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Fire lookout · Polk County, Florida

Lake Pierce (Hatchinea-Catfish Creek) Fire Tower

Also known as Lake Pierce (Catfish)

Polk County 100-ft Aermotor LS-40 tower built in 1939 by the Florida Division of Forestry and registered in 2016; no public access information found.

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. The register does not say whether the public may enter the site or climb the tower.

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

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a tower100-ft Aermotor LS-40 tower with 15 landingsThe design: Aermotor LS-40
Built of
SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1939
Height
100 ft (30.5 m)
Elevation
103 ft (31 m)
Agency
Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services (administers); built by the Florida Division of Forestry
Land
Unknown
Location
Polk County, Florida
Coordinates
27.97781, −81.49565
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-fl-lake-pierce-hatchinea-catfish-creek

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.

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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 BuiltBuilt by the Florida Division of Forestry as a 100-ft Aermotor LS-40 with 15 landingsSource: nhlr.org
  2. No record between 1939 and 2008
  3. 2008 EventPrescribed burn in the area surrounding the tower, winter 2008-2009Source: nhlr.org
  4. 2016 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered July 24, 2016 as US 1074, FL 14; nominated by Robert SpearSource: nhlr.org
  5. 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 Lake Pierce tower stands in Polk County, Florida. The National Historic Lookout Register also knows it as the Hatchinea-Catfish Creek Fire Tower.1 It is a 100-foot Aermotor LS-40 with 15 landings.1

The Florida Division of Forestry built the tower in 1939.1 The register's description says it "may still be operated as fire danger requires," but the entry gives no staffing history for the tower.1

The register also records a prescribed burn in the area around the tower in the winter of 2008 to 2009.1

The National Historic Lookout Register listed the tower on July 24, 2016, as US 1074, FL 14, with Robert Spear as nominator.1 The register names the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services as the agency that administers it.1

Nothing reviewed says whether the public may enter the site or climb the tower.1 Until the agency confirms access, treat the tower as closed to climbing, and do not try to reach the top.

  1. Lake Pierce (Hatchinea-Catfish Creek) Fire Tower, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/fl/lake-pierce-hatchinea-catfish-creek-fire-tower/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Lake Pierce (Hatchinea-Catfish Creek) Fire Tower
Photo: Bob Spear, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · 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, 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 -- 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
  3. OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures Gave us: links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  4. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, agency, access, 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

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