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Fire lookout · Cumberland County, Pennsylvania

Buck Ridge Tower Site (Cumberland County)

Also known as Buck Ridge

Cumberland County, PA former lookout site; a Blaw-Knox tower the register dates to 1934, but the Staley's Knob entry dates its move to Buck Ridge to 1934 too; no source describes the site today.

Approximate location

No source gives where this lookout stood, so the map shows it on Buck Ridge, the one ridge of that name in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania in the USGS Geographic Names Information System. A ridge can run for miles, so the lookout may have stood some way along it. Know where it stood? Suggest an edit.

Status unknown: We do not know yet whether it still stands. Listed as a former lookout site; no source read says whether the tower was removed or what remains

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
Status unknown sources disagree
Type
Cab on a towerBlaw-Knox tower (register entry only)The design: Blaw-Knox
Built of
SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1904
Height
Unknown
Elevation
Unknown
Agency
Unknown
Land
Unknown
Location
Cumberland County, Pennsylvania
Coordinates
40.26922, −77.41118Approximate: placed on Buck Ridge (a ridge), from USGS GNIS. No source gives where it stood.
This entry
UnverifiedFrom a single source and not yet checked. Details may be wrong. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-pa-buck-ridge-cumberland-county

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.

From an approximate location

This view, and what it could see, are worked out from Buck Ridge, where the map places the lookout, not from a recorded site. The real view may differ.

Downloads about 3.4 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. 1904 BuiltFirst tree tower at Staley's Knob, before the tower moved to Buck RidgeSource: firetower.org
  2. 1912 Replaced by a new structureWooden tower replaced the 1904 tree tower at Staley's KnobSource: firetower.org
  3. 1922 Replaced by a new structureWooden tower at Staley's Knob replacedSource: firetower.org
  4. 1934 BuiltRegister gives 1934 as the build year of the Blaw-Knox tower; conflicts with the Staley's Knob entry (see resolved_conflicts)Source: firetower.org
  5. 1934 MovedStaley's Knob entry: tower moved in 1934 and renamed Buck RidgeSource: firetower.org
  6. No record between 1934 and 2008
  7. 2008 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered September 16, 2008Source: firetower.org
  8. TodayStatus unknownWe do not know whether it still stands.

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 10 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Buck Ridge is a former fire lookout site in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.1 According to the register, the tower is a Blaw-Knox design dating to 1934, and it reached the site from Staley Knob in the 1970s.1

The Staley's Knob entry, for a site in Adams County, gives a different history.2 Its first tree tower dated from 1904, a wooden tower replaced it in 1912, and that tower was replaced again in 1922.2 The same entry says the structure moved in 1934 and took the name Buck Ridge.2

The two records disagree on when the tower reached Buck Ridge, with 1934 in one and the 1970s in the other.1,2 Earlier still, the Forest Lookouts site lists a tree observation point 35 feet above the ground that was set up before 1918.3

The Former Fire Lookout Sites register recorded the site on September 16, 2008.1 The register lists the site as a former lookout, but no source says when, or whether, the tower was taken down.1 No source describes what remains at the site today, or whether the ground is open to visitors.

  1. Buck Ridge Tower Site (Cumberland County), Former Fire Lookout Sites register, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/pa/buck-ridge-tower-site-cumberland-county/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  2. Staley's Knob Tower Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites register, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/pa/staleys-knob-tower-site/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  3. Buck Ridge, Forest Lookouts, https://easternuslookouts.weebly.com/buck-ridge.html (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩

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: Status unknown
    • FFLOS: Gone

    Research (2026-10-10) gives unknown 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, county, what it is built of, status, register numbers, dates, 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 LOOKOUTS -- eastern US (easternuslookouts.weebly.com) Gave us: type, links easternuslookouts.weebly.com · No licence stated; facts only (county, coordinates where the page's own map widget gives them, status, height, design hints, register links). The site's own historical quotes, newspaper citations and narrative are not reproduced. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  3. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, status, 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
  4. USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Gave us: an approximate location, on Buck Ridge (a ridge) USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) · Public domain

More about this lookout elsewhere

Firefinder takes facts (places, dates, numbers) from these sources and writes its own words. See all sources and licences.