FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Franklin County, Ohio

Keystone Fire Tower (now at Scioto Grove Metro Park)

Also known as Keystone Fire Tower, Scioto Grove Metro Park

Keystone steel fire tower moved from Jackson County, Ohio to Scioto Grove Metro Park in 2023 and reopened to the public during daylight hours.

Original site: Keystone

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 during daylight hours at Scioto Grove Metro Park (Metro Parks, 2023)

Can you climb it?
Yes
Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
111 steps to the top; open during daylight hours in Scioto Grove Metro Park
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a towerAermotor steel tower with an inside metal staircaseThe design: Aermotor
Built of
Not recorded
Built
1942
Height
82 ft (25.0 m)
Elevation
718 ft (219 m)
Agency
Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks
Land
Unknown
Location
Franklin County, Ohio
Coordinates
39.85214, −83.02169
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-oh-keystone-at-scioto-grove-metro-park

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. 1942 BuiltMetro Parks says set up in Jackson County in 1942; the same article's 82-years-before-2023 figure would point to 1941Source: metroparks.net
  2. No record between 1942 and 2014
  3. 2014 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered September 3, 2014 as US 1024, OH 13Source: nhlr.org
  4. 2019 Condition assessmentNHLR visit report (April 13, 2019): not in good condition; first flight of stairs removed; heavily vandalized; not staffed; access through private propertySource: nhlr.org
  5. 2023 MovedDismantled in Jackson County and reassembled at Scioto Grove Metro Park; opened August 15, 2023Sources: metroparks.net, myemail.constantcontact.com
  6. 2023 RestoredNHLR says restored and relocated in 2023; Metro Parks rebuilt the top and refurbished the stairs and windowsSources: nhlr.org, myemail.constantcontact.com
  7. Date unknown MovedMoved from Keystone to Scioto Grove Metro Park.Source: FFLA
  8. 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 9 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

The National Historic Lookout Register describes the Keystone Fire Tower as a steel tower that was first set up in southeastern Jackson County, Ohio.1 Metro Parks says it went up there in 1942 to guard southern Ohio's forests against fire.2 The same article says it was erected 82 years before its 2023 move, which would put the date at 1941, so the exact year is uncertain.2 The Aermotor Windmill Company built it, and this model had an inside metal staircase, the most expensive of three types the company developed.2

Sources also disagree on height.1,2 The register gives 45 feet, while Metro Parks gives 82 feet up to the cab floor.1,2

The register recorded the tower on September 3, 2014.1 A 2019 visit report filed with it said the first flight of stairs had been removed, locals had heavily vandalized the tower, no one was staffing the site, and access ran through private property, where permission is needed.1

The land had come into private ownership.2 Justin Taylor, on behalf of the entire Taylor family, donated the tower to Metro Parks, according to the Metro Parks blog.2 A Metro Parks media release, though, calls the donor an anonymous private landowner.3 Metro Parks hired Jagger Construction to take the tower down and move it.3 The blog puts the total at about $140,000 for dismantling, hauling it about 75 miles in three pieces, re-galvanizing it, rebuilding the top, and adding safety fencing.2 The register says it was restored and relocated in 2023.1

The tower opened at Scioto Grove Metro Park in Grove City in August 2023, and the public may climb it during daylight hours.3 The climb is 111 steps.2 The former Jackson County site is now listed as gone.4

  1. Keystone Fire Tower, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/oh/keystone-fire-tower/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Are you bold enough to climb the fire tower?, Metro Parks blog, Columbus & Franklin County Metro Parks, https://www.metroparks.net/blog/are-you-bold-enough-to-climb-the-fire-tower/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. MEDIA RELEASE: Scioto Grove Fire Tower Opens, Columbus & Franklin County Metro Parks, August 10, 2023, https://myemail.constantcontact.com/MEDIA-RELEASE--Scioto-Grove-Fire-Tower-Opens.html?soid=1123925044140&aid=zfGDPTNrD98 (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Ohio, Former Fire Lookout Sites Register, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/oh/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

2023 photo after move to Scioto Grove Metro Park
2023 photo after move to Scioto Grove Metro Park (2023)Photo: Scott Gilmore, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
2014 photo from original Jackson County location
2014 photo from original Jackson County location (2014)Photo: Scott Gilmore, 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: 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: 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. 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.