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Fire lookout · Lane County, Oregon

Goodwin Peak Lookout Site

Siuslaw NF peak east of Florence, OR: 1934 tower, 41-ft L-4 tower from 1954, used for emergencies in the 1970s, now gone; no source describes the site today.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Used for emergency in the 1970s, now gone per the register and firelookout.com; no source describes remains

Visit & stay

Gone: site only. The lookout no longer stands, so there is nothing to climb or rent.

Access

Access unknown

We do not know the access rules. Check with the land manager before you go.

Road to the top?
Unknown

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Cab on a towerL-4 cab on timber towersThe design: L-4
Built of
Wood
Built
1934
Height
41 ft (12.5 m)
Elevation
1,826 ft (557 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Lane County, Oregon
Coordinates
43.92787, −123.89168
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-or-goodwin-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 BuiltRegister: 30-foot L-4 tower built; Rex's: 50-foot round timber tower with 14x14 L-4 cab. A June 8, 1934 Siuslaw Oar item says the tower would be built once a road extended by a Sweets Creek CCC side camp was far enough along to bring in suppliesSources: firetower.org, oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1941 EventFive-person Forest Service crew did general maintenance, including lightning protectionSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1942 Eventfirelookout.com lists a 30-foot L-4 tower under 1942 (the register and Rex's give 1934 for the first tower)Source: firelookout.com
  4. 1942 StaffedAircraft Warning Service station activated August 12, 1942 (Eugene Filter Center)Source: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  5. 1954 Replaced by a new structure41-foot treated timber L-4 tower replaces the first tower (treated timber per register and firelookout.com; Rex's says timber)Sources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  6. No record between 1954 and 1970
  7. 1970 EventUsed for emergencies in the 1970s (decade only)Sources: firetower.org, firelookout.com
  8. No record between 1970 and 2010
  9. 2010 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered with the Former Fire Lookout Sites register on December 18, 2010Source: firetower.org
  10. TodayGoneThe lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. When it came down is not recorded.

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.

Goodwin Peak rises to 1,826 feet in the Siuslaw National Forest, in Lane County.1 It sits about 12 miles east-southeast of Florence.2

In June 1934 The Siuslaw Oar reported that a lookout tower would be built on Goodwin Peak once a road that a CCC side camp on Sweets Creek was extending was far enough along to bring in supplies.3 Sources disagree on what went up. The register says a 30-foot L-4 tower was built in 1934.1 firelookout.com also lists a 30-foot L-4 tower, but dates it to 1942.2 Rex's page gives a different 1934 tower: a 50-foot round timber structure with a 14-by-14 L-4 cab.3

An August 31, 1941 Eugene Guard item says a five-person Forest Service crew did general maintenance on the lookout, including lightning protection work.3 The Aircraft Warning Service activated the station on August 12, 1942, and the Eugene Filter Center is listed with that date.3

In 1954 the tower was replaced with a 41-foot timber L-4 tower.1,2,3 The register says it was used for emergencies in the 1970s and is now gone.1 firelookout.com agrees on the emergency use and says the tower is gone.2

None of the three pages describes what, if anything, is still standing or visible at the summit today, or whether the public can reach it. The register listed the site on December 18, 2010.1

  1. Goodwin Peak Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/or/goodwin-peak-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Goodwin Peak Fire Lookout Tower, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/or/goodwinpeak.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Goodwin Peak - Forest Lookouts, Rex's Fire Lookout Page, https://oregonlookouts.weebly.com/goodwin-peak.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Goodwin Peak Lookout 1944
Goodwin Peak Lookout 1944 (1944)Photo: Ron Kemnow collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Goodwin Peak Lookout
Goodwin Peak LookoutPhoto: Howard Verschoor collection, via 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, 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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