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Fire lookout · St. Lawrence County, New York

Mount Arab Fire Tower

Also known as Arab Mountain

Mount Arab's steel Aermotor lookout, built 1918 in St. Lawrence County NY; the last of seven county towers, restored by volunteers, open to the public.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Open to the public. Open to the public; the tower can be climbed. The observer's cabin museum opens when a summit steward is on duty, late spring to early fall.

Can you climb it?
Yes
Road to the top?
No, you have to hike
Trail
About a two-mile round-trip hike to the summit; the Friends of Mount Arab group maintains the trail.
Staffing
Staffed by volunteers

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a towerPrefabricated steel Aermotor tower with a 7 x 7 ft metal cab, built by the Aermotor Corporation; an observer's cabin stands across from itThe design: Aermotor
Built of
SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1918
Height
35 ft (10.7 m)
Elevation
2,519 ft (768 m)
Agency
NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation, with the volunteer Friends of Mount Arab
Land
State land
Location
St. Lawrence County, New York
Coordinates
44.20453, −74.58841
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-ny-mount-arab

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. 1911 EventWooden predecessor tower opened; Adirondack Explorer says Arab Mountain was established for fire observation in 1911Sources: nhlr.org, adirondackexplorer.org
  2. 1916 EventNew York began its statewide network of permanent steel towers; Mount Arab is one of themSource: nhlr.org
  3. 1918 BuiltSteel Aermotor tower erected, replacing the 1911 wooden towerSources: nhlr.org, en.wikipedia.org, adirondackexplorer.org
  4. 1923 EventA new observer's cabin was built in 1923.Source: nysffla.org
  5. No record between 1923 and 1948
  6. 1948 BuiltObserver's cabin built about this year (Wikipedia); NRHP significant yearSources: en.wikipedia.org, npgallery.nps.gov
  7. No record between 1948 and 1990
  8. 1990 Last staffedNHLR says the state towers served continuously until 1990, when air patrol replaced them; no tower-specific last-watch dateSource: nhlr.org
  9. 1995 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered July 6, 1995 as US 108, NY 7Source: nhlr.org
  10. 1997 EventOn Earth Day citizens and DEC officials met on the summit and resolved to restore the tower and cabin; FOMA was then incorporated as DEC's partner.Source: friendsofmtarab.org
  11. 2001 Listed on the National Register of Historic PlacesListed on the National Register of Historic Places September 23, 2001 (ref. 01001039)Sources: en.wikipedia.org, npgallery.nps.gov
  12. 2006 RestoredThe last wooden steps and landings were replaced in September, completing replacement of the tower's wooden parts, and the wire safety screen was partly repaired.Source: friendsofmtarab.org
  13. 2008 RestoredVolunteers repaired the leaking roof of the observer's cabin in September.Source: friendsofmtarab.org
  14. 2009 AlteredNew plastic-coated steel mesh replaced the old wire mesh along the stairs and landings, and a new alidade and map table were installed in the cab.Source: friendsofmtarab.org
  15. 2009 RestoredSparks Masonry repaired the observer's cabin chimney, its door and a window broken by vandals.Source: friendsofmtarab.org
  16. 2011 AlteredHorizon display panels naming distant landmarks were mounted above the tower cab windows.Source: friendsofmtarab.org
  17. 2011 RestoredAfter an October break-in volunteers repaired the observer's cabin windows, stove and lock.Source: friendsofmtarab.org
  18. 2012 AlteredSix lockable wooden shutters were fitted over the observer's cabin windows.Source: friendsofmtarab.org
  19. 2015 RestoredDavid Vana replaced the corroded tower anchor bolts and footers in September with stainless bolts set in bedrock and new concrete (about $18,000); a rotted cabin window was also replaced.Source: friendsofmtarab.org
  20. 2017 Condition assessmentNHLR visit report, December 21, 2017: cabin and steps in good condition; window frames need repair; steel could use paintSource: nhlr.org
  21. 2018 RestoredVolunteers carried new flooring materials to the observer's cabin in September 2018; photos of the new cabin floor were reported in February 2019.Source: nysffla.org
  22. 2020 RestoredThe Student Conservation Association's Adirondack Corps painted and restored the tower, and volunteers fitted new cab windows between September and 4 October.Sources: nysffla.org, nysffla.org, nysffla.org
  23. 2021 RestoredVolunteers repaired the observer's cabin porch rails, siding and a gutter and painted the whole tower cab interior; self-latching catches were added to the new cab windows.Source: friendsofmtarab.org
  24. 2022 AlteredThe horizon display panels above the cab windows were taken down and stored after vandalism and cracked plexiglass covers.Source: friendsofmtarab.org
  25. 2022 RestoredA cracked part of the tower roof was patched and some new bolts were fitted.Source: friendsofmtarab.org
  26. 2023 AlteredHorizon displays were re-mounted on aluminum frames over the cab windows because the wooden backing was failing.Source: friendsofmtarab.org
  27. 2024 AlteredFriends of Mt. Arab refurnished the observer's cabin with period pieces so it looks as if the observer just stepped out (reported).Source: nysffla.org
  28. 2024 RestoredTwo cracked Plexiglas cab windows were replaced in spring, the horizon-display bolts above the roof sealed and the cabin's porch rails stained.Source: friendsofmtarab.org
  29. 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.

Mount Arab's steel fire tower went up in 1918, replacing a wooden lookout that had opened in 1911.1,2 New York began building a statewide network of permanent steel towers in 1916, to replace wooden ones that cost too much to keep up.1 This one is a prefabricated Aermotor design.3

Sources disagree on its height. The National Historic Lookout Register and Adirondack Explorer both give 35 feet, while Wikipedia says 40 feet.1,2,3 Across from the tower stands the old observer's cabin, which Wikipedia dates to about 1948.2,3

The state's towers stayed in service until 1990, when air patrol replaced them.1 The sources I read name no particular fire this lookout watched, so I cannot tell you about any notable blaze here.

Mount Arab is the only one of seven St. Lawrence County towers still standing, and the National Historic Lookout Register recorded it in July 1995.1 It joined the National Register of Historic Places on September 23, 2001.3,4

The Friends of Mount Arab, a volunteer nonprofit, works in close partnership with the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Its work centers on the cabin, tower and trails.5,1

The register says the Friends have fully restored the tower and cabin, but it does not say when that work was done.1 A visit report dated December 2017 found the cabin in good condition, with the steps and landings also in good shape. It noted that the wooden window frames needed repair and that the steel could use paint.1

The register describes the tower as open to the public and a popular hiking destination.1 The summit is a relatively easy two-mile round-trip hike, and one can climb the steel tower.2

The observer's cabin is now a museum. It is open whenever a summit steward is on duty, from late spring to early fall.2 The Friends group brings in those stewards every summer.1

  1. Mount Arab Fire Tower, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/ny/mount-arab-fire-tower/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. History of Arab Mountain - Beyond the Fire Tower, John Sasso, Adirondack Explorer, https://www.adirondackexplorer.org/communities/history/history-of-arab-mountain-beyond-the-fire-tower/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Arab Mountain Fire Observation Station, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Mountain_Fire_Observation_Station (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Arab Mountain Fire Observation Station, National Register of Historic Places, NPGallery, https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/01001039 (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  5. Friends of Mt Arab, Friends of Mount Arab (FOMA), http://friendsofmtarab.org (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

December 2017 photo
December 2017 photo (2017)Photo: Laurie Rankin, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Mount Arab Fire Tower
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source

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Sources

  1. National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) Gave us: name, 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: 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. Map and Coordinates List for NYS DEC Firetowers (Andy Arthur) Gave us: ownership, links Andy Arthur, andyarthur.org (CC BY 3.0) · CC BY 3.0, credit: Andy Arthur, andyarthur.org. Facts + short description text reused under that licence. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  4. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- eastern US (easternuslookouts.weebly.com) 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
  5. 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
  6. Friends of Mount Arab Gave us: staffing, dates, links Friends of Mount Arab (friendsofmtarab.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 FOMA newsletter or page it comes from. The position is copied from the NHLR record (FOMA publishes none). · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  7. FFLA chapters, affiliates and Friends groups: lookout pages FFLA chapters and Friends groups (each link names the group) · Links to the groups' own pages; facts only from the California-South chapter's tower table (register page, operator, condition). No text or photos reproduced. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  8. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, 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

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