Three Corner Rock Lookout moved to Friday Harbor

Three Corner Lookout used as 2nd story bedroom.

Lookout Site Regions: ORIGIN SITE ~ Southwest WA, RE-LO SITE ~ Northwest WA

The move of the Three Corner Rock LO’s DNR cab from Southwest Washington to become the second story bedroom of a private home near Friday Harbor is an unusual Type 2 Re-Location.  The FFLA’s website includes the following: “Likely developed by the then Columbia National Forest, the first structure was a 2-story L-4 cab in 1938. This was replaced by a DNR cab in 1955, followed by an identical DNR cab in 1973. This cab was sold and removed by a private party in 1982.”  Ray Kresek’s 2015 Lookout Inventory  provides more information with: “(sold to Dick Morrison to become 2nd story of his home at Friday Harbor.”  Ray also included the following as a caption for a photo in his book Fire Lookouts of the Northwest: The lookout no longer exists…at least not here.  Dick Morrison paid the DNR $15 for it, and hauled the house all the way home to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island.”

Dick provided more details about the move in several telephone conversations and email exchanges that we had in 2020.  “It took Dick (and his brother) 2 seasons to take the Three Corner Rock Lookout apart and to move it to Friday Harbor.  They took the cab completely apart ~ to the “bare bones”.  The only thing that was carried off the rock by hand was the glass.  They parked a big boat trailer on the nearby flat spot ~ probably where the communication towers are now ~ and strung a high line with pulleys from the top of the rock to the boat trailer.  They then used it to move the rest of the lookout, board-by-board, down to the trailer using gravity.  One of the Mt. St Helens’ early puffs of ash, which preceded the big one, blew while they were taking the 3 Corner Rock lookout apart.  So this would place it at around April 1980.”

The lookout stood on what looked like a pile of rocks.
to the west, Three Corner Rock did not stand very tall above the surrounding hill.
A stone walkway led to the lookout site atop Three Corner Rock. The trailer on the other end of Dick’s “highline” was apparently parked near the tower complex on the knoll across from the lookout site.

This re-located lookout was used as the second story of Dick’s new house in Friday Harbor.  It was his bedroom and Dick now claims to have slept in a lookout for more nights than anyone else.   He later sold this place and moved to near Chehalis.  The lookout is part of a private residence and any visit should get the current owner’s permission.

Dick also told another story about Three Corner Rock.  “It could be very windy there.  When the lookout building was being constructed,  a construction worker was carrying a sheet of plywood to the top when the wind came up.  The plywood acted as a parasail and the worker and plywood were blown over the edge and the worker was killed. 3 Corner Rock was a ground house, no tower.  This was a DNR Cab.”  

Move of the Three Corner Rock Cab to Near Friday Harbor

Three Corner Rock, the ORIGIN SITE, was near Washington’s southern border.

The dissembled Cab was trailered to near Washington’s northern border.
The cab was reassembled to form the 2nd story bedroom of Dick Morrison’s new home near Friday Harbor. (Photo from the Fire Lookout Museum collection)

We have not visited the Re-Located LO at its current location near Friday Harbor

Three Corner Lookout at its RE-LO Location near Friday Harbor (2019 photo by Tammy McLeod.)

 Our visit to the Three Corner Rock Lookout Site ~ 5/29/2007

We hiked a short side trail from the Pacific Crest Trail to visit Three Corner Rock which looked like a small rock pile from this direction.
The LO site atop the rock was reached by way of the remains of stone steps and a stone walkway.

Concrete corner foundation blocks marked the lookout’s location. Other artifacts included rusty nails and a benchmark.

There were good views of volcanic peaks from the lookout site. Mount Hood could be seen to the south.
Mount Saint Helens was to the NNW.
Mount Adams was to the NNE
Mount Rainier was to the north.
Click HERE to return to the Index List of LO Posts

By hiker99ralph

I am a long time hiker and more recently have added lookout chasing to the hiking hobby. I served as a lookout fireman at the Hoodoo Lookout in the Blue Mountains in the summers of 1957 and 1958. I got away from lookouts after that until retiring when I started chasing lookouts.