FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Ashley County, Arkansas

Crossroads Fire Tower

A 1935 Aermotor fire tower near Hamburg, Arkansas, raised to 120 feet around 1940, decommissioned in 1985, restored 2008-09 and owned by the City of Hamburg.

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 steel tower with a 7 by 7 foot observation cabThe design: Aermotor
Built of
SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1935
Height
120 ft (36.6 m)
Elevation
164 ft (50 m)
Agency
City of Hamburg, Arkansas
Land
State land
Location
Ashley County, Arkansas
Coordinates
33.23056, −91.92500
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-ar-crossroads

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. 1935 BuiltConstructed 1935; NHLR credits the Arkansas Forestry Commission, the handout credits the Aermotor Company design and CCC erection, Wikipedia's infobox gives 1936 but its text says 1935Sources: nhlr.org, nhlr.org, en.wikipedia.org
  2. 1935 First staffedFirst listed operator John D. Tucker, 1935 to 1943Source: nhlr.org
  3. 1940 Altered20-foot section added, raising the tower to 120 feet; handout and Wikipedia say between 1936 and 1943; NHLR says ca. 1940Sources: nhlr.org, nhlr.org, en.wikipedia.org
  4. No record between 1940 and 1975
  5. 1975 Last staffedLast listed operator Glendine Rauls, 1975 to 1985Source: nhlr.org
  6. 1985 ClosedDecommissioned in 1985; handout says phased out in favor of aerial fire detectionSources: nhlr.org, nhlr.org, centraluslookouts.weebly.com
  7. No record between 1985 and 2000
  8. 2000 EventCity of Hamburg purchased the propertySource: nhlr.org
  9. 2005 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered with the National Historic Lookout Register June 29, 2005Source: nhlr.org
  10. 2006 Listed on the National Register of Historic PlacesAdded to the National Register of Historic Places March 2, 2006 per WikipediaSource: en.wikipedia.org
  11. 2006 EventFFLA restoration grant awarded for the Crossroads tower to the city of Hamburg; phase one covers replacing guy cables, repairing footings, and fixing wooden steps and landings.Source: firelookout.org
  12. 2008 RestoredFirst day of cab restoration May 12, 2008 per NHLR photo caption; handout says the restoration was made possible in 2008Sources: nhlr.org, nhlr.org
  13. 2009 RestoredGrand opening for the completed restoration, November 12 and 13, 2009Source: centraluslookouts.weebly.com
  14. 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.

Crossroads Fire Tower stands on Arkansas Highway 133 North in Ashley County, near the town of Hamburg.1,2 It is a steel Aermotor tower with a 7-by-7-foot cab,2,3 and the handout calls it the tallest remaining tower in Arkansas.4

The tower went up in 1935.2,4,1 The Register credits the Arkansas Forestry Commission with constructing it,2 while the handout says the Aermotor Company built it and Civilian Conservation Corps crews erected it that year.4 Wikipedia's infobox gives 1936, but its text and the other sources say 1935.2,4,1,3

As first built, it stood 100 feet tall.1 Sometime between 1936 and 1943 a 20-foot section was added so the cab could see over the trees, which also changed the tower's taper.4 The Register dates that addition to about 1940.2 The tower now stands 120 feet tall.4,3

Operators kept watch from the cab for decades.4 The handout lists John D. Tucker from 1935 to 1943, and Glendine Rauls from 1975 to 1985.4 The tower was decommissioned in 1985,2,3 and the handout says Crossroads was phased out in favor of aerial fire detection.4

The City of Hamburg bought the property in 2000.4 Work on the cab began on May 12, 2008.2 The handout credits the city's historic preservation program, Plum Creek Timber, Home Depot and the Forest Fire Lookout Association with making the restoration possible.4 A grand opening for the finished restoration was held on November 12 and 13, 2009.3

The Register lists the tower as registered on June 29, 2005.2 Wikipedia says it was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 2, 2006.1

Today the City of Hamburg owns the tower.2 None of the sources consulted says whether it is open for climbing or how a visit would be arranged, and none mentions a rental. Anyone interested should check with the city before visiting, and should not climb it without permission.

  1. Crossroads Fire Tower, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossroads_Fire_Tower (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Crossroads Fire Tower, National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org), http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/ar/crossroads-fire-tower/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Crossroads, Forest Lookouts (Arkansas), https://centraluslookouts.weebly.com/crossroads.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Crossroads Fire Tower handout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/images/Lookout_Photos/US641_Crossroads_Fire_Tower/Crossroads_Fire_Tower_Handout_Inside.pdf (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Crossroads Fire Tower
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
May 12, 2008 First day of cab restoration
May 12, 2008 First day of cab restoration (2008)Photo: Judith Myers, City of Hamburg, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Windows being cleaned for restoration
Windows being cleaned for restorationPhoto: Judith Myers, City of Hamburg, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Crossroads Fire Tower
Photo: Tony Kelley, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source

Photos keep their own rights and are shown with credit. Is one of these yours? You can ask for a different credit or for removal.

Sources

  1. National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, type, 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: what it is built of, design, height, ownership, 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. Forest Fire Lookout Association chapter reports Gave us: dates, links Forest Fire Lookout Association, chapter and restoration-grant reports (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts only (dates, names, the kind of work done). Every note is our own wording and every event links to the FFLA report it comes from. Positions are copied from the NHLR, FFLOS and FFLA records. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  4. Wikidata -- US fire lookout towers (Q748998 and subclasses) Gave us: register numbers, photos, links Wikidata · CC0 1.0 (Wikidata). Images keep their own Commons licence/credit. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  5. 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.