Last updated: August 30, 2024
Place
Sewanee Fire Lookout Tower
Photograph by Brian Stansberry, Creative Commons by 3.0, via Wikimedia
Quick Facts
Location:
Sewanee, Tennessee
Significance:
Architecture, Conservation
Designation:
Listed in the National Register – Reference Number 15000116
The Sewanee Fire Lookout Tower is located in Sewanee, Tennessee. Built in 1934 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, the tower was constructed as part of the Tennessee Division of Forestry's (TDF) statewide efforts to protect forested land in the state through its fire control program. The CCC was responsible for the construction and operation of the majority of Tennessee's fire lookout towers built in the early twentieth century. These fire towers are small buildings, usually on a highly elevated area for maximum viewing distance, in order to watch for fires, particularly wildfires.
Little historical information is available regarding the Sewanee fire lookout tower in particular, but it is known that the State of Tennessee Forestry Service entered into a contract on July 13, 1934, which allowed for the construction, use, and maintenance of a fire lookout tower on the property. The contract allowed the State of Tennessee to use the property for fire detection, gave the State the right of entering and exiting the property, and the right to construct a telephone line to the lookout tower. In the event of the State's abandonment of the property, the land title will revert to its original owners, and all structures and appurtenances will remain the property of the State. Additional easements allowed the State a right of way up the mountain to the tower.
Tennessee, along with many other states, benefited from the early shift in public policy allowing for improvement in fire detection as a result of the conservation movement that led to the construction and staffing of fire towers. The TDF relied heavily on CCC labor, and the CCC was responsible for the construction and operation of many of Tennessee's fire lookout towers built in the 1930s. A 1934 letter to Assistant Forester C.J. Peterson from James L. Howard of Grundy County CCC Camp P-62 detailed the progress of the tower construction. Camp P-62 was the home of Company 1473/75, based near the town of Palmer, TN. The letter described the tower, cabin, and privy as ninety-percent complete by February 14 of that year. The letter also notes that all stair treads and the cabin had been treated with creosote by this time.
In the United States Forest Service, and particularly in the State of Tennessee, large areas of difficult-to-access mountain terrain and thick forest canopy have benefited from fire towers as a particularly important fire management tool. At its peak, the state had 208 lookout towers of which 142 were still in existence in 2014. The lookout tower is a prominent symbol of the history of fire management and a key component of the conservation movement. From its establishment, the US Forestry Service played a significant role in shaping national fire control policies as well as in the development of state-level fire prevention systems. The Sewanee Fire Lookout Tower is a visual reminder of this multi-agency, federal and state-level governmental cooperation for the benefit of forest land in Tennessee.
The Sewanee Fire Lookout Tower retains its original design and a high level of its original fabric. Since the mid-1970s, forestry employees became more dependent on fire-spotting planes and fire reports from 911 emergency calls, the tower is no longer used for observance, but is occasionally ascended by forestry staff for maintenance checks.
Link to National Register of Historic Places file.
Little historical information is available regarding the Sewanee fire lookout tower in particular, but it is known that the State of Tennessee Forestry Service entered into a contract on July 13, 1934, which allowed for the construction, use, and maintenance of a fire lookout tower on the property. The contract allowed the State of Tennessee to use the property for fire detection, gave the State the right of entering and exiting the property, and the right to construct a telephone line to the lookout tower. In the event of the State's abandonment of the property, the land title will revert to its original owners, and all structures and appurtenances will remain the property of the State. Additional easements allowed the State a right of way up the mountain to the tower.
Tennessee, along with many other states, benefited from the early shift in public policy allowing for improvement in fire detection as a result of the conservation movement that led to the construction and staffing of fire towers. The TDF relied heavily on CCC labor, and the CCC was responsible for the construction and operation of many of Tennessee's fire lookout towers built in the 1930s. A 1934 letter to Assistant Forester C.J. Peterson from James L. Howard of Grundy County CCC Camp P-62 detailed the progress of the tower construction. Camp P-62 was the home of Company 1473/75, based near the town of Palmer, TN. The letter described the tower, cabin, and privy as ninety-percent complete by February 14 of that year. The letter also notes that all stair treads and the cabin had been treated with creosote by this time.
In the United States Forest Service, and particularly in the State of Tennessee, large areas of difficult-to-access mountain terrain and thick forest canopy have benefited from fire towers as a particularly important fire management tool. At its peak, the state had 208 lookout towers of which 142 were still in existence in 2014. The lookout tower is a prominent symbol of the history of fire management and a key component of the conservation movement. From its establishment, the US Forestry Service played a significant role in shaping national fire control policies as well as in the development of state-level fire prevention systems. The Sewanee Fire Lookout Tower is a visual reminder of this multi-agency, federal and state-level governmental cooperation for the benefit of forest land in Tennessee.
The Sewanee Fire Lookout Tower retains its original design and a high level of its original fabric. Since the mid-1970s, forestry employees became more dependent on fire-spotting planes and fire reports from 911 emergency calls, the tower is no longer used for observance, but is occasionally ascended by forestry staff for maintenance checks.
Link to National Register of Historic Places file.