Fire lookout · Garrett County, Maryland
Thayerville Fire Tower
Garrett County lookout on Meadow Mountain: a 1921 tower, a 100-foot steel tower dated 1938, restored and open at set times in Deep Creek Lake State Park.
- Standing
- Restricted access
- Verified
Visit & stay
Not rentable. As far as we know, this lookout cannot be booked for overnight stays.
Access
Restricted access
Access is seasonal, gated or needs a permit. Check before you go. Open on a weekly basis in summer per the register; the Discovery Center says it is only occasionally open for climbing. Contact Deep Creek Lake State Park.
- Can you climb it?
- Yes
- Road to the top?
- Unknown
- Trail
- Just off Meadow Mountain Trail; climb only when staff have it open
- Staffing
- Unknown
Facts
- Status
- sources disagree
- Type
- Cab on a tower100-foot steel Aermotor tower with a 7 by 7 foot metal cabThe design: Aermotor
- Built of
- Steel
- Built
- 1921
- Height
- 100 ft (30.5 m)
- Elevation
- 3,029 ft (923 m)
- Agency
- Maryland Department of Natural Resources - Forest Service
- Land
- Federal land
- Location
- Garrett County, Maryland
- Coordinates
- 39.51927, −79.30143
- Registers
- This entry
- VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
- Firefinder id
us-md-thayerville
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
- 1921 BuiltLookout tower on the south end of Meadow Mountain, a 47-foot tower near Thayerville; the register counts it among the first lookouts built in MarylandSources: nhlr.org, easternuslookouts.weebly.com
- 1929 MovedMoved about a quarter mile southeast to a site with a wider viewSource: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
- 1934 Replaced by a new structureOld 47-foot tower dismantled and replaced by an 80-foot steel tower, per a report dated December 13, 1934Source: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
- 1938 BuiltRegister's build year for the current 100-foot steel tower; not reconciled with the 1934 reportSource: nhlr.org
- No record between 1938 and 1972
- 1972 StaffedRebecca Harvey began work as a state lookout hereSource: mountaindiscoveries.com
- No record between 1972 and 1993
- 1993 Last staffedLast used for fire detection; Harvey's service ended that yearSources: nhlr.org, mountaindiscoveries.com
- 2006 EventPlaque honoring forest wardens and fire towers installed October 15, 2006Source: nhlr.org
- 2007 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered April 23, 2007 as US 691, MD 2Source: nhlr.org
- 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 (opens another site) (click the spot there to list them, with dates and downloads).
Story
Researched 8 Oct 2026, fact-checked.
The Thayerville Fire Tower stands in Garrett County, Maryland, on the south end of Meadow Mountain, on land that is now Deep Creek Lake State Park.1,2
A lookout tower went up on this spot during the summer of 1921, and the register counts it among the first lookouts built in Maryland.1,2 A state forestry report says a new 47-foot tower was finished in time for the fall fire season.2 In June 1929 it was moved about a quarter mile southeast, to a site with a much wider view.2 By December 1934 a newspaper report said the old tower had been dismantled and replaced by an 80-foot steel tower.2
The register describes today's structure differently: a 100-foot steel Aermotor tower with a 7-by-7-foot metal cab, built in 1938.1 The 1934 newspaper report and the register's 1938 date do not agree, and none of the sources read explain the difference.1,2
Rebecca Harvey, a Garrett County resident, spent more than two decades as a lookout at the tower, beginning in 1972 and staying until 1993.3 The register says the tower was last used for fire detection that year.1 A plaque honoring forest wardens and fire towers went up on October 15, 2006, and the register lists the tower as registered on April 23, 2007.1 The Discovery Center's page gives 2009 as the year it was listed instead, so the sources disagree on that date.4
The tower has since been restored and put back into operation as a visitor destination, through a partnership with the Maryland Forest Service, the state park and its volunteers.1,4 The Discovery Center calls it the only fire tower in Maryland still in working order, and says it is only occasionally open for climbing in summer.4 The register says it is open on a weekly basis during the summer, and advises calling Deep Creek Lake State Park for details.1 When it is staffed, the summer shifts fall on Thursday afternoons, handled by park staff or volunteers.1 The register places the tower just off Meadow Mountain Trail.1
Because opening depends on the park, check with Deep Creek Lake State Park before planning a visit, and do not climb the tower when it is closed.
- Thayerville Fire Tower, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/md/thayerville-fire-tower/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
- Thayerville, Forest Lookouts, https://easternuslookouts.weebly.com/thayerville.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
- Rebecca Harvey Was The Lady in the Tower, Mountain Discoveries, http://www.mountaindiscoveries.com/images/fw2008/firetower.pdf (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
- Thayerville Fire Tower, The Discovery Center at Deep Creek Lake State Park, http://www.discoverycenterdcl.com/fire-tower/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
Photos
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.
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: Standing
- NHLR: Standing
- FOREST LOOKOUTS -- eastern US (easternuslookouts.weebly.com): Gone
NHLR lists lookouts that were standing when registered.
Sources
- National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) (opens another site) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, what it is built of, register numbers, agency, ownership, 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
- Forest Fire Lookout Association (FFLA) - US lookout lists (opens another site) 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
- FOREST LOOKOUTS -- eastern US (easternuslookouts.weebly.com) (opens another site) Gave us: height, 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
- Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, access, visiting details, 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
- NHLR register entry US 691 (nhlr.org) (opens another site)
- NHLR register entry (nhlr.org) (opens another site)
- FFLA Maryland lookout list (firelookout.org) (opens another site)
- Discovery Center at Deep Creek Lake State Park page about Thayerville Fire Tower (opens another site)
- "The Lady in the Tower" article about lookout Rebecca Harvey (opens another site)
- Thayerville (easternuslookouts.weebly.com) (opens another site)
Firefinder takes facts (places, dates, numbers) from these sources and writes its own words. See all sources and licences.