Watchman Observation Station Opens
Six months prior to Watchman Observation Station’s opening, its mission at Crater Lake was clarified in a letter from D.S. Libby to John C. Thomas, a supervisor at Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company. “We particularly ask that the title for this station be “Watchman Observation Station” rather than to call it a fire lookout because its equipment and purpose is twofold and under no condition do we intend to designate it simply as a fire lookout. The attendant in charge of the station is an individual prepared to explain the scientific features of Crater Lake as well as to locate fires”(Libbey, 1933, n.p.).
On July 27, 1933 Watchman Observation Station was opened to the public and was immediately popular. During its first month of operation, 1,036 park visitors came to the observation station either as individuals or as part of a tour, the most popular of which was the guided sunset tour, “A Pilgrimage to the Watchman.” A Ranger-Naturalist was placed in charge to meet the visitors at the base of Watchman Peak and conduct the party to the station to “view the sunset” and “the unusual shadows and lighting effects prevailing at that hour” (Demaray, 1933). Further refinement on interpretation occurred in the next summer with the addition of a script used by the Ranger-Naturalist to explain the surrounding topography. A document entitled Geology on Rim Caravan: Notes for Leaders of the Caravan explained in detail what the visitor was viewing. The following illustrates the level of detail of the interpretation program:
“Watchman Stop”
First good, general view of entire lake basin—point out general features. Good view of Klamath basin (a “graben”, or down-dropped area, with “horsts” or up-raised blocks, on either side), Mt. McLoughlin (Pitt is older name) and Mt. Shasta.” (Smith, 1934, n.p.).
Watchman Observation Station was also valuable as a fire lookout. Rangers stationed on lookout duty were in constant communication with each other by short wave radio and telephone. The observation station was part of a network of fire watches that served Crater Lake National Park and the national forests surrounding the park. The network provided “almost one hundred percent visibility of the forests in the Crater Lake region” (Greene, 1984, n.p.).
