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Fire lookout · Independence County, Arkansas

Almond Lookout Tower

Aermotor MC-39 fire tower in Independence County, Arkansas, administered by the Arkansas Forestry Commission; NHLR-registered 2023. Build date unknown; heights conflict.

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 MC-39 on a four-legged steel structure with an observation cabinThe design: Aermotor MC-39
Built of
SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
Unknown
Height
100 ft (30.5 m)
Elevation
1,186 ft (362 m)
Agency
Arkansas Forestry Commission
Land
Unknown
Location
Independence County, Arkansas
Coordinates
35.69413, −91.78816
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-ar-almond

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 3.3 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. 1954 EventCoast and Geodetic Survey station description: four-legged steel structure supporting an observation cabin, about 120 feet highSource: centraluslookouts.weebly.com
  2. No record between 1954 and 2023
  3. 2023 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered April 10, 2023 as US 1725, AR 17; nominated by Jason JohnsSource: nhlr.org
  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 8 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

The Almond Lookout Tower stands in Independence County, Arkansas, about half a mile south of State Highway 25 and of the settlement of Almond.1,2 The Arkansas Forestry Commission administers it.1

The sources do not give a build date. The Register lists the build year as unknown.1 A federal survey station description from 1954 describes a steel tower on four legs that carries an observation cabin, about 120 feet high.2

The Register identifies it as an Aermotor MC-39 and gives its height as 100 feet. It also says the first flight of stairs has been removed.1 The 100-foot Register figure and the 120-foot survey figure disagree, and the sources do not say whether the tower was changed in between.1,2

The Register added the tower on April 10, 2023, on a nomination by Jason Johns. Its page also records a site visit dated 1/22/22.1

The encyclopedia calls the general store and post office the lifeblood of early Almond, and it says both opened soon after the Civil War.3 The same entry says the community sat in Independence County until February 20, 1883, and it now places it in northeastern Cleburne County.3 The Register and the survey both put the tower in Independence County, so the county question is not fully reconciled.1,2

The sources do not say whether the public may visit or climb the tower. Check with the Arkansas Forestry Commission before going, and do not climb a tower that is closed or private.

  1. Almond Lookout Tower, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/ar/almond-lookout-tower/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Almond, Forest Lookouts (reproduces a National Geodetic Survey station description), https://centraluslookouts.weebly.com/almond.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Almond (Cleburne County), Encyclopedia of Arkansas, https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/almond-cleburne-county-8805/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Almond Lookout Tower
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Almond Lookout Tower
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Almond 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, 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. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- central US (centraluslookouts.weebly.com) Gave us: height, links centraluslookouts.weebly.com · No licence stated; facts only (county, coordinates where the page's own map widget gives them, status, height, design hints, register links). The site's own historical quotes, newspaper citations and narrative are not reproduced. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  3. OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures Gave us: type, links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  4. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, status, 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.