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Fire lookout · New Castle County, Delaware

Smyrna Fire Tower

Delaware Forest Service tower on US 13 near Smyrna, built 1941; sold in August 2004 and moved or removed; no source describes the site today.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Sold in August 2004 and moved or removed; sources disagree on which, and none gives a current location

Visit & stay

Gone: site only. The lookout no longer stands, so there is nothing to climb or rent.

Access

Access unknown

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

Road to the top?
Unknown

Facts

Status
Gone sources disagree
Type
Cab on a tower120-foot Aermotor LS-40 tower (130 feet overall per the 1941 state report)The design: Aermotor LS-40
Built of
Not recorded
Built
1941
Height
120 ft (36.6 m)
Elevation
53 ft (16 m)
Agency
Delaware Division of Forestry
Land
Unknown
Location
New Castle County, Delaware
Coordinates
39.32178, −75.62086
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-de-smyrna

View from the cab

What the lookout saw from its 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.

This lookout is gone. The view is reconstructed from its recorded site and its recorded height.

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

History

Then and now

  1. 1939 EventDepartment asked the General Assembly for funds for a lookout over southern New Castle and northern Kent counties; the request was not grantedSource: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1941 BuiltBuilt by the Delaware Forest Service on a 1.5-acre plot west of duPont Road, about 1.25 miles north of SmyrnaSources: nhlr.org, easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1942 EventCabin finished early in fiscal 1942; tower placed in service during the fall fire seasonSource: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1950 EventHard-to-locate leak below the windows rotted floor boards in one corner of the cabin; floor boards replaced and the side wall below the window replaced or covered with aluminum sheetSource: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  5. 1957 EventElectric service for the lookout listed as programmed to permit a radio installationSource: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  6. No record between 1957 and 1993
  7. 1993 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered October 15, 1993 as US 52, DE 1Source: nhlr.org
  8. 2004 RemovedSold in August 2004; the register says moved, the association page says removedSources: nhlr.org, firelookout.org
  9. 2008 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered September 11, 2008 as US 73, DE 4Source: firetower.org
  10. 2019 EventAct signed 7/23/19 transferring the parcel where the tower stood between the State and the Town of SmyrnaSource: legis.delaware.gov
  11. TodayGoneThe lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left.

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 Smyrna Fire Tower stood along divided highway US 13 in New Castle County, Delaware, next to a State Visitor Center.1 The Delaware Forest Service built it in 1941.1

In 1939 the state asked the General Assembly for money to build a lookout over southern New Castle County and northern Kent County.2 The General Assembly did not grant the request.2 The tower built two years later stood on a 1.5-acre plot west of duPont Road, about 1.25 miles north of Smyrna.2 The 1941 report says the tower matched the system's standard design, but its cabin had several improvements, including lower side walls, lower windows and a taller ceiling.2

Sources disagree on the height. The register gives 130 feet, while the 1941 report says 120 feet tall and 130 feet overall, and the association's page calls it a 120-foot Aermotor LS-40.1,3,2

Work on the cabin was completed early in the 1942 fiscal year, and the lookout went into service in the fall fire season.2 In 1950 a hard-to-locate leak below the windows rotted floor boards in one corner of the cabin. The repairs replaced part of the floor, and the side wall below the window was either replaced or covered with aluminum sheet.2 A 1957 report listed electric service for the lookout as programmed, so a radio could be installed.2

The register listed the tower on October 15, 1993, and the Former Fire Lookout Sites register added it on September 11, 2008.1,4

The tower was sold in August 2004.1,3 The register says it was moved, but the Forest Fire Lookout Association says it was removed.1,3 The association's Delaware page says the state turned its five towers over to the State Police for communications and removed all five between 2002 and 2006.5

An act signed on July 23, 2019 deals with a Route 13 parcel where a fire tower once stood.6 Because the land could only be used for a public purpose, the act has the state take it back from the town and return it without that permanent limit.6 The act also lets the state put an antenna on any water tower the town may build on the parcel or next to it.6

The sources we read do not say where the tower itself went, what, if anything, stands on the parcel now, or whether visitors may go there.

  1. Smyrna Fire Tower, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/de/smyrna-fire-tower/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Smyrna, Forest Lookouts, https://easternuslookouts.weebly.com/smyrna.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Smyrna, Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/de/smyrna/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Smyrna Tower Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/de/smyrna-tower-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  5. Delaware Lookouts, Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://firelookout.org/?page_id=156 (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  6. An Act to Transfer Land Between the Town of Smyrna and the State of Delaware, Delaware General Assembly, https://legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail?legislationId=47763 (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Photo of Smyrna Fire Tower
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Smyrna Fire Tower
Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source

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Where sources disagree

We show disagreements between sources instead of quietly picking one. If you know which is right, please tell us.

  • Sources disagree on whether it still stands.

    • FFLA: Gone
    • NHLR: Standing
    • FFLOS: Gone

    NHLR lists lookouts that were standing when registered.

Sources

  1. National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, 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. Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (FFLOS) Gave us: register numbers, dates, photos, links Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved (American Resources, Inc.); facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  3. Forest Fire Lookout Association (FFLA) - US lookout lists Gave us: type, status, register numbers, links Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  4. Forest Fire Lookout Association (FFLA) - US lookout lists Gave us: register numbers Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  5. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- eastern US (easternuslookouts.weebly.com) Gave us: links easternuslookouts.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
  6. 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.