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Fire lookout · Suffolk County, New York

Flanders Hill Lookout Site

Suffolk County tower of 1918 on Flanders Hill near Riverhead; observers into 1946, closed 1959, removed 1960. No source describes the site today.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Dismantled and removed in 1960; no source describes what, if anything, remains on the site

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
Type
Cab on a towerAermotor LS-40 steel tower, 47 ft per NYSFFLA list and Starr list; the register gives 47 ft concrete footings, steel structure, wood steps and landing platformsThe design: Aermotor LS-40
Built of
Steel
Built
1918
Height
47 ft (14.3 m)
Elevation
246 ft (75 m)
Agency
New York State Conservation Commission (Conservation Department)
Land
Unknown
Location
Suffolk County, New York
Coordinates
40.87467, −72.60483
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-ny-flanders-hill

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.

Downloads about 3.2 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. 1918 BuiltBuilt by the Conservation Commission in 1918; operational 1919 per NYSFFLA listSources: easternuslookouts.weebly.com, nysffla.org, firetower.org
  2. 1932 StaffedJoseph H. Weaver, a Suffolk County fire warden, watched from the Flanders tower; found dead at home in October 1932Source: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1933 StaffedAddison Jackson appointed fire warden on April 1 (year inferred from the June 22, 1933 article); taken ill at the tower and died at home on June 15Source: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1945 FireEdward Downs, on duty at the tower, discovered a fire and notified the Riverhead radio operatorSource: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  5. 1946 StaffedWilliam Snell of Aquebogue named observer when the season opened in AprilSources: easternuslookouts.weebly.com, nysffla.org
  6. 1959 AbandonedState abandoned the lookout service in October to cut costs; title transferred to Suffolk CountySource: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  7. 1959 ClosedClosed when the Conservation Department withdrew from forest fire control on Long IslandSources: nysffla.org, firetower.org
  8. 1960 RemovedDismantled and removed in 1960; the register credits the state Conservation Commission, the NYSFFLA list a local demolition contractorSources: nysffla.org, firetower.org
  9. No record between 1960 and 2009
  10. 2009 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered January 18, 2009; nominated by Bill StarrSource: firetower.org
  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.

Flanders Hill sits near Riverhead on eastern Long Island.1 The sources disagree about which side of town it is on. The Forest Lookouts page places it southwest of Riverhead, while the NYSFFLA list puts it three miles southeast.1,2

A 1918 Conservation Commission report chose the hill as one of two sites for observation towers, and the tower went up that year.1,2 The NYSFFLA list describes a 47-foot Aermotor tower that was operating by 1919.2 The Forest Fire Lookout Association's register describes an Aermotor LS-40 with 47-foot concrete footings, a steel structure, and wood steps and landing platforms.3 The NYSFFLA list and the Starr list both give the tower itself as 47 feet, while the register attaches the 47 feet to the footings.2,4,3

Observers and wardens worked the tower through the 1930s and 1940s.1 In October 1932 Joseph H. Weaver, one of Suffolk County's fire wardens, was found dead in bed at his home, and the paper said he had watched from the Flanders tower.1 In the spring of 1933 Addison Jackson was appointed fire warden at the Flanders Hill station.1 He was taken ill while working at the tower that June, and he died at home on the evening of June 15.1

By the early 1940s the tower reported fires by two-way radio.1 In April 1945 Edward Downs, on duty at the tower, discovered a fire and notified the radio operator at the Riverhead court house.1 When the season opened in April 1946, William Snell of Aquebogue was the observer.1 The NYSFFLA list captions a photograph of observer Bill Snell operating the radio on the hill.2 That May the tower reported what looked like a bad fire, but a check found dust blowing off a potato farm.1

In October 1959 the state abandoned its lookout service to cut costs, and the title passed to Suffolk County.1 The tower was closed in 1959 and dismantled in 1960.2,3 The register credits the state Conservation Commission with the removal, while the NYSFFLA list says a local demolition contractor did the work.3,2

We found no source that describes what, if anything, remains at the site today. The NYSFFLA list, the register and the Starr list all record the tower as removed.2,3,4 We also found nothing about public access, so anyone planning a visit should check with the local town first.

  1. Flanders Hill, Forest Lookouts, https://easternuslookouts.weebly.com/flanders-hill.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Long Island Fire Towers, Forest Fire Lookout Association New York State Chapter, http://www.nysffla.org/towers1.htm (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Flanders Hill Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites register, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/ny/flanders-hill-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Listing of the Fire Towers Operated by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Bill Starr, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/media/2974/new_york_fire_tower_list_by_bill_starr_3-14-11.pdf (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Photo of Flanders Hill Lookout Site
Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
April 1956 NY State Dept. of Environmental Conservation photo
April 1956 NY State Dept. of Environmental Conservation photo (1956)Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
April 1956 NY State Dept. of Environmental Conservation photo
April 1956 NY State Dept. of Environmental Conservation photo (1956)Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source

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Sources

  1. Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (FFLOS) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, what it is built of, 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
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. 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.