Old Tower Two - Lawton, OK
N 34° 40.328 W 098° 26.786
14S E 550714 N 3836823
Old observation tower used by Field Artillerymen on Fort Sill from 1911-1918.
Waymark Code: WMM2BA
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 07/07/2014
Views: 11
Old Tower Two stands all alone near the intersection of Tower Two Road and Signal Mountain Road. It has weather well. there is no roof; however, the ladder on the inside is still present. Towers One and Four no longer exist, but Tower Three can be seen to the west and is inaccessible.
From the NHRP nomination form:
Built in 1911 by the School of Fire for Field Artillery as an observation tower for artillery firing. In use from 1911 to 1918 when
observation balloons and airplanes altered the methods employed in observation of artillery fire. Present condition fair. Present use: point of interest to field artillerymen and Fort
Sill visitors.
The last remaining tower in preservable condition of those
constructed when the Field Artillery School was founded in
1911, for the observation of artillery fire. In 1917 Camp
Doniphan was established in this area, and the 35th Division
trained here before going overseas. Among the officers of
the Division trained at Camp Doniphan was President Harry S.
Truman, then a lieutenant of Field Artillery.
The Tower Two structure reflects the development of training
methods for the observation and evaluation of artillery fire
before the adoption of observation by means of aircraft.
From the plaque:
Old Tower Two
A Registered National Historic Structure
Four of these 30-foot towers were constructed in 1911 at the direction of Colonel (then Captain) Dan T. Moore, founder and First Commandant of the Field Artillery School. They were built on an east-west line between the main post and this area to provide elevated platforms for the observation and study of artillery fire.
The 1st Aero Squadron arrived at Fort Sill in 1915 to conduct experiments in the aerial observation of artillery fire. Their operations were so successful that by 1917-18 observation balloons and fixed wing aircraft had eliminated the need for such concrete towers.
Camp Doniphan was established in this area in 1917 as a huge national cantonment for Word War I requirements. The 35th Division, Kansas-Missouri National Guard, trained here before going overseas. Old Tower Two marked the west boundary of the giant, horseshoe-shaped tent camp, and the towers formed a dividing line between Field Artillery regiments on the south and the Infantry regiments on the north. For decades after the Oklahoma National Guard used the site for summer camp.
Today U.S. Field Artillerymen continue to train in this area with weapons undreamed of in 1911. Old Tower Two stands as a silent sentinel of the past, an enduring reminder of the generations of soldiers who have trained here before.