North Cascades

STEWARDSHIP OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN:
GOVERNMENT IN THE NORTH CASCADES

UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE ERA

Backus (Skagit) Ranger Station

Entry gate at Backus Ranger Station in Marblemount, ca.1909.
(Thompson Collection, Washtucna, Washington)

Ranger stations for the Skagit and Stehekin Districts were located in Marblemount and Stehekin respectively. The site for the Skagit station, known as Backus Ranger Station, was carefully selected from limited good land. After acquiring early settler Frank Backus' homestead, the USFS slowly obtained other tracts of land in the northwest part of section 12 (T35N R10E). By 1907, a sizable amount of land was officially owned by the USFS and used as an administrative site. [19] Ranger Axel Larson built the first structure at Backus two years later. In the spring of 1909, he completed a small, one story, wood frame, hip-roofed house of four rooms for A.R. Conrad, the district's first assigned ranger. [20] Set deep in the woods against a mountain backdrop, the Backus Ranger Station evolved over the years into a substantial complex. By 1915 a barn, chicken house, and woodshed were built on the grounds. Before the close of the same year, a foundation for a new barn was in place. [21]

The first structure built at Backus Ranger Station, used as a residence and office, pre-1916.
(Thompson Collection, Washtucna, Washington)

A USFS supervisor's inspection report of 1921 discussed the permanent improvements at the Backus Ranger Station:

The land is well cultivated and since Thompson was raised on a farm the proper rotation of crops is planned to get the best results. The fences are well kept, and all small outhouses kept repaired. The location of the station for accessibility, surroundings, water supply, pasturage, etc. is the best that could be secured . . . The entire tract has been cleared. Most of the stumps have been removed. . . . All complete buildings are kept neat and clean. The grounds surrounding are always in good shape . . . The barn is big, well arranged and always kept clean and repaired. One room is partitioned off for the express purpose of storing fire tools and supplies. [22]

By 1926 the first residence was replaced by a gable-roofed wood frame house of similar proportions, and an identical structure to serve as an office was built (ca. 1929) adjacent to the residence. [23] In the 1930s, the USFS embarked upon an ambitious building program at the Backus site. With CCC assistance, the USFS was able to increase the capacity and physical plant of the ranger station twofold. A warehouse, shop, garage, and possibly an additional residence were all added to the grounds by the CCC. Carefully sited and constructed of similar materials and design, the new structures gave Backus the cohesiveness and definition of a complex. The station appears different today: while a few buildings remain intact, others have been removed or altered, and new infill structures lack the architectural distinction of their predecessors.

The front yard and entrance gate to the USFS ranger's residence at Backus Ranger Station, July 1942.
(USFS-Mt. Baker-Sedro Woolley, Washington photo file)