Hallie Morse Daggett

Hallie Daggett, Forest Guard and First USFS Woman Lookout: Hallie Morse Daggett, the first woman hired as a fire observer by the U.S. Forest Service, staffed an original log cabin fire lookout called Eddy Gulch Lookout. The cabin was at the top of 6,444 foot Klamath Peak in the Siskiyou Mountains of northern California.

Birth/Death: 1878-1964

Employment Service Period: Hallie Daggett was employed as a "Forest Guard" at a salary of $840 per year. She replaced W.R. McDowell as fire lookout on June 1, 1913 and worked seasonally for the next 15 years.

Stated Qualifications: Quote from the hiring ranger: "One of the most untiring and enthusiastic applicants which I have for the position is Miss Hallie Morse Daggett, a wide-awake woman of 30 years, who knows and has traversed every trail on the Salmon River watershed, and is thoroughly familiar with every foot of the District."

Contributions: In her very first season, Ms. Daggett reported 40 fires of which fewer than five acres were burned. Her prompt warnings that resulted in suppression efforts saved thousands of acres of timberland over her career. She was a pioneer in natural resouce employment for women who, at the time of her employment, had only just started to vote.

Personal Quote on Her Experience: "One of my pet dreams had always been of a log cabin, and here was an ideal one - indoors as cozy as could be wished, while outdoors - was a grander dooryard than any estate in the land could boast, an oh! What a prospect of glorious freedom from four walls and a time-clock."

Resignation Details: A new 14'x14' L-4 glass sided lookout with catwalk was built in 1926. Ms. Daggett retired the following year and it was thought that she did not like the new cab and much preferred the old cabin.