FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Conecuh County, Alabama

Belleville Lookout Tower

Conecuh County, AL tower built in 1942 by African-American CCC Camp P-76; NHLR-registered 2010 as US 862. Current condition and public access not confirmed.

Visit & stay

Not rentable. As far as we know, this lookout cannot be booked for overnight stays.

Access

Access unknown

We do not know the access rules. Check with the land manager before you go.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Unknown
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a towerAermotor L-1400 series tower, 100' tall with 7'x7' cabThe design: Aermotor
Built of
SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1942
Height
100 ft (30.5 m)
Elevation
423 ft (129 m)
Agency
Alabama Forestry Commission
Land
Unknown
Location
Conecuh County, Alabama
Coordinates
31.45730, −87.10780
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-al-belleville

View from the cab

What you see from the cab: every ridge out to about 93 miles, the named peaks in sight, and other fire lookouts within view, worked out from terrain data in your browser.

Downloads about 3.0 MB of terrain data the first time.

Or see what it could see on the map: the ground in its line of sight.

History

Then and now

  1. 1942 BuiltConstructed by African-American CCC Camp P-76; one of very few Aermotor L-1400 series towers; the last tower the camp completed before it closed during WWIISources: nhlr.org, jacksonsramblings.com
  2. No record between 1942 and 2010
  3. 2010 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered January 9, 2010 as US 862, AL 40; nominated by Thomas Kaufmann (Jackson's Ramblings gives AL 41)Sources: nhlr.org, jacksonsramblings.com
  4. TodayStandingIt still stands, as far as our sources know.

Old maps of this spot

USGS topographic maps from the years a lookout stood may show it, often as a small symbol labelled “Lookout”. See the old topo maps around it on the Firefinder map, or find every scanned sheet of this spot on USGS TopoView (click the spot there to list them, with dates and downloads).

Story

Researched 9 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

The Belleville Lookout Tower is in Conecuh County, Alabama, just off County Road 15 outside the town of Belleville.1 The register says African-American CCC Camp P-76 built it in 1942, and Jackson's Ramblings gives the same year.2,1 According to the register, it is one of very few Aermotor L-1400 series towers. It stands 100 feet tall and has a cab measuring 7 by 7 feet.2

According to the register, this was the final tower the camp finished before it shut down during World War II.2 A 1819 News column adds some context. It says the Civilian Conservation Corps stopped building fire towers when the United States entered the war, leaving some standing unfinished.3 It says Forestry personnel then built new towers during the war and for a few decades afterward.3

We found no source that names anyone who staffed the Belleville tower or any fire it watched.

The register lists the tower as US 862, AL 40, registered on January 9, 2010, with Thomas Kaufmann as nominator.2 Jackson's Ramblings gives the state number as AL 41, so the two sources disagree on it.1

Jackson's Ramblings, which spells the town Bellville, says the tower is outside it.1 Its post links drone video from February 2016 and December 2020.1 The register also lists the Alabama Forestry Commission as administrator.2 We found no statement about public access or the tower's current condition. The 1819 column says many Alabama towers are unsafe and illegal to climb, so we advise against climbing this one and suggest asking the Forestry Commission before visiting.3

  1. Bellville Fire tower, Jackson's Ramblings, https://jacksonsramblings.com/bellville-fire-tower/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Belleville Lookout Tower, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/al/belleville-lookout-tower/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Thomas Kaufmann: Keeping Alabama's historic lookout towers, 1819 News, https://1819news.com/news/item/thomas-kaufmann-keeping-alabamas-historic-lookout-towers (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Photo of Belleville Lookout Tower
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source

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Sources

  1. National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, type, what it is built of, status, register numbers, agency, dates, photos, links National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved (American Resources, Inc.); facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  2. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, agency, dates, links, fact-check Firefinder research (sources cited in the story footnotes) · Our own research notes; each fact cites its source in the lookout's story

More about this lookout elsewhere

Firefinder takes facts (places, dates, numbers) from these sources and writes its own words. See all sources and licences.