Man questions Heavens Peak Lookout construction date

A Kalispell man who worked on trails in 1942 in Glacier National Park claims the historic Heavens Peak Lookout was constructed at least three years earlier than what the National Park Service says, but Park records don’t corroborate his story.

Howard Stockwell said he worked on the trail to the lookout in 1942, and a lookout was already standing there on the shoulder of Heavens Peak.

Stockwell was in high school at the time, and he surmises the lookout was built in 1940 or 1941. Stockwell went on to have a 36-year career with the engineering division of the Montana Department of Transportation.

Park written records, however indicate otherwise, notes Lon Johnson, cultural resource manager for Glacier Park. Johnson put together a timeline of the project and said according to the Park superintendent’s annual reports, construction on the trail began in 1939 for the “proposed Heavens Peak Lookout.”

Work on the trail continued until 1942, but the Heavens Peak Lookout was constructed in 1945 when a final construction report was filed. The previous year, a contractor was released from the job because he couldn’t get enough manpower to begin work on the lookout, a superintendent’s report noted.

The lookout was back in the news this year as Park crews and volunteers did stabilization work on the structure, including repairs to the roof and floor. The lookout hasn’t been manned in years, and the trail Stockwell helped build has long been abandoned.

The lookout was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. Restoration efforts were funded by a $32,000 grant from the Glacier National Park Fund. The work will be completed next year.