History of Michigan's Fire Towers
Fire towers and lookouts have been used in Michigan for well over a century. In fact, the first fire lookouts were not in the forest but were located in our cities. Detroit for example, had at least 2 fire lookouts located within the city. Although many fire departments had towers for drying out hoses, at least two locations had a lookout tower manned to monitor fires within the city. Both date to the late 1800’s.
Fire towers as most people know them today, were used for monitoring for fires in our State’s private, State and Federal forests.
The first official fire tower built by the State was the Higgins Lake Fire Tower, in 1913. In Michigan, fire lookouts did exist prior to this. I have photographs of a fire lookout that was built in 1912 by a private land owner.
The evolution of fire lookouts started as Spar poles or a lookout placed at the top of a pole or small tree. In 1913, an Aermotor windmill tower was repurposed, with a crows nest at the top. This style of tower was usually 40-60′ and had three legs. This style of tower was used extensively from 1913 up to around 1924, when larger 4-leg structures began to appear. There are still many examples of the 3-legged Aermotor tower in the State. One is located at the Higgins Lake CCC museum. Others are located at the Baldwan, Gwinn and DeTour DNR offices.
By 1924, Michigan began replacing and expanding their tower locations using Aermotor 60-80′ 4-leg fire towers. Almost all of these towers had a 7’x7′ enclosed cab at the top. This style tower protected the towerman and also provided the ability to use an Alidade, radio and telephone. Some of these towers still exist today, such as the Mancelona Fire Tower.
When the CCC began building towers for the United States Forest Service, a larger style 4-leg tower began to appear. These towers ranged from 100-125′ and usually had an enclosed ladder or stairway to reach to cab. These towers also used a 7’x7′ enclosed cab. Examples of this style include the Udell, Seney Wildlife, and Munising Fire Towers.
There were also one-off towers and at least one Fire Lookout located in Michigan. I am aware of only 1 fire lookout used, which was located on the top of Silver Mountain. This live-in lookout measured 14’x14′ and was held down to the mountain by guy wires. Other towers were made of wood, such as the Caberfae Fire Tower and the Vulcan Fire Tower was built by an unknown manufacturer, which stood at 149′!
I have record of one tower being relocated by the State of Michigan in 1955, and two fire towers and 1 fire lookout built by the U.S. Forest Service on Isle Royale in 1964. Otherwise to the best of my knowledge, no other fire towers were built after this year in Michigan. In 1962, aerial surveillance, and population expansion led to the demise of Michigan’s fire towers. In 1970, Michigan began selling off its fire towers and by the late 1970’s less than 50 towers remained in the State.
Today we have less than 25 still standing in their original location.
This tower is one of very few wooden fire towers that were once located in Michigan.
Contrary to many websites indicating that only one fire tower remains in the Lower Peninsula, in fact, there are 4 fire towers still standing in their original location in the Lower Peninsula!
Some Tower Profiles
These steel fire towers were the first to appear in Michigan. They started to appear in 1913 and were phased out in the early 1920’s with the more modern fully enclosed fire tower. Fortunately, there are still examples of these three-legged fire towers in the State:
- Baldwin Department Of Natural Resources
- Gwinn Department of Natural Resources
- Detour Department of Natural Resources
- Higgins Lake CCC Museum
Of all of Michigan’s fire towers, I am still finding new locations of these earliest of towers. Given their early installation and short height they were all replaced by taller fully enclosed towers during the 1920’s and 1930’s. The remaining towers above are all relocated from their original locations. Some former fire tower sites in Michigan have two sets of concrete foundations – a 3-leg set as well as a replacement 4-leg set.
The LX-24 model Aermotor fire towers were predominantly built by the Michigan Conservation Department. These towers had a ladder running up the outside of the tower, with initially, no roll cage or other safety feature. When you climbed one of these towers, you were holding on for dear life. Once you cleared the tree line, a whole new experience was achieved, with the wide open view.
I climbed a good number of these towers in the early 1980’s and I can safely say I am impressed with the towermen that staffed these towers!
Not many examples of these remain – the most notable is the Mancelona Fire Tower.
Similar to the LX-24 model, the LX-25 has a staggered ladder located in the inside of the tower, with landing platforms every 6 feet. I only know of 1 example of this tower in Michigan and fortunately it still stands – the Spaulding Fire Tower.
Similar to the LX-25 model, the LS-40 models were typically taller models, from 80-100′ and had an inside stairway (instead of ladders) inside the tower. These towers were easier to climb than its ladder counterparts.
This model is the most recent variety, which had a stairwell running diagonally inside the tower. The US Forest Service used this style of tower. Many examples of this tower still exist in Michigan, including the:
Udell Fire Tower U.S.F.S.
Munising Fire Tower
Tie Hill Fire Tower, U.S.F.S.
There are many other manufacturers and tower styles used in Michigan. I will add information on these towers as time permits.
I am interested in purchasing photos and other historic artifacts for Michigan’s fire towers. I am especially interested in information from the 1920’s and 1930’s.