58 in the list and have climbed the red ones. Links above have photos & descriptions of my hikes. 

August 2002 What a difference a year makes! Thanks in great part to the work of three authors: Jack Freeman - Views from on High: Fire Tower Trails in the Adirondacks and Catskills, Marty Podskotch - Fire Towers of the Catskills: Their History and Lore, and Gary & Justin VanRiper - Rescue on Bald Mountain - the Adirondack fire tower stories have hit the newspapers all summer. All three authors have attended book signings and/or given slideshows to hundreds of folks who have expressed their concern for and interest in preserving the towers remaining on State lands in the Adirondacks and Catskills. Public and private restoration partnerships have evolved and committees have formed in many communities to raise funds, recruit volunteers, and develop educational/interpretative awareness programs for a number of the towers.  Bald (Rondaxe) Mountain  - Town of Webb, Herkimer County, newly formed group based in Old Forge, NY Azure Mountain - Town of Santa Clara, Franklin County, Adopted by Azure Mountain Friends, restoration work accomplished in a remarkable 9-months time! Arab Mountain - Town of Piercefield, St. Lawrence County,  Adopted & restored the tower and ranger cabin by the Friends of Mt. Arab Hadley Mountain - Town of Hadley, Warren County, Adopted & restored by the Hadley Fire Tower Committee Blue Mountain - Town of Long Lake, Hamilton County, Adopted & restored by the Blue Mountain Fire Tower Committee - the first Adirondack tower public/private tower preservation partnership to form! Kane Mountain - Town of Caroga, Fulton County, Adopted & restored the tower and cabin by the Canada Lake Protective Association and NYSDEC Owl's Head Mountain - Town of Long Lake, Hamilton County, Adoption & restoration work underway Snowy Mountain - Town of Indian Lake, Hamilton County, Under the guidance of Ranger Greg George, AmeriCorps volunteers restored the tower in the summer of 2002. Vanderwacker Mountain - Town of Minerva, Essex County, Restoration work in process Wakely Mountain (2Mg)- Moose River Plains, Hamilton County, subject of wide-spread support to re-classify the tower in the APA Unit Management Plan (UMP) Poke-O-Moonshine - Essex County, Adopted by Friends of Poke-O-Moonshine, restoration work in progress News from Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH):      ALBANY: Adirondack and Catskill Fire Towers are now on the National Register of Historic Places. In October 2001, ten fire observation towers in the Adirondack and Catskill State Parks were officially placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The multiple property nomination, Fire Towers of the New York State Forest Preserve, was prepared by Wes Haynes for AARCH in 1999. The nomination was funded through a grant to AARCH from the Preserve New York Grant Program. Others fire towers will be added to this nomination in the future.      The towers in the Adirondacks include: Azure Mountain, Blue Mountain, Hadley Mountain, Kane Mountain, Mt. Arab, Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain, Snowy Mountain. The fire towers listed in the Catskills include: Balsam Lake Mountain, Red Hill Mountain, and Tremper Mountain More on the Catskills - coming soon!

November 2001     INDIAN LAKE, N.Y., on Saturday November 3rd. Bill Zullo, Indian Lake town historian and Bill Starr, former Forest Fire Observer on Pillsbury mountain, began field work to nominate the Wakely mountain fire tower to the National Register of Historic Places.     The Wakely tower is one of the first steel towers erected by New York state. In 1915 ten steel towers were purchased from the AerMotor  Company of Chicago, a windmill manufacturer. Wakely was one of nine erected in 1916, the tenth was put up in 1917.     Access into the tower was originally achieved by use of only a ladder. Self supporting stairs were retrofitted into these towers beginning in  1929. All fire towers bought after 1916 came equipped with factory installed stairs.      Of these ten only four remain standing today. Wakely is one of two that has not been structurally altered and is the only tower with the  original ladder still attached. Wakely was the tallest of these towers standing at 70 feet to the floor.     Individuals in Indian Lake hope to form a citizens group to formally adopt and restore the Wakely tower. People interested in becoming  involved may contact Bill Zullo at (518) 648-5377 or Bill Starr at (518) 393-1263 and by e-mail to starrtower@yahoo.com. ===== Bill Starr, Former Forest Fire Observer, N.Y.S., Fire Tower Historian (Photo courtesy of Bill Starr) Fire Tower Challenge - Sponsored by the Glens Falls Chapter of the Adirondack Mt. Club The Fire Tower Challenge hikes are described in Jack Freeman's new guidebook -  Views from on High: Fire Tower Trails in the Adirondacks and Catskills.  Published by ADK, the book is available from the Club at its website or in retail bookstores.

Also -  information on our Unsolved Mystery Fire Tower - Click here to view our mystery photo sent in by Russell Roberts.

The Preservation League of New York State and the New York State Council on the Arts have awarded a $4,765 grant to the Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH) to nominate the towers to the National Register of Historic Places. According to Charles Vandrei, DEC's historic preservation officer, "To be considered for the National Register, the structure must be in good condition and its appearance must not be greatly modified from the period during which it was used." Ten towers are being considered, although the program may be extended to others. The recognition and status of a National Register listing will provide additional protection and possible funding to groups and the DEC in their efforts to preserve one of NY State's most visible conservation efforts. According to Steve Engelhart, Executive Director of AARCH, "There is alot of support for this project. The towers are a piece of our history." Press Republican - Plattsburgh, November 24, 1998

While climbing Pok-O-Moonshine a few years ago, I chanced upon an elderly gentleman who was taking a breather along the path. In the course of our conversation about mountain climbing he remarked, "You know, it's not the elevation of the summit that is important for me, but what you see when you get on top! New York State picked the fire tower summits for this purpose." In his seventies, he was making his annual climb up his favorite mountain. So...a seed was planted even though I was busy climbing the 46 highest Adirondack peaks at the time. I'm now trying to climb as many of the fire tower summits as I can find.

I've studied old maps, visited libraries, read hiking books and surfed the net. One of the best resources I have found so far is Louis Curth's The Forest Rangers, 1987. Some 55-61 sites were once in maintained within the Adirondack Park. I hope a few people who find my site can send on more fire tower stories.

Jolted by the devastation of thousands of acres of the Forest Preserve during the Great Fires of 1903 and 1908, Governor Hughes signed amendments to the existing Forest, Fish and Game Law which would provide for a forest patrol service and provisions for the erection and staffing of forest fire observation stations. The first was located atop Mt. Morris in Franklin Co., 16 in all in the Adirondacks by 1910, 4 in the Catskills, 49 stations by the end of 1912. Most were built with crude logs or planks and varied in height. At first observers lived in tents and were paid $50-$60/month, $12 more if they lived on the mountain rather than returning home each night. So, rough cabins quickly replaced the tents.By 1917, steel towers were replacing the wooden ones - most directed by Forest Ranger Albert Tebeau of Owls Head at a cost of $530 average, not counting the labor of the Rangers. During the thirties, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) laborers assisted in the construction or reconstruction of the fire observation sites. Manpower shortages in the forties brought women into fire observer positions.

So what brought about their abandonment? A number of factors I believe. Money (or lack of it), politics, technology. As to the latter, twenty-nine railroads crisscrossed over 1,300 miles of NYS Forest Preserve in 1888 - the chief cause of early forest fires. Today, modern highways are the avenues by which people, goods and services are coursed through the mountains. The first Biplane used for fire patrol and observation began in 1931 and air service significantly increased following WWII. Helicopters were first brought into service in 1965.

Adirondack Architectural Heritage Newsletter, Vol. 4, #1, May 1995 stated:

• The DEC will retain the following sites: Vanderwacker Mt. (Essex Co.), St. Regis Mt. (Franklin Co.), Kane Mt. (Fulton Co.), Blue, Owls Head, Pillsbury, Snowy, Wakely (Hamilton Co.), Rondaxe (Bald Mt.) and Woodhull (Herkimer Co.) and Arab Mt. (St. Lawrence Co.)
• Seven fire towers, DEC plans to remove: Lyon Mt. and Palmer Hill (Clinton Co.), Adams, Hurricane Mt. and Pok-O-Moonshine (Essex Co.), Azure Mt. and Loon Lake (Franklin Co.)
• Several others are now in the hands of private ownership: Stillwater, Spruce Mt., Swede Mt., Goodnow Mt., and Mount Morris.
• The future of a number of others are unknown: Belfrey Mt., Cathead Mt., Tomany Mt., Hadley Mt., Gore Mt., and Black Mt.

Many of these are favorite hikes in our own back yards. The few towers remaining represent a important link to the history of the Park and to the dedicated foresters that helped to preserve it for future generations. Local action groups have formed such as for Blue Mt. and Hadley Mt. AARCH has more info for interested citizens. Call 518 834-9328.

  For a list of the Adirondack Towers, I recommend Bob Berch's site. He maintains a chart of the mountains, heights, distances & directions. Don't forget to sign the registers!!

Additional Fire Tower Info:

• Hiking Guides from ADK
• 50 Hikes in the Adirondacks - by Barbara McMartin
• Map - the Adirondack Region of NYS by Visual Encyclopedia, Marshall Penn-York Co. Inc., Syracuse NY 13204 Ph. 315 422-2162
• The Forest Rangers by Louis C. Curth, 1987, by NYS Dept of Conservation, Albany, NY