FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Orange County, New York

Graham Mountain Fire Tower

Graham Mountain tower, first erected by NYSDEC on Pocotello Mountain (1930), moved to its present site in 1948; NHLR-registered 1995; not regularly staffed since 1989.

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. Access road off Mountain Road below Otisville usually has a secured gate; the Register says the land may be private. Based on Bob Spear's undated Register history notes; no current access rules found.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
No, you have to hike
Trail
Park near the abandoned house described in the Register notes (there at one time) and walk about ten minutes, fairly level, to the road that leads to the tower. Check with NYSDEC before going; no source says whether climbing is allowed now.
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a tower60-foot Aermotor LS-40 tower with 7 by 7 foot steel cabThe design: Aermotor LS-40
Built of
Not recorded
Built
1930
Height
60 ft (18.3 m)
Elevation
1,300 ft (396 m)
Agency
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Land
Unknown
Location
Orange County, New York
Coordinates
41.44100, −74.57440
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-ny-graham-mountain

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 3.8 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. 1930 BuiltTower erected on Pocatello Mountain (Sayers Hill) near Lake Pocatello; a Middletown newspaper reported it ready for inspection in August 1930. The Register gives no build year.Source: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  2. No record between 1930 and 1948
  3. 1948 MovedDismantled and moved to a site nearby on Graham MountainSource: nhlr.org
  4. No record between 1948 and 1989
  5. 1989 Last staffedRegister visit note says the tower was not regularly staffed since 1989Source: nhlr.org
  6. 1995 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered March 6, 1995 as US 105, NY 5Source: nhlr.org
  7. 2004 Condition assessmentVisit report dated July 29, 2004 by Bob Spear: tower needs paint; electronic sites encroaching; described as abandonedSource: nhlr.org
  8. No record between 2004 and 2021
  9. 2021 Condition assessmentApril 2021 FFLA visit: footings look good, a lot of communications equipment, repairs likely only lumber replacementSource: nysffla.org
  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 8 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

The Graham Mountain fire tower in Orange County, New York, was first erected by the state on Pocotello Mountain, also called Sayers Hill, and later moved to its present site.1 The Register uses that spelling.1 The 1930 state report spells the mountain Pocatello, and a Middletown newspaper places the tower at Sayer's Hill near Lake Pocatello.2

A Middletown newspaper reported in August 1930 that the new tower and cabin were ready for public inspection, with nine flights of steps leading up to the enclosed platform.2 A state annual report from the same year says the tower was erected to protect the eastern and southern slopes of the Shawangunk range.2 The Register describes a 60-foot Aermotor LS-40 tower with a 7-by-7-foot steel cab.1 The Register gives no build year, so 1930 is the earliest date we found.1

The tower was dismantled and moved to a nearby site in 1948.1 The Register lists the tower as registered on March 6, 1995, under the number US 105, NY 5.1

A former firewarden and FFLA historian, Bob Spear, wrote in the Register's notes that the tower was once a strategic lookout on the Shawangunk ridge, which he said was always prone to bad fires.1 The sources we read name no particular fire it watched. A former observer, Steve Canfield, is named in the April 2021 FFLA newsletter, but the newsletter does not say when he served.3 The Register's visit notes say the tower has not been regularly staffed since 1989 and call it abandoned.1

The tower is no longer in service.1 The Register says the Highlands Group of the Forest Fire Lookout Association has done some maintenance on the tower and ground cabin, while NYSDEC Forest Rangers look after only the cabin.1 A July 2004 visit report said the tower needed paint and that electronic sites were encroaching on it.1 The April 2021 newsletter found good-looking footings, a lot of communications equipment on site, and repairs that would likely need only new lumber.3

Today's access is uncertain. The access road leaves Mountain Road below Otisville and usually has a secured gate, because it also serves radio antennas.1 Bob Spear's notes say the land may be private, and that ownership of the area has long been unclear.1 His route parks near an abandoned house that was there at one time, then takes about ten minutes of fairly level walking to the road that leads to the tower.1 No source we read says whether the public may climb it now. Check with NYSDEC before going, and do not climb a tower that is closed or stands on private land.

  1. Graham Mountain Fire Tower, National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org), http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/ny/graham-mountain-fire-tower/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Pocatello Mountain, Forest Lookouts (easternuslookouts.weebly.com), https://easternuslookouts.weebly.com/pocatello-mountain.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Forest Fire Lookout Association, New York State Chapter, April 2021 newsletter (nysffla.org), https://www.nysffla.org/News2021/Apr-2021-final.pdf (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Graham Mountain Fire Tower
Photo: 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, 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: 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. Forest Fire Lookout Association, New York State Chapter Gave us: dates, links Forest Fire Lookout Association, New York State Chapter (nysffla.org) · No licence stated; facts only (dates, names, the kind of work done). Every note is our own wording and every event links to the chapter newsletter it comes from. Positions are copied from the NHLR and FFLA records (the chapter publishes none). · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  5. OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures Gave us: links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  6. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, status, agency, 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

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