FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Jackson County, Oregon

Cinnabar Peak Lookout Site

Also known as Cinnabar Trail

Former Rogue River National Forest lookout: a 30-foot L-4 tower from 1934, rebuilt in timber, removed in 1974. No source describes the site today.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Tower removed in 1974. No source describes what remains at the site.

Visit & stay

Gone: site only. The lookout no longer stands, so there is nothing to climb or rent. You may still be able to visit the site.

Access

Open to the public. On Rogue River National Forest land. A 1935 survey sheet notes a road to the top. No source describes current access.

Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
No tower stands. A 1935 survey sheet says a road reached the top of the ridge.

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Cab on a tower30-foot pole L-4 tower with cab (1934), replaced by a 30-foot treated timber L-4 tower (1953 per the register)The design: L-4
Built of
Wood
Built
1934
Height
30 ft (9.1 m)
Elevation
3,919 ft (1,195 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Jackson County, Oregon
Coordinates
42.13155, −123.00712
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-or-cinnabar-peak

View from the cab

What the lookout saw from its 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.

This lookout is gone. The view is reconstructed from its recorded site and its recorded height.

Downloads about 3.6 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. 1934 Built30-foot pole tower with an L-4 cab, erected by members of the Camp Applegate CCCSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1935 EventForest Service survey description; disk stamped CINNABAR 1935 set in the top of the northwest concrete corner stone of the towerSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1935 StaffedGeorge Ellis, then John Byrne, filled in while J.L. Hoxie was at Oregon National Guard encampmentsSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1936 StaffedEarl Potter spent a summer at the lookoutSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  5. 1938 FireMrs. Jack Crump spotted a fire from the lookout and reported its location so precisely that fire fighters went straight to it; blaze held to about three quarters of an acreSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  6. 1942 EventAircraft Warning Service station activated August 11, 1942Source: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  7. 1943 EventAircraft Warning Service station deactivated October 16, 1943; the forest service kept the buildingsSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  8. 1953 Replaced by a new structure30-foot treated timber tower replaced the pole tower (register and Forest Lookouts date)Sources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  9. 1957 RebuiltNew 30-foot tower built under the lookout house, which was raised three feet (newspaper, October 1957)Source: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  10. 1958 StaffedIke Coffman at his post at the lookout (June 1958)Source: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  11. No record between 1958 and 1974
  12. 1974 RemovedTower removed; firelookout.com says destroyedSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  13. No record between 1974 and 2010
  14. 2010 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered on the Former Fire Lookout Sites register, November 24, 2010Source: firetower.org
  15. TodayGoneThe lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left.

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.

Cinnabar Peak is a former lookout site on the Rogue River National Forest in Jackson County, Oregon, in the Applegate district.1,2,3 Sources put it 14 to 16 miles from Medford, although a 1956 newspaper notice gave about 35 miles.2,3

In 1934 members of the Camp Applegate Civilian Conservation Corps erected a 30-foot pole tower with an L-4 cab on top.1,2,3

In 1935 George Ellis of Jacksonville filled in at the lookout while J.L. Hoxie was away with the Oregon National Guard, and John Byrne also stood in until Hoxie returned.3 Earl Potter spent a summer there in 1936.3 In August 1938 Mrs. Jack Crump, then the only woman lookout on the Rogue River National Forest, spotted a fire from her Cinnabar station and reported its location so precisely that fire fighters went straight to it. Although the blaze was in heavy brush, it was kept to about three quarters of an acre.3 Between August 1942 and October 1943 the site also served the Aircraft Warning Service, and the forest service kept the buildings afterward.3 In 1958 Ike Coffman was at his post when a peacock showed up, and it turned out to belong to an Ashland man.3

A 30-foot treated timber tower replaced the pole tower in 1953, according to the register, firelookout.com and the Forest Lookouts page.1,2,3 A 1957 newspaper item, however, describes a new 30-foot tower built under the lookout house that year, with the house raised three feet during the work.3 The sources disagree on when the rebuild happened.

The tower came down in 1974. The register and the Forest Lookouts page say it was removed, while firelookout.com says it was destroyed.1,2,3

A 1935 Forest Service survey description put the station on a long ridge with a road to the top. It described a disk stamped "CINNABAR 1935" set in the top of the northwest concrete corner stone of the tower.3 No source describes what remains of the lookout or that corner stone today, or what access is like now.

  1. Cinnabar Peak Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites, Forest Fire Lookout Association, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/or/cinnabar-peak-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Cinnabar Peak Fire Lookout Tower, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/or/cinnabar.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Cinnabar Trail, Forest Lookouts (Oregon), https://oregonlookouts.weebly.com/cinnabar-trail.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Photo of Cinnabar Peak Lookout Site
Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Cinnabar Peak Lookout Site
Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.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. Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (FFLOS) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, what it is built of, register numbers, agency, ownership, dates, photos, links Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.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. firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page Gave us: links firelookout.com · No licence stated on the site; facts only (coordinates, elevation, built/destroyed years, design, agency). Photos mirrored with the site's stated credit. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  4. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- western US (Ron Kemnow's weebly sites) Gave us: design, height, links Ron Kemnow's Forest Lookouts sites (westlookouts, californialookouts, idaholookouts, montanalookouts, oregonlookouts and washingtonlookouts .weebly.com) · No licence stated; facts only (county, land manager, status word, coordinates where the page's own map widget gives them, township-range-section, height and design hints, links). The site's own newspaper quotes, citations and narrative are not reproduced. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  5. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, status, 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.