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Fire lookout · Valley County, Idaho

Sloans Creek Point Lookout (now at the Cent. ID Hist. Museum)

Also known as Sloans Point Lookout, Cent. ID Hist. Museum – Tower

1933 Payette NF fire tower moved in 2000 to the Central Idaho Historical Museum in McCall, where its cab and 10 feet of tower are on display.

Original site: Sloans Creek Point

Visit & stay

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

Access

Open to the public. Shown on the grounds of the Central Idaho Historical Museum, 1001 State St., McCall. The museum is open June through August, Wednesday to Saturday.

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

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a towerPrefabricated Aermotor tower, 72 ft, with a log cabin residence built alongside (1933)The design: Aermotor
Built of
SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1933
Height
72 ft (21.9 m)
Elevation
5,021 ft (1,530 m)
Agency
Central Idaho Historical Museum
Land
Unknown
Location
Valley County, Idaho
Coordinates
44.90902, −116.10935
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-id-sloans-creek-point-at-cent-id-hist-museum

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 3.7 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. 1933 BuiltBuilt 1933 with a log cabin and a 72-foot Aermotor tower on the Payette National Forest; materials hauled in by wagonSources: nhlr.org, idahofirelookouts.com
  2. 1934 First staffedMarker gives staffed years as 1934 to 1970Source: hmdb.org
  3. No record between 1934 and 1970
  4. 1970 Last staffedRegister says staffed into the 1970s; marker gives 1970 as the last staffed year; Idaho Fire Lookouts says no longer staffed in the 1970sSources: nhlr.org, hmdb.org, idahofirelookouts.com
  5. No record between 1970 and 1994
  6. 1994 RemovedLog cabin residence removed; Idaho Fire Lookouts says removed by volunteersSources: nhlr.org, idahofirelookouts.com
  7. 2000 MovedTower dismantled and moved to the Central Idaho Historical Museum in McCall; cab and 10 feet reconstructed thereSources: nhlr.org, idahofirelookouts.com
  8. 2008 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered January 2, 2008 as US 715, ID 48; nominated by Richard Holm, Jr. and Lawrence KingsburySource: nhlr.org
  9. Date unknown MovedMoved from Sloans Creek Point to the Cent. ID Hist. Museum.Source: FFLA
  10. 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.

Sloans Point Lookout went up on the Payette National Forest in 1933, with a log cabin and a 72-foot Aermotor tower.1,2 The register says wagons brought its materials in.1

The register says the tower was staffed into the 1970s, while the historical marker gives 1934 to 1970 as its staffed years.1,3 Idaho Fire Lookouts says it was no longer staffed by the 1970s.2 I found no source describing a notable fire at this site.

The cabin residence came down in 1994, and Idaho Fire Lookouts says volunteers removed it.1,2 In 2000 the tower was dismantled and moved to McCall.1,2 The register says volunteers reassembled the cab and 10 feet of it at the Central Idaho Historical Museum.1

Today the cab and 10 feet of tower are on the museum grounds, at 1001 State St. in McCall.1,3,4 A McCall travel guide says the museum is open June through August, Wednesday to Saturday, and that its exhibits include the cab and tower.4 Richard Holm, Jr. and Lawrence Kingsbury nominated the lookout, and the register listed it on January 2, 2008, as US 715, ID 48.1 The sources also disagree on elevation: Idaho Fire Lookouts gives 6,280 feet, while the register gives 5,021 feet for its coordinates.2,1

  1. Sloans Point Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/id/sloans-point-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Sloans Point Lookout, Idaho Fire Lookouts, https://www.idahofirelookouts.com/west-central/sloans-point-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Sloan's Point Lookout Historical Marker, Historical Marker Database, https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=119491 (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Central Idaho Historical Museum, McCall History and Museums (AllTrips), https://www.allmccall.com/history_museums/central_idaho_historical_museum.php (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Photo of Sloans Creek Point Lookout (now at the Cent. ID Hist. Museum)
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Interpretive Panel at the Central Idaho Historical Museum
Interpretive Panel at the Central Idaho Historical MuseumPhoto: www.waymarking.com, 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: location, county, elevation, what it is built of, 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 Fire Lookout Association (FFLA) - US lookout lists Gave us: name, type, status, register numbers, dates, links Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  3. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, status, 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

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