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Fire lookout · Essex County, New York

Poke-O-Moonshine Fire Tower

Also known as Poke-O'-Moonshine Mountain

Essex County lookout first used in 1912; Aermotor tower of 1917, closed 1988, restored with Friends and DEC, listed on the National Register in 2001, now open with a seasonal steward.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Open to the public. Reached by trail from U.S. Route 9; the cab is locked unless a steward is present

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
No, you have to hike
Trail
Ranger's Trail is about 1.2 miles to the summit with roughly 1,280 ft of climb; the Friends have been rehabilitating it since 2011; cliff climbing is limited during peregrine falcon nesting season
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a towerPrefabricated Aermotor steel tower with a 7x7 ft metal cab (NHLR); the National Register description gives a steel-frame towerThe design: Aermotor LS-40
Built of
SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1917
Height
35 ft (10.7 m)
Elevation
2,165 ft (660 m)
Agency
NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation
Land
State land
Location
Essex County, New York
Coordinates
44.40176, −73.51290
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-ny-poke-o-moonshine

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 4.0 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

  1. 1912 First staffedFirst used as a lookout site; the roster's first observer starts May 1912Sources: nhlr.org, nhlr.org
  2. 1917 BuiltSteel-frame Aermotor tower erectedSources: nhlr.org, en.wikipedia.org
  3. 1922 EventNew observer's cabin built in 1922 under the newly adopted standard 12 by 16 foot cabin plan for observers.Source: nysffla.org
  4. No record between 1922 and 1988
  5. 1988 ClosedDEC closed the fire tower in 1988; the roster says it was decommissioned at the end of the 1988 seasonSources: en.wikipedia.org, nhlr.org
  6. 1988 Last staffedLast observer entry in the roster, April to November 1988Source: nhlr.org
  7. 1991 BurnedObserver's cabin burned three years after closure; only the fireplace and foundation remainSource: en.wikipedia.org
  8. 1995 EventDEC announced plans to dismantle the tower; a local organization formed to raise funds to save itSource: en.wikipedia.org
  9. 1997 EventTown of Chesterfield passed a resolution supporting renovationSource: nhlr.org
  10. 1998 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered on the National Historic Lookout Register, June 15, 1998Source: nhlr.org
  11. 1998 RestoredRenovated and reopened three years after the 1995 announcement, per Wikipedia; NHLR photo caption dates a restoration to 2003 (see resolved_conflicts)Source: en.wikipedia.org
  12. 2001 Listed on the National Register of Historic PlacesAdded to the National Register of Historic Places, September 23, 2001Source: en.wikipedia.org
  13. 2003 RestoredA NYSDEC archive photo shows the tower being painted in 2003 during the Friends-led restoration.Source: nysffla.org
  14. 2005 RestoredPer a 2017 grant application, the Friends of Poke-O-Moonshine and DEC restored the tower as an educational and historic site in 2005.Source: nysffla.org
  15. 2019 AlteredThe Friends replaced the stolen brass alidade with a replica, in place for most of the hiking season, and upgraded security for the tower cab.Source: firelookout.org
  16. 2019 EventFFLA restoration grant awarded for replacing the tower's stolen brass alidade; the $200 Matt Walter Fund grant went to the Friends of Poke-O-Moonshine.Source: firelookout.org
  17. 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.

Poke-O-Moonshine rises to about 2,180 feet in the town of Chesterfield, in Essex County, on state Forest Preserve land.1,2 The site was first used as a fire lookout in 1912, and the state's roster names its first observer that May.3,4

The steel tower that stands there dates from 1917. It was made in prefabricated form by Aermotor, the windmill company.3,2 The register gives its height as 35 feet, while the National Register description says 40 feet.3,2 The observer's cabin, possibly a Civilian Conservation Corps build from 1936, was burned in 1991 and left only a fireplace and foundation.2,1

The roster's last observer served the 1988 season, and its notes say the tower was decommissioned at the end of that season.4 Wikipedia says DEC closed the tower in 1988.1

After the closure, DEC announced in 1995 that it planned to dismantle the tower, and a local group formed to raise money to save it.1 The Town of Chesterfield adopted a resolution in 1997 backing renovation.3 Wikipedia says the tower was renovated and reopened three years after the 1995 announcement.1 An NHLR photo caption, however, dates a restoration to 2003, so the sources do not agree on the year.3 The National Register listed the station on September 23, 2001.2

Today the cab stays shut except when a steward is on duty.3 The Friends of Poke-O-Moonshine engage a summit steward every season, and they have been working on the historic Ranger's Trail since 2011.3 Many hikers reach the top by one of two paths that start at U.S. Route 9.1 The Ranger's Trail, the long-used public route, is about 1.2 miles to the top but climbs roughly 1,280 feet.1 Climbing on the cliffs is limited during the peregrine falcon nesting season.1

  1. Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poke-O-Moonshine_Mountain (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain Fire Observation Station, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poke-O-Moonshine_Mountain_Fire_Observation_Station (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Poke-O-Moonshine Fire Tower, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/ny/poke-o-moonshine-fire-tower/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Roster of the Fire Tower Forest Fire Observers of New York State, Bill Starr, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/media/2971/new_york_fire_tower_observer_roster_by_bill_starr_3-18-11.pdf (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Poke-O-Moonshine Fire Tower
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
1917 Osborne fire finder and plotter
1917 Osborne fire finder and plotter (1917)Photo: Paul Hartmann, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Panorama map for Saint Regis Mountain 1919
Panorama map for Saint Regis Mountain 1919 (1919)Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
2003 restoration
2003 restoration (2003)Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
2003 restoration
2003 restoration (2003)Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
2001 Marty Podskoch flyover
2001 Marty Podskoch flyover (2001)Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Poke-O-Moonshine Fire Tower, 1977
(1977)Photo: Bob Eckler, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Poke-O-Moonshine Fire Tower
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Poke-O-Moonshine Fire Tower
Photo: Jack Kelley, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Poke-O-Moonshine 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, 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. Forest Fire Lookout Association chapter reports Gave us: dates, links Forest Fire Lookout Association, chapter and restoration-grant reports (firelookout.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 FFLA report it comes from. Positions are copied from the NHLR, FFLOS and FFLA records. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  7. FFLA chapters, affiliates and Friends groups: lookout pages Gave us: links 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, 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

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