station T10N, R44E, S8, 9 & 16 1909 8/3/1909

Ledbetter Administrative Site T10N, R40E, S4

Little Meadows Administrative 

Site T10N, R40E, S28 1908 6/29/1908

Manhattan Ranger Station T8N, R44E, S30 1920

Meadow Canyon Administrative 

Site T10N, R45E, S21 1932 3/14/1932

Moore's Creek Administrative 

Site T11N, R45E, S3 1926 3/13/1926

Morgan Administrative Site T12N, R48E, S22 1932 3/1/1932

Mud Springs Administrative Site T6N, R46E, S16 1934 11/5/1934

Peavine Administrative Site T8N, R42E, S4 1908 4/28/1908

Pine Creek Ranger Station T11N, R46E, S18 1943

Shoshone Creek Administrative 

Site T10N, R44E, S36 1908 1/11/1908

Silver Creek Ranger Station T9N, R45E, S30 1909 5/1/1909

Skuffie's Administrative Site T10N, R48E, S7 1977

PRIVIES PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1 APPENDICES - 253
Site Name Location

Earliest Use Approved Withdrawn Purchased or Mention

South Twin River Administrative 

Site T11N, R41E, S32-33 1949 5/1/1956

Stone Cabin Administrative Site T11N, R41E, S29 1941

Table Mountain Administrative 

Site T11N, R48E, S29 1942

Three Forks Administrative Site T11N, R42N, S29 1908 11/11/1908

Tonopah Housing (Sandia) T2N, R42E, S2 1961 6/6/1978

Tonopah Ranger Dwelling T2N, R42E, S2 1967 8/11/1967

Tonopah Ranger Station T2N, R42E, S2 1945 4/25/1949

Tonopah Stable T3N, R43E, S31 1974

Tonopah USAF Warehouse Town of Tonopah 1940s

Tonopah Warehouse T2N, R42E, S2 1965 10/5/1965

Upper Corral Administrative Site T11N, R41E, S28 & 29 1934 11/5/1934 5/1/1956

Warenot Administrative Site Unknown 1983

Werdenhoff Administrative Site T12N, R42E, S19 1949

Willow Creek Administrative Site T9N, R48E, S17 or 20 1929 9/48/1929

APPENDICES - 254 PRIVIES, PASTURES AND PORTABLES, VOL. 1
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