Gaudineer Knob is a mountain summit on the Randolph

Randolph County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 28,262 people, 11,072 households, and 7,661 families residing in the county. The population density was 27 people per square mile . There were 13,478 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile...

/Pocahontas County

Pocahontas County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 9,131 people, 835 households, and 527 families residing in the county. The population density was 10 people per square mile . There were 7,594 housing units at an average density of 8 per square mile...

 line in eastern West Virginia, USA. It is the highest elevation (4,432 ft/1,351 m) of Shavers Mountain

Shavers Mountain

Shavers Mountain, is a high and rugged ridge situated in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia. It is about long, north to south, and several of its peaks exceed in elevation...

, a ridge of the Alleghenies

Allegheny Mountains

The Allegheny Mountain Range , also spelled Alleghany, Allegany and, informally, the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada...

, and is located about 1.7 miles (2.7 km) east of the town of Cheat Bridge

Cheat Bridge, West Virginia

Cheat Bridge is an unincorporated community in southeastern Randolph County, West Virginia, United States. It is located near U.S. Route 250's crossing of Shavers Fork.-The bridge:...

. The Gaudineer Knob Lookout Tower, an important US Forest Service (USFS) fire tower, formerly occupied the crown of the knob.

History

The knob had been a prominent, but unnamed, peak in a vast wilderness when in the late 1930s it was named in memory of Donald Gaudineer, one of the USFS’s early rangers in the Monongahela National Forest

Monongahela National Forest

The Monongahela National Forest is a national forest located in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It protects over of federally-owned land within a proclamation boundary that includes much of the Potomac Highlands Region and portions of 10 counties.The MNF includes some...

 (MNF). As a young forester, Gaudineer had been assigned to the Southern District of the recently established MNF. His headquarters at that time occupied the former Craig Lumber Company office at Thornwood

Thornwood, West Virginia

Thornwood is an unincorporated community in Pocahontas County, West Virginia, United States. Thornwood is east-northeast of Durbin....

. During his years as ranger for the Greenbrier District, Gaudineer oversaw reforestation projects, the building of roads to enhance wildfire protection, the erection of fire towers in his district, and various other routine forest management activities. In the mid-1930s Gaudineer was transferred to the Cheat Ranger District, at Parsons

Parsons, West Virginia

The town of Parsons is the county seat of Tucker County, West Virginia, in the United States. The population was 1,463 at the 2000 census. The mayor of Parsons is Dorothy Judy and the city administrator is Jason Myers...

, and on April 27, 1936, he was killed while attempting to rescue his children from a house fire. The USFS selected the scenic peak east of Cheat Bridge (in his former ranger district) as a fitting memorial.

Gaudineer Knob Lookout Tower

Only the concrete footers remain from the fire tower that from 1936 through 1950 surveyed the forest landscape surrounding Gaudineer Knob.

Gaudineer Scenic Area

The 140 acres (56.7 ha) Gaudineer Scenic Area

Gaudineer Scenic Area

The Gaudineer Scenic Area is a scenic area and National Natural Landmark in the Monongahela National Forest . It is situated just north of Gaudineer Knob of Shavers Mountain on the border of Randolph and Pocahontas Counties, West Virginia, USA, about northwest of the town of...

 is situated immediately north of Gaudineer Knob at about 4000 feet (1,219.2 m) elevation. It was established in 1964 and was declared a National Natural Landmark

National Natural Landmark

The National Natural Landmark program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only natural areas program of national scope that identifies and recognizes the best examples of biological and geological features in...

 in 1974 owing to a 50 acres (20.2 ha) virgin

Old growth forest

An old-growth forest is a forest that has attained great age , and thereby exhibits unique ecological features. An old growth forest has also usually reached a climax community...

 red spruce

Red Spruce

Picea rubens is a species of spruce native to eastern North America, ranging from eastern Quebec to Nova Scotia, and from New England south in the Adirondack Mountains and Appalachians to western North Carolina.-Physical description:...

 stand that was spared the lumberman’s saw when the surrounding countryside was clear-cut in the early 20th Century.