Fire Tower - Blue Mountain Lake, NY - New York Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

This marker was erected by the New York State Education and Conservation Departments in 1935 and sports a different color scheme (green lettering with white background) than current markers (mostly yellow lettering with blue background).

It was moved with the fire tower around 1972 from atop Whiteface Mountain to the current location in the Adirondack Experience museum.

Regarding Fire Tower. Whiteface is New York State's fifth tallest mountain and the only fire tower mountain over 4,000 feet in elevation. When this observation station was established in July 1909, no tower was immediately erected, as an unobstructed view was available due to the lack of tree cover on the mountaintop. All that was initially provide was a pole frame structure with a canvas tent stretched over it so that the observer could get in out of the weather.

In 1909, the State acquired a temporary easement on the summit of Whiteface, which was then privately owned. Whiteface was one of the first mountains in the Adirondacks used for forest fire detection in response to devastating forest fires that occurred across the region in 1903 and the early part of 1909. It was also the most expensive to construct due to the need to construct 7.5 miles of telephone line. The log pole station was replaced by a 22 foot tall Aermotor LS40 tower in 1919. The steel tower proved to be too small to accommodate ever increasing use and was supplanted by the current, much larger stone observation tower that was constructed in 1935, after the 4.1 acres comprising the summit were gifted to the State of New York. A road to the summit was built in the 1930's. The road is open from May to October. Foot access is available year round.

Marker Name: Fire Tower Marker Type: Other (Explain) Agency: New York State Education and Conservation Departments Dedication Date: 1935 City/Town/Village Name: Blue Mountain Lake, NY County: Hamilton Region: The Adirondacks (Region 5) Website: [Web Link]

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