The Long Way
Columbia County
A white house stands in a wooded area with tall trees and picnic tables.
Plate I. White cabin, Tucannon Guard Station. From recreation.gov
An outdoor view of a white house with picnic tables and trees under a blue sky.
Plate II. Grounds and cabin, Tucannon Guard Station. From recreation.gov
A white house stands in a grassy area surrounded by trees and a hillside.
Plate III. Cabin exterior, Tucannon Guard Station. From recreation.gov
A small white wooden house with a porch stands among trees and dry grass.
Plate IV. Cabin exterior, Tucannon Guard Station. From recreation.gov
An interior view of a room with a couch, windows, and framed photos on the wall.
Plate V. Living room interior, Tucannon Guard Station. From recreation.gov
A bedroom with a mattress on the floor and wooden furniture.
Plate VI. Upstairs bedroom, Tucannon Guard Station. From recreation.gov
An interior view of a small bathroom with a tub, toilet, and sink.
Plate VII. Bathroom, Tucannon Guard Station. From recreation.gov
A small bathroom with a bathtub, shower curtain, toilet, and grey painted floor.
Plate VIII. Bathroom interior, Tucannon Guard Station. From recreation.gov

Tucannon Guard Station

Pomeroy, Columbia County, Washington. Guard station cabin rental; Available for rent year around.

Details

Map. Pomeroy, Columbia County, Washington. Larger map
Where
Pomeroy, Columbia County, WA. No street address stated. Directions
When
Check in is at 1:00 PM, and check out is at 11:00 AM.
Getting there
From Pomeroy, Highway 12 west about 4 miles, left on Tatman Mt. Road (becomes Linville Gulch) about 6.5 miles to where pavement ends at Blind Grade, then gravel over Blind Grade to the stop sign.
Fees
$100 per night (up to 4 people).
Access
Combination lock entry; call the Pomeroy Ranger District one week prior for the combination and road conditions; one dog allowed, no other pets; pack in-pack out with garbage bags; mouse poison (Decon) around the perimeter; no refunds for weather inaccessibility.
Walk-in or reserve
Reservation required; reserve through Recreation.gov.
Phone
509-843-1891
Managed by
Umatilla National Forest.
Established
1909.
Coordinates
46.250363, -117.678318.

Two-story wood frame saltbox cabin: two single beds and a queen bed upstairs, a single bed and a futon for two downstairs, flush toilet and hot shower; electricity and propane included; potable running water year-round.

Notable Events

  1. 1909Harry Johnson built the residence, and his brother-in-law William Kendell was hired on as a guard. fs.usda.gov
  2. 1916The Tucannon Guard Station became headquarters for the District after new District boundaries were formed. fs.usda.gov
  3. 1918The District headquarters moved to Pomeroy, and Tucannon remained a work center for many years. fs.usda.gov
  4. 2001The initial phase of a rehabilitation plan approved by the Washington State Historic Preservation Officer was begun; the Forest Service called the station National Register eligible and said considerable work remains. fs.usda.gov

People

  • Frank Marks, Deputy Supervisor who surveyed the tract for the guard station and later moved into it with his family of seven children (surveyed in the spring of 1908; moved in the following March).
  • Harry Johnson, builder of the residence (1909).
  • William Kendell, guard hired on at the new residence; passed the Ranger's exam that October and became the ranger for the Tucannon area; Recreation.gov calls him the first ranger in the Tucannon area (1909).

Sources

  1. recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/234682
  2. fs.usda.gov/r06/umatilla/recreation/tucannon-guard-station
  3. fs.usda.gov/media/226661
  4. docs.streamnetlibrary.org/Subbasin_Plans/Columbia_Plateau_South/Tucannonsumm2001.pdf
  5. fs.usda.gov/r06/umatilla/recreation/tucannon-guard-station
  6. archive.org/download/originofwashingt0000mean/originofwashingt0000mean_djvu.txt