FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Jackson County, Oregon

Tallowbox Lookout

Also known as Tallowbox Mountain

Jackson County peak: camp 1918, cupola 1923, ODF cab 1963; cab torn down 2007-08, then a steel camera-detection tower in 2009 on a gated road.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Cab torn down in 2007 or 2008 (sources differ). A steel camera-detection tower was flown in during 2009.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Restricted access

Access is seasonal, gated or needs a permit. Check before you go. A 1990 approval put a gate across the access road after an August request. The request said a regional communications agency needed only a key or lock to get through. No current source confirms whether the gate is still in use.

Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
No lookout cab remains. The 2009 steel tower is a camera base, not a lookout, and is not a place to climb.

Facts

Status
Gone sources disagree
Type
Cab on a tower14x14 ODF flattop cab with catwalk on a timber tower (1963)The design: D-6
Built of
Wood
Also served as
Aircraft Warning Service postDuring the Second World War it was staffed to spot and report aircraft.
Built
1923
Height
Unknown
Elevation
4,929 ft (1,502 m)
Agency
Oregon Department of Forestry, Southwest Oregon District
Land
Federal land
Location
Jackson County, Oregon
Coordinates
42.19707, −123.15338
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-or-tallowbox

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 a typical height for a lookout like it.

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. 1918 EventCamp set up as the first lookout on the site (tent or rag camp).Sources: firetower.org, oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1923 BuiltD-6 cupola cabin built on the summit.Sources: nhlr.org, oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1933 StaffedSeason's first lookout went on duty June 14, per a 1933 newspaper item.Source: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1942 StaffedGarage converted into an Aircraft Warning Service winter residence during World War II; site staffed year-round.Sources: nhlr.org, oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  5. No record between 1942 and 1963
  6. 1963 Built'Built' field on NHLR detail pageSource: NHLR register entry
  7. 1963 Replaced by a new structureNew ODF cab completed and old lookout removed. NHLR describes a 14x14 ODF flattop with catwalk on a timber tower.Sources: nhlr.org, firetower.org, oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  8. No record between 1963 and 1990
  9. 1990 EventGate across Road No. 38-3-33 approved after thefts and vandalism.Source: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  10. 2003 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered March 31, 2003, while the cab was still standing.Source: nhlr.org
  11. 2006 FireDecember 2006 fire burned part of a radio building at the base of the tower; the lookout itself was not burned.Source: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  12. 2007 Condition assessmentOregon chapter surveyed the lookout for fire damage from vandals and planned a new steel tower for spring 2008.Source: firelookout.org
  13. 2007 Destroyedfirelookout.com says destroyed after an arsonist damaged the structure; FFLOS says removed in 2007.Sources: firetower.org, firelookout.com
  14. 2008 RemovedOregon lookouts page says the structure was torn down, with debris hauled and burned.Source: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  15. 2009 EventSteel tower flown in by helicopter as a base for a camera detection system.Source: oregonlookouts.weebly.com
  16. 2011 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered March 30, 2011.Source: firetower.org
  17. 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.

Tallowbox is a peak in Jackson County, about 16 miles southwest of Medford.1 The first lookout there was a camp set up in 1918.2,3

A D-6 cupola house went up in 1923, and a 1933 newspaper report says the season's first lookout went on duty on June 14.4,3 In World War II the garage became an Aircraft Warning Service winter residence, and the site was staffed year-round.4

A new lookout went up in 1963, and the district's annual report, quoted on an Oregon lookouts page, says the old one was removed.3 The NHLR describes the replacement as an Oregon Department of Forestry flat-top cab with a catwalk, on a timber tower.4 The sources give the tower's height as 10 feet in one place and 15 feet in another.4,2 One register page says the lookout was staffed into the 2000s.2

In December 2006 a fire burned part of a radio building at the foot of the tower.3 The lookout itself did not burn, but its support beams were charred.3

Vandalism was a recurring problem.3 A September 1990 approval letter put a gate across the access road to prevent a repeat of recent theft and vandalism. The August request for it noted that a regional communications agency needed only a key or lock to get through.3 In 2007 the Oregon chapter surveyed the lookout to assess fire damage from vandals, and planned a new steel tower for spring 2008.5

Sources differ on when the cab was lost.2,1 The firelookout.com page says an arsonist damaged the structure and that it was destroyed in 2007, and the register page says it was removed that year.1,2 An Oregon lookouts page says the structure was torn down in 2008, with the debris burned.3

A steel tower was flown in by helicopter in 2009 as a base for a camera detection system, according to the Oregon lookouts page.3 The Oregon lookouts page is the only source here on the gate, and no current source says whether it is still in use or whether the public may visit.3 The camera tower is not a lookout to climb.

  1. Tallowbox Fire Lookout Tower, firelookout.com, https://www.firelookout.com/or/tallowbox.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Tallowbox Lookout Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites Register, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/or/tallowbox-lookout-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Tallowbox Mountain - Forest Lookouts, Oregon Lookouts, https://oregonlookouts.weebly.com/tallowbox-mountain.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. Tallowbox Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/or/tallowbox-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  5. Oregon Chapter Report 2007, Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://firelookout.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/cr-or-2007.pdf (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Photo of Tallowbox Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Tallowbox Lookout
Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source
1940
1940 (1940)Photo: Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source

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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.

    • FFLA: Gone
    • NHLR: Standing
    • FFLOS: Gone
    • firelookout.com -- Rex Kamstra's Forest Fire Lookout Page: Gone

    NHLR lists lookouts that were standing when registered. firelookout.com lists it, but not on its map of standing lookouts.

Sources

  1. National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, what it is built of, wartime use, 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. Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (FFLOS) Gave us: register numbers, 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
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. 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
  6. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- western US (Ron Kemnow's weebly sites) Gave us: design, 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
  7. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, 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

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