STONE MOUNTAIN
Georgia - Georgia Forestry Commission
January 16, 1958: "Mrs. Inez Shubert, of Stone Mountain, Ga., has one of the loneliest jobs in the world. She is a 'towerman' for the Georgia State Forestry Service, one of the few women to hold such a position in the United States. She drives her car to the top of 800-foot Stone Mountain each day and climbs to the top of the 40-foot tower to watch for forest fires. The mountain is nearly impassable, with no clearly marked roads. Mrs. Shubert says she doesn't mind keeping her lonely vigil since she has 'all the comforts of home' -- a radio, a heater and a telephone. A three-year veteran, she reports she is just about able to ignore the swaying of the tower in the high winds that rake the summit." (Independent, Long Beach, California)
December 26, 1963: "Every day, except when it rains or ice covers the ground, Mrs. Shubert embarks in her jeep on a hazardous drive -- 800-feet up the steep, winding, stony trail to the top of Stone Mountain.
Mrs. Shubert, 36, is a fire spotter and her office is the fire tower on top of the world's largest mountain of solid granite.
The sheer face of Stone mountain is impassable, but Mrs. Shubert drives up the trail on the backside. Even that is so steep many hikers sit down and slide on the way down. In rainy weather, it's moss-covered slopes are notoriously slippery. Many a hiker has fallen to his death by misjudging its slopes." (The Kansas City Times)
The NGS Data Sheet
STATION RECOVERY (1973)
RECOVERY NOTE BY NATIONAL GEODETIC SURVEY 1973 (EDW)
NO DISTANT RM WAS SET.
THE STATION MARK AND REFERENCE MARK, UNSTAMPED, WERE RECOVERED
IN GOOD CONDITION. THE DISTANCE CHECKED TO REFERENCE MARK,
UNSTAMPED, AS DESCRIBED BY C.T.H. IN 1957. REFERENCE MARK,
2-INCH IRON BOLT, WAS NOT FOUND AND A NEW REFERENCE MARK 2 WAS
ESTABLISHED. A COMPLETE NEW DESCRIPTION FOLLOWS.
THE STATION IS LOCATED 9 MILES EAST-NORTHEAST OF DECATUR, 1.5
MILES SOUTH OF THE STONE MOUNTAIN FREEWAY, 1 MILE EAST OF THE
TOWN OF STONE MOUNTAIN AND ATOP STONE MOUNTAIN, A WELL KNOWN
BARE GRANITE PEAK.
TO REACH THE STATION FROM THE WEST GATE ENTRANCE TO STONE
MOUNTAIN PARK, WHICH IS ABOUT 1 MILE EAST OF THE TOWN STONE
MOUNTAIN, (PICK UP KEY HERE) GO SOUTH INTO PARK FOR ABOUT 100
FEET TO A T-ROAD. TURN LEFT AND GO EAST ON PAVED ROAD FOR 0.1
MILE TO A SIDE ROAD RIGHT AND A LOCKED CHAIN GATE. TURN RIGHT
PASSING THROUGH CHAIN AND GO SOUTH UPHILL FOR 0.2 MILE TO THE
END OF PAVEMENT. BEAR SOUTHEAST ONTO A ROCKY NARROW ROAD FOR
0.7 MILE TO ITS END, AT THE STEEPEST PART OF THE GRANITE
SLOPE. CONTINUE AHEAD UPHILL FOR 0.2 MILE TO THE TOP AND THE
STATION.
THE STATION, A STANDARD DISK STAMPED STONE MOUNTAIN 1873 1953,
CEMENTED IN A DRILL HOLE IN THE BEDROCK AND IN THE CENTER OF A
CIRCLE 3-1/2 FEET IN RADIUS WITHIN WHICH THE ROCK HAS BEEN CUT
DOWN 2 INCHES TO LEVEL SURFACE. IT IS 202 FEET NORTH OF THE
NORTH SIDE OF THE OBSERVATION TOWER AND 195 FEET WEST OF THE WEST
SIDE OF THE POOL.