Welcome to Ragged Mountain Cache!
This cache is a great adventure for the family to find. The terrain is somewhat steep but all trail or tote road the whole way. Many visit this location on foot and snowmobile too. The views are amazing of KIW , Jo Mary lakes, Millinocket lakes, all the way to Mount Katahdin. Also, following trail near the cache will lead to more great westerly views and a Windphone! While you’re in the area, be sure to look for the old watchman camp, remains can be found just below the tower right off the trail you walked in on. Do a good map recon on Google Earth before starting out. Start on the Lincoln Ridge Road (off Rt. 11) and follow the series of tote roads right to about midway up the mountain where the barricade is. Take care of the logging trucks, THEY HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY! Once you park your vehicle, follow the trail, making lefts, all the way to the top. The tower still stands but 2 guy lines have broken free and it’s only a matter of time before Mother Nature helps it come down. Be safe, good luck and have fun!
When you’re done logging this cache, be sure to log finding Benchmarks QG1441 and QG1442. The history of fire lookout towers in New England is quite amazing. Built and manned full time beginning in the late 1800s to early 1900s to protect their investment, land barons of pulp and lumber companies employed men (and families in some cases) to stand watch over their forests as an early warning system in the detection of forest fires. The towers worked in combination with other towers to triangulate the location of observed fires.
Telephone wires were strung between towers and watchmen communicated with each other over low-voltage telephones, very similar to the military field phones still in use today. If you look hard enough, wire and insulators can still be found nailed to the trunks of trees on the paths between the towers and their cabins. In the tower, the watchmen on duty utilized a map mounted on a round table and with the aid of binoculars would scan the forests for any hint of smoke. Once detected, a sighting device would be used to pinpoint the location of the fire on the round map. Loggers would be mobilized to dig or cut fire breaks or fight the fire with Indian pumps. A partnership was eventually established with Maine Forest Service. Eventually the towers became obsolete due to technology and wood harvesting became more
profitable in other places of the world. Here is a good web-site of historic 7.5 and 15 minute USGS maps for reference where watchmen cabins may have stood and location of phone lines: http://docs.unh.edu/nhtopos/nhtopos.htm
Maine State Archives Online Store link for sale of Ragged Mountain Fire Map of 1919: http://www10.informe.org/webshop_ifw/index.php?p=2735&c=64&storeID=5
Some archival FFLA info provided by Bill Cobb:
- First tower 1910 Wood - Log Legs
- First camp 1910, crude log camp
- Intended steel tower conversions for 1914, with intentions to be done in 1915. The steel and materials were placed at the base of
the mountain in 1914. Ragged did not get the steel tower till 1918 due to manpower and budget.
- Watchman's camp burned in 1916, a new 12x14 log camp was built same year to replace it.
- New steel 36' tower in 1918. In July began the erection of the tower on Ragged Mountain. The job took 10 days and the tower was then ready for fire season.
- The original panoramic map for Ragged was started in 1917 but installed in 1918.
- 1929 - Ragged gets completely painted.
- In 1950 materials were staged to rebuild the watchman's camp of 1916, which is nearly completely rotten in 1950. The plan is to rebuild it in - 1951. The camp was rebuilt of log construction in 1951.
- 1973 - the tower is still staffed regularly.
- 1974 - Ragged is decommissioned.
- 1981 - last time watchman’s camp was seen by anyone intact.
- 1995 - cab is gone, unknown how long.
http://www.firelookout.org/towers/me/me.htm
http://www.firelookout.org/