By Rick McClure, Gifford Pinchot National Forest
Deep within the forests of eastern Lewis County, just south of Mount Rainier National Park, is an old Forest Service cabin that stands as a reminder of the New Deal work programs of the Great Depression. Vacant and neglected for nearly two decades, La Wis Wis Guard Station is getting a new lease on life thanks to the efforts of Forest Service volunteers and partners in the local community of Packwood. Work to restore and rehabilitate the station began this week, launched in conjunction with National Historic Preservation Month.
La Wis Wis Guard Station was built in 1937 with labor from the Civilian Conservation Corps, or CCC, a New Deal work relief program created under the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In cooperation with the Forest Service, the CCC established a 200-man camp in the community of Packwood in 1933. Enrollees completed many projects within the Gifford Pinchot National Forest during the nine years the CCC was in existence, including road, trail, campground and facilities construction. The guard station was built in conjunction with development of La Wis Wis Campground, located seven miles east of Packwood on the White Pass Highway. The station was staffed by a “Forest Guard” each season, with duties that included fire protection as well as campground maintenance and public contact. In recognition of its historic association with the CCC, as well as its distinctive rustic architecture, La Wis Wis Guard Station was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. It remained in use by Forest Service personnel until 1993. Since that time, the effects of neglect, drainage problems and roof leaks have taken their toll. Fearing the historic building would be lost, Forest Service staff joined forces with the local historical society to plan what they anticipate as a three-year project to save the building. Taking the place of CCC enrollees this time around is a cadre of volunteers with the national Forest Service
Passport in Time program. Most of the volunteers come with years of experience on similar historic preservation projects, and some from as far away as Idaho, California and South Carolina. The White Pass Country Historical Society and Museum, located in Packwood, have provided logistical support and materials to the effort.
In their first week of the project, the crew busied themselves in a steady drizzle and sometimes downpour. Tied into a climbing harness on the steep-pitched roof, project leader Rob Jeter, a Forest Service facilities maintenance specialist, directed roofing replacement operations. Bundles of sawn cedar shingles, fresh from a mill on the Olympic Peninsula and stacked next to the building, awaited the roofers. On the opposite side of the structure, others were on their knees, putting jacks in place in preparation for lifting the building off its foundation for more repairs. The driest jobs were inside the cabin, removing and tagging historic fixtures and cabinetry or clearing out decayed flooring. Despite the weather, spirits were high. As to the future of the cabin, the Forest Service is considering options, recognizing that occupancy is the key to the building’s survival. Without heat to keep the moisture at bay, without tenants to detract vandalism, protection of the historic structure would be less certain. One possibility is to add the facility to the Forest Service’s popular recreation rental program, a way to collect funds for maintenance and upkeep. A similar historic cabin within the Mt. Adams District, Gifford Pinchot National Forest, also restored by
Passport in Time volunteers, nets $18,000 annually in rental fees. The funds pay for propane, servicing and cleaning of the cabin, and cyclical maintenance. Other historic cabin and lookout rentals are available on national forests throughout the region. A feasibility study to assess future uses of the La Wis Wis cabin is currently underway. To mark National Historic Preservation Month, the Forest Service welcomes the public to visit La Wis Wis Guard Station during the restoration and rehabilitation project. Staff and volunteers will be on hand for tours. The project site will open to the public Mon., May 7 through Fri. May 11, and Mon., June 11 to Fri. June 15, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The location is in La Wis Wis Campground, seven miles east of Packwood on U.S. Highway 12 (White Pass Highway). The campground opens to the public for camping on Memorial Day weekend. For more information, contact the Cowlitz Valley Ranger Station at 360-497-1100.
