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Fire lookout · Douglas County, Oregon

Roman Nose Lookout Site

Also known as Roman Nose Mountain

Douglas County lookout from 1921-22; 1958 concrete base tower with the cab removed in 2001. The register says the concrete tower is now a radio building.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Access unknown

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

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Unknown
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing sources disagree
Type
Two-story buildingTwo-story concrete base tower with an Amort cab (1958), after an earlier cupola cabinThe design: D-6
Built of
WoodGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1921
Height
Unknown
Elevation
2,856 ft (871 m)
Agency
Oregon Department of Forestry
Land
Federal land
Location
Douglas County, Oregon
Coordinates
43.91231, −123.73877
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-or-roman-nose

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 3.9 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. 1917 EventRag camp at the site; a fire patrol association moved to establish a lookout station on the mountainSources: firetower.org, oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1921 BuiltLookout house on top reported completed in October 1921Source: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1921 First staffedL. B. Chruden sent to the Roman Nose lookoutSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1922 BuiltCupola cabin constructed in 1922 per the register and firelookout.comSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com
  5. 1925 StaffedEugene Callahan to be the lookoutSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  6. 1928 StaffedPhillip Johnson to be located on Mt. Roman Nose for the seasonSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  7. 1933 StaffedVeris Dahlin named as lookoutSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  8. 1941 StaffedRobert Morrow had been stationed at the lookout, per a September 1941 itemSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  9. 1953 AlteredOne-mile realignment of the lookout road completedSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  10. 1957 Replaced by a new structureConstruction of the replacement lookout startedSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  11. 1958 Replaced by a new structureConcrete base tower with Amort cab completed; firelookout.com describes base as 10 feetSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com, oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  12. No record between 1958 and 2001
  13. 2001 RemovedCab removed; firelookout.com says the Oregon Chapter FFLA salvaged itSources: firetower.org, firelookout.com
  14. 2008 EventUnused site reactivated as a location for the Forest Watch camera detection systemSource: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  15. 2019 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered on the Former Fire Lookout Sites registerSource: firetower.org
  16. 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.

Roman Nose sits on the divide between Lane and Douglas counties, about 18 miles east-southeast of Florence, at roughly 2,856 feet.1,2,3

The earliest recorded activity on the mountain is a rag camp in 1917. That same year a fire patrol association moved to establish a lookout station there.1,3 An October 1921 report says the house on the summit was finished.3 The register and firelookout.com put the first cupola cabin in 1922.1,2

Early lookouts named in the papers include L. B. Chruden in 1921, Eugene Callahan in 1925 and Phillip Johnson in 1928. A 1933 item names Veris Dahlin as the lookout, and a September 1941 item says Robert Morrow had been stationed there.3

Work on a replacement started in 1957, and the new house was completed in 1958.3 The register calls the 1958 building a concrete base two stories high, topped with an Amort cab, while firelookout.com gives the base as 10 feet.1,2 The cab came off in 2001, and firelookout.com says the Oregon Chapter FFLA salvaged it that year.1,2 Firelookout.com also says the lookout was last staffed in the 1970s.2

The register says the concrete tower is now used as a radio building.1 In 2008 the idle site was put back to work hosting a Forest Watch camera detection system.3 No source here says whether the site is open to visitors today or what a visitor could see.

  1. Roman Nose Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites Register, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/or/roman-nose-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Roman Nose Fire Lookout Tower, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/or/romannose.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Roman Nose Mountain, Forest Lookouts (Oregon), Rex's Fire Lookout Page, https://oregonlookouts.weebly.com/roman-nose-mountain.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Roman Nose Lookout 1958
Roman Nose Lookout 1958 (1958)Photo: Carol Van Curler, Ron Kemnow collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Roman Nose Lookout 1960
Roman Nose Lookout 1960 (1960)Photo: John Karnowsky, Ron Kemnow collection, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Roman Nose Lookout
Roman Nose LookoutPhoto: Ray Kresek, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
Roman Nose Lookout site 2008
Roman Nose Lookout site 2008 (2008)Photo: Ron Kemnow, 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.

Where sources disagree

We show disagreements between sources instead of quietly picking one. If you know which is right, please tell us.

  • Sources disagree on whether it still stands.

    • Firefinder research: Standing
    • FFLA: Gone

    Research (2026-10-09) gives standing where the source records give gone. The page shows the researched status; please tell us if it is wrong.

Sources

  1. Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (FFLOS) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, what it is built of, register numbers, agency, 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: ownership, 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, status, agency, 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.