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Fire lookout · Herkimer County, New York

Stillwater Mountain Fire Tower

Also known as Stillwater Fire Tower

1919 steel Aermotor LS-40 lookout on Stillwater Mountain, Herkimer County; restored by volunteers and the DEC, reopened 2016, closed each autumn to December 20.

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 and most of the trail are on the Big Moose Conservation Easement (private land); visitors may use the trail but may not trespass. The trail and summit close from the second Tuesday in October through December 20.

Can you climb it?
Yes
Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
Trail ascends 1.2 miles and 550 feet from the Big Moose Road trailhead (DEC map); the Explorer says one mile.
Staffing
Staffed by volunteers (as of 2017)

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a tower47-foot Aermotor LS-40 steel towerThe design: Aermotor LS-40
Built of
Not recorded
Built
1912
Height
47 ft (14.3 m)
Elevation
2,244 ft (684 m)
Agency
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Land
State land
Location
Herkimer County, New York
Coordinates
43.86229, −75.03351
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-ny-stillwater-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. 1882 EventVerplanck Colvin built a tower on the summit, per the Adirondack Explorer. Colvin's tower is gone; the Register and Forest Lookouts begin the lookout history in 1912.Source: adirondackexplorer.org
  2. No record between 1882 and 1912
  3. 1912 BuiltFirst lookout on the site, a timber tower (Register); Conservation Commission lookout station (Forest Lookouts)Sources: nhlr.org, easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1919 BuiltCurrent 47-foot Aermotor LS-40 steel tower erected by the Conservation CommissionSources: nhlr.org, easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  5. 1932 EventNew cabin for the observer's living quarters constructedSource: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  6. No record between 1932 and 1988
  7. 1988 ClosedThe 1919 tower was closed.Source: friendsofstillwaterfiretower.com
  8. 1988 Last staffedFire observation ended; Forest Lookouts says the tower was discontinued, and the Explorer says it has not been used for fire observation sinceSources: easternuslookouts.weebly.com, adirondackexplorer.org
  9. No record between 1988 and 2009
  10. 2009 EventVolunteer group that later restored the tower began, per a 2016 letterSource: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  11. 2009 RestoredRestoration began as a partnership between NYS DEC and the volunteer Friends group.Source: friendsofstillwaterfiretower.com
  12. 2011 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered March 7, 2011 as US 904, NY 32Source: nhlr.org
  13. 2011 EventFFLA restoration grant awarded to the Friends of Stillwater Fire Tower toward total restoration of the 47-foot Aermotor LS-40 tower, in partnership with NYS DEC.Source: firelookout.org
  14. 2015 RestoredRestoration work was nearly finished in 2015; the friends group expected a grand reopening in spring 2016.Source: firelookout.org
  15. 2016 AlteredA map table was installed in the cab during the final work weekend of June 5, 2016, shortly before the tower's July 2 reopening.Sources: nysffla.org, nysffla.org
  16. 2016 RestoredRestoration completed; reopened to the public July 2, 2016Sources: easternuslookouts.weebly.com, firelookout.org
  17. 2017 Listed on the National Register of Historic PlacesThe tower was listed on the New York State and National Registers of Historic Places.Source: friendsofstillwaterfiretower.com
  18. 2017 EventState nominated the structure for the National Register of Historic Places; listing date not confirmed in pages readSource: adirondackexplorer.org
  19. 2018 RestoredVolunteers completed a roof repair on June 21Source: nysffla.org
  20. 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 Adirondack Explorer credits the surveyor Verplanck Colvin with building the first tower on this summit in 1882, and notes that the hole where his copper marker once sat is still visible in the summit rock.1 The same article says Colvin's tower no longer exists, while a steel fire tower from 1919 remains.1 The National Historic Lookout Register starts the lookout story in 1912 with a timber tower on the site, and Forest Lookouts says the Conservation Commission set up a lookout station there that same year.2,3

The steel tower that stands today is a 47-foot Aermotor LS-40.2 The Register says the Conservation Commission, now the state Department of Environmental Conservation, erected it in 1919.2 The Explorer calls the tower fifty-six feet, which disagrees with the Register's figure.1 The Register gives the site's elevation as 2,244 feet, while the Friends' website and the DEC map put the summit at 2,264 feet.2,4,5 Forest Lookouts records a new observer's cabin in 1932.3

Observers watched the Stillwater Reservoir watershed and a stretch of the New York Central's Adirondack line.2 The Register adds that the tower also kept an eye on eastern woodland belonging to the Fisher Forestry and Reality Company.2 Fire observation ended in 1988.3,1 Forest Lookouts says the tower was discontinued that year, and the Explorer says it has not been used for fire observation since then.3,1

After the lookout went quiet, a volunteer group that started in 2009 partnered with the DEC to restore the tower.3 In a 2016 letter, the group said the restoration was complete.3 The tower reopened on July 2, 2016.6 In June 2018, volunteers completed a roof repair.7 The Explorer reports that the state nominated the structure for the National Register of Historic Places. This story did not find a listing date in the pages it read.1

Today the tower is open to the public.1 The Explorer describes a one-mile trail, while the DEC map gives 1.2 miles and a climb of 550 feet from Big Moose Road.1,4 The DEC map says the tower and most of the trail sit on the Big Moose Conservation Easement, which is private land, and that visitors may use the trail but may not trespass.4 The trail and summit close each year from the second Tuesday in October through December 20.4 By our count, that means a closure starting October 13, 2026.4 The Friends' home page still shows a closure ending December 20, 2025, so it is out of date.5 A December 2017 visit report on the Register says volunteer interpreters staffed the fire tower on summer weekends.2 Check with the DEC or the Friends group before you go.

  1. History of the Stillwater Mt. Fire Tower, Adirondack Explorer, https://www.adirondackexplorer.org/general/history-stillwater-mt-fire-tower/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Stillwater Mountain Fire Tower, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/ny/stillwater-mountain-fire-tower/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Stillwater Mountain Fire Tower, Forest Lookouts, https://easternuslookouts.weebly.com/stillwater-mountain.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Independence River Wild Forest, Stillwater Fire Tower, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation hiking map, https://dec.ny.gov/sites/default/files/stillwatermtnhikingmap.pdf (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  5. Friends of Stillwater Fire Tower, home page, http://www.friendsofstillwaterfiretower.com/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  6. New York restoration report 2016, Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://firelookout.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cr-ny-2016.pdf (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  7. Forest Fire Lookout Association of New York newsletter, July 2018, https://www.nysffla.org/Newsletters/2018-07.pdf (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Stillwater Mountain Fire Tower
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Tower in beginning stages of restoration 9/4/2010
Tower in beginning stages of restoration 9/4/2010 (2010)Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Cabin at bottom of mountain 9/4/2010
Cabin at bottom of mountain 9/4/2010 (2010)Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
View northeast to Algonquin and Whiteface Mountains 9/4/2010
View northeast to Algonquin and Whiteface Mountains 9/4/2010 (2010)Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
View of Blue and West Mountains 9/4/2010
View of Blue and West Mountains 9/4/2010 (2010)Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
View of Pillsbury Mountain 9/4/2010
View of Pillsbury Mountain 9/4/2010 (2010)Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Stillwater Mountain Fire Tower
Photo: Laurie Rankin, via 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. 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 Stillwater Fire Tower Gave us: dates, links Friends of Stillwater Fire Tower (friendsofstillwaterfiretower.com) · No licence stated; facts only (dates, names, the kind of work done). Every note is our own wording and every event links to the Friends' brochure it comes from. The position is copied from the NHLR record (the Friends publish none). · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  7. 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
  8. 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
  9. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, agency, access, staffing, 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.