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Fire lookout · Luzerne County, Pennsylvania

Humboldt Tower Site

Luzerne County, PA steel Aermotor tower built 1921, with a 1937 lookout posting; removed (1966 per Forest Lookouts, before 2005 per the register); no source describes the site today.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Removed: Forest Lookouts says 1966, the register says before 2005; no source we read describes the site today

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 towerSteel Aermotor tower with a cabinThe design: Aermotor
Built of
SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1921
Height
Unknown
Elevation
2,004 ft (611 m)
Agency
Unknown
Land
Unknown
Location
Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
Coordinates
40.93925, −76.08715
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-pa-humboldt

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 3.5 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. 1921 BuiltRegister says the steel Aermotor tower was built in 1921Source: firetower.org
  2. 1923 FireApril 1923 newspaper item reports a fourteen-year-old boy died while fighting a forest fire near the Humboldt tower; the item places the fire near Shellton, Schuylkill CountySource: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1924 EventForesters trying to find who was using the tower as a dog pen; dogs twice found in the cabin with food and waterSource: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1937 StaffedNewspaper reports Peter Polega stationed at the Humboldt tower as a lookout for forest firesSource: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  5. No record between 1937 and 1966
  6. 1966 RemovedForest Lookouts lists 1966: Removed; the register says removed before 2005Source: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  7. No record between 1966 and 2008
  8. 2008 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered September 16, 2008; nominated by Henry IsenbergSource: firetower.org
  9. 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 10 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

The Humboldt tower stood in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, according to the register.1 The register describes it as a steel Aermotor tower, built in 1921.1

The Forest Lookouts page holds most of what we found about its early years. An April 1923 newspaper item reports the death of a fourteen-year-old boy who had been battling a blaze near the tower.2 That item places the fire near Shellton, in Schuylkill County, which does not match the Luzerne County listing.2 The sources do not settle the point.1,2

In 1924 state foresters were trying to identify whoever was keeping dogs in the tower. Twice, dogs had been found in its cabin along with food and water.2

In 1937 a newspaper reported that Peter Polega, who had received an amateur radio license, was posted to the Humboldt tower as a lookout for forest fires.2

The Forest Lookouts page says the tower was removed in 1966.2 The register says it was removed before 2005, which fits that date.1 We found no source that describes what, if anything, remains at the site today, or whether the land is open to visitors.

  1. Humboldt Tower Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/pa/humboldt-tower-site/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  2. Humboldt, Forest Lookouts, https://easternuslookouts.weebly.com/humboldt.html (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩

Sources

  1. Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (FFLOS) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, 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, 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.