North Cascades

STEWARDSHIP OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN:
GOVERNMENT IN THE NORTH CASCADES

UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE ERA

Stehekin Ranger Station

The Stehekin Ranger Station was neither as large nor as defined as its counterpart to the west. Originally located north of the Field Hotel at the head of Lake Chelan, the ranger station consisted of a log 22' x 22' house (built 1907) and an 18' x 20' barn. This station was destroyed in the late 1920s because of rising lake waters. [24] Although an alternate site had been selected earlier at Rainbow Falls, nothing was ever built there and the primary ranger station was moved instead to the vicinity of the new boat landing. [25] It was known at first as the Purple Point Ranger Station. A substantial wood frame, jerkin-head-roofed structure was built there ca. 1926 as a combination residence and office. A small woodshed was sited behind the main building. Approximately two years later, ca. 1928, a warehouse was built to the southeast which served as a new office and living quarters when needed. A garage and blacksmith shop were contained within the warehouse. Six years later an ell was added, enlarging the warehouse considerably. Concurrent with the construction of the warehouse, a bunkhouse similar in design to the main residence was built up the slope to the east. This building provided seasonal housing for fire crews stationed at Stehekin. [26]

A 1935 report on conditions at the ranger station described both the administrative site and its problems:

The old fence line at the Stehekin Ranger Station should be replaced by a good looking fence. The crates and other rubbish behind the bunkhouse at this station should be destroyed. There is also a need for a gas and oil house and a suitable place for storing paint. At the present time these materials are stored in the combination warehouse and office and constitute a fire risk. The office, warehouse and machine shop. . .are all under one roof. It is recommended that a separate building be erected in a suitable place, to be used for the office. The Ranger Station at Stehekin has no barn or horse corral, both of which are quite badly needed. [27]

When the CCC established their temporary camp in Stehekin in the late 1930s, a crew constructed a barn (ca. 1939) and an oil/gas house for the station. Both of these were removed in later years by the USFS. [28] Today, the ranger station residence and woodshed remain intact; the warehouse and bunkhouse are extant but have undergone alterations.

Early winter view of the Stehekin Ranger Station office and residence in Stehekin, Washington, n.d.
(NOCA-Stehekin photo file)