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Fire lookout · Dutchess County, New York

Orangeburg Lookout (from South Carolina, now at Ferncliff Forest)

Also known as Ferncliff Forest Fire Tower, Mount Rutsen Fire Tower

1933 International Derrick fire tower, about 80 feet, moved from Orangeburg, South Carolina to Ferncliff Forest in Dutchess County, New York, in 2007; open to visitors.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Open to the public. Open every day of the year; an easy walk of about 15 minutes from the Ferncliff Forest parking lot.

Can you climb it?
Yes
Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
Easy walk of about 15 minutes from the Ferncliff Forest parking lot; about 120 feet of elevation change
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a tower1933 International Derrick fire tower made of Carnegie steelThe design: IDECO
Built of
SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1933
Height
80 ft (24.4 m)
Elevation
348 ft (106 m)
Agency
Ferncliff Forest, Inc.
Land
Unknown
Location
Dutchess County, New York
Coordinates
41.95656, −73.92697
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-ny-orangeburg-at-ferncliff-forest

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 3.5 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. 1912 EventAstor family built a stone overlook in or around 1912; its foundation remains on the siteSource: nhlr.org
  2. No record between 1912 and 1933
  3. 1933 Built1933 International Derrick fire tower; the Register's build yearSources: nhlr.org, scenesfromthetrail.com
  4. 1942 BuiltArmy built a 40-foot wooden tower during the war, per the RegisterSource: nhlr.org
  5. No record between 1942 and 2000
  6. 2000 RemovedRegister says the 1942 wartime tower was taken out of service in 2000Source: nhlr.org
  7. 2006 RemovedBlog and Wikipedia put the removal of the wartime tower (deemed unsafe) in 2006; the Register says 2000Sources: scenesfromthetrail.com, en.wikipedia.org
  8. 2007 MovedMoved from Orangeburg, South Carolina to Ferncliff Forest; the Register says moved in 2007, the blog says constructed in summer 2007 and gives no move dateSources: nhlr.org, scenesfromthetrail.com
  9. 2016 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered January 16, 2016 as US 1117, NY 37; nominated by Homer StaleySource: nhlr.org
  10. 2019 RestoredGraffiti was painted out on 22 April and again on 1 July after new marks appeared, including on the footings.Sources: nysffla.org, nysffla.org, nysffla.org
  11. 2021 RestoredVolunteers gave the Ferncliff tower a clean coat of paint over graffiti in April 2021.Source: nysffla.org
  12. 2023 EventChapter newsletter (May 2023) describes an April 2023 visit: criminals had been at work across the tower (cab, roof, footings, steel); the writer had arranged a graffiti paint-overSource: nysffla.org
  13. 2023 RestoredThe chapter painted over graffiti on Ferncliff Forest tower in April 2023 after vandals had marked the cab, roof, footings and steel.Source: nysffla.org
  14. Date unknown MovedMoved from Orangeburg, South Carolina to Ferncliff Forest.Source: FFLA
  15. 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 tower at Ferncliff Forest in Dutchess County, New York, is a 1933 International Derrick fire tower.1 It came from Orangeburg, South Carolina.2 The Register gives 1933 as the build year, describes the tower as about 80 feet high, and says it was moved to the forest in 2007.1 The 2018 visit report for the Register also records the name Carnegie on one of the steel members.1

The site has held several towers. The Register says the Astor family built a stone overlook there around 1912, and that the Army built a 40-foot wooden tower in 1942 to help protect the President during the war.1 The Register says the wartime tower was taken out of service in 2000. A 2020 blog post puts its removal in 2006, and Wikipedia says it was deemed unsafe in 2006 and replaced in 2007 by the current observation tower.2,3

The Register and the blog date different steps in 2007. The Register says the derrick tower was moved to the forest that year. The blog says the current tower was constructed in the summer of 2007 and that it came from Orangeburg, South Carolina, but it gives no date for the move.1,2

The Forest Fire Lookout Association's New York list shows the tower as standing.4 The Register says it is administered by Ferncliff Forest, Inc., a nonprofit that is open year round. The overlook is open every day, and the Register describes it as an easy walk of about 15 minutes from the Ferncliff Forest parking lot, with about 120 feet of elevation change. It says the overlook draws more than 10,000 visitors a year.1 Its 2018 visit report found the footings and structural steel in very good condition, but the cab needed paint and its window panes were missing.1

Crime and graffiti have been an ongoing problem. A May 2023 newsletter from the New York State chapter of the Forest Fire Lookout Association describes an April visit. Its writer had arranged with Ferncliff Forest to paint over graffiti, but by then criminals had been at work across the tower, inside the cab and on the roof, footings and steel.5 The newsletter also says a radio repeater was in the tower, with its power coming from a nearby comm tower, and that the group discussed how to manage the ongoing crimes at the site.5 Because the newest sources read date from 2023, check with Ferncliff Forest about the tower's current condition before a visit.

  1. Ferncliff Forest Fire Tower, National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org), http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/ny/ferncliff-forest-fire-tower/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Ferncliff Forest Fire Tower, Scenes from the Trail (scenesfromthetrail.com), https://scenesfromthetrail.com/2020/10/10/ferncliff-forest-fire-tower/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Mount Rutsen, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Rutsen (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Lookouts in New York, Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org), https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/ny/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  5. New York State chapter newsletter, May 2023, Forest Fire Lookout Association (nysffla.org), https://www.nysffla.org/News2023/2023%20May%20final.pdf (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Orangeburg Lookout (from South Carolina, now at Ferncliff Forest)
Photo: Homer Staley, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Orangeburg Lookout (from South Carolina, now at Ferncliff Forest)
Photo: Edward Seifert, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Orangeburg Lookout (from South Carolina, now at Ferncliff Forest)
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: 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. 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
  4. OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures Gave us: links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  5. 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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