EAST MOUNTAIN
Upshur County - Texas Forest Service
May 3, 1962: "A forest fire lookout tower has been completed at East Mountain, announces Bill Chestnut, district forester Texas Forest Service in Linden.
The tower was erected on land leased to the Texas Forest Service by Mrs. Judith O'Byrne Adams of Longview.
Operation of the 87-foot steel girder structure is the responsibility of crewleader Leon B. Patrick, Longview. His crewman is Bennie Wood of Diana.
Chestnut states the new tower will work in cooperation with other Texas Forest Service towers located at Hallsville, Gilmont, Latch and Meadows. This completes an intensive fire protection system for parts of Harrison, Upshur, Gregg, Smith and Rusk counties." (The Gilmer Mirror)
The tower was erected on land leased to the Texas Forest Service by Mrs. Judith O'Byrne Adams of Longview.
Operation of the 87-foot steel girder structure is the responsibility of crewleader Leon B. Patrick, Longview. His crewman is Bennie Wood of Diana.
Chestnut states the new tower will work in cooperation with other Texas Forest Service towers located at Hallsville, Gilmont, Latch and Meadows. This completes an intensive fire protection system for parts of Harrison, Upshur, Gregg, Smith and Rusk counties." (The Gilmer Mirror)
January 25, 1968: "A district court jury took just twenty minutes Tuesday to find two 15-year-old Longview boys not guilty of burglarizing the East Mountain fire tower last Oct. 7.
F. L. Garrison, lawyer for one of the boys, Milton Dean Stevens, said he believed it was the first such case ever to be tried in Upshur County. The state brought civil suit to have the two boys declared juvenile delinquents. They first had to be convicted of the criminal offense of burglary. The jury declined to do so after hearing testimony from Sheriff Doyle Johnson, Stevens and two of his companions on the night of Oct. 7, Chris Smith and Larry Muckleroy.
Testimony Monday showed that Milton Dean Stevens and Johnny Ray Sullivan, went riding on the night of Oct. 7 in Steven's car with Smith and Muckleroy. They talked of spending the night in the East Mountain fire tower. While Stevens and Sullivan stayed on the ground, the other two broke into the tower and took a radio, binoculars and an electric heater. All four left in the car, which was spotted by Sheriff Johnson. Johnson testified that a 2-mile chase followed. When Stevens stopped the car, the sheriff said, he claimed the radio belonged to him and the binoculars to his brother. The heater had been thrown out the window.
Dist. Attorney Lowell Hult told the jury that their actions when stopped by the sheriff made Stevens and Sullivan 'principals' in the crime
Garrison urged that the two 15-year-olds, unlike the other two boys, had no unlawful intent.
The fact that they provided a 'get-away car' for the other two boys didn't make them burglars, he said. Garrison said the prosecution was trying to make a case of guilt by association. He argued that although their actions were wrong, they had only responded under stress with a lack of judgement that any other teen-ager might have shown." (The Gilmer Mirror)
February 3, 1972: "Thieves have broken into the East Mountain Fire Lookout tower twice recently, taking a heavy short wave radio, binoculars and a coffee pot, among other things.
G.C. Adrian of the Texas Forest Service reported to the sheriff's office that the radio was lowered from the tower early last week apparently by using a rope that had been among the items stolen a few days before.
Since the radio has only one channel--that used by the forest service--it would have strictly limited usefulness for anyone else." (The Gilmer Mirror)