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Fire lookout · Luzerne County, Pennsylvania

Shickshinny Tower Site

Knob Mountain steel Aermotor tower near Shickshinny, built 1921 by the state forestry department. Register says removed after 1957; newspapers name its staff through 1955.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Register says removed after 1957. The latest dated entry in the sources is an April 1955 operator listing.

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 towerThe design: Aermotor
Built of
Steel
Built
1921
Height
Unknown
Elevation
1,540 ft (469 m)
Agency
Pennsylvania Department of Forestry
Land
State land
Location
Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
Coordinates
41.16675, −76.15187
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-pa-shickshinny

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. 1921 BuiltErected in 1921 by the state forestry department; a September 1921 item describes the new lookout on Knob MountainSources: firetower.org, easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1922 EventSeptember 1922 notice: citizens called a work day for October 9, 1922 to build an automobile road half a mile up the mountain to the towerSource: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1922 First staffedWalter Kline appointed towerman (March 1922); Phillip Garrison fire inspector for the Nanticoke to Sunbury territorySource: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1923 StaffedBruce Henrie took up duties as watchman (October 1923)Source: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  5. 1930 StaffedMarch 1930: Mrs. Bruce Henry appointed watcher; paper believed she was the first woman to hold such a job in the stateSource: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  6. 1934 EventNovember 1934: Emergency Relief Association set aside $8,437 for an improved road to the towerSource: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  7. 1935 StaffedOctober 1935: Frank Robbins named lookout; tower opened for the winter seasonSource: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  8. 1936 EventSeptember 1936: WPA project widening the steep road to the towerSource: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  9. 1947 FireOctober 1947: large fire on Jackson Hill and Red Rock Mountain; about 10 acres burned; Oscar Featherman in charge at the towerSource: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  10. 1955 StaffedApril 1955: John Falkowski listed as operatorSource: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  11. 1957 RemovedRegister: removed after 1957Source: firetower.org
  12. No record between 1957 and 2008
  13. 2008 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered September 16, 2008, nominated by Henry IsenbergSource: firetower.org
  14. 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 Shickshinny tower stood on Knob Mountain near Shickshinny in Luzerne County.1,2 The register describes an Aermotor steel tower put up in 1921 and taken down after 1957.1 A June 1921 notice said a state tower would probably go on the top of the mountain that summer.2 By September several hundred people had climbed up to see the new lookout, which had 84 steps and nine rest platforms.2 A November 1921 item placed it in the Wyoming State Forest.2

In September 1922 local citizens called a work day for October 9 to build an automobile road half a mile up the mountain to the tower.2 The Emergency Relief Association earmarked $8,437 for an improved road in 1934, and a WPA project widened it in 1936.2

Walter Kline was appointed towerman in March 1922, and Bruce Henrie became watchman in October 1923.2 In March 1930 the state appointed Mrs. Bruce Henry, the wife of a state fire inspector, as a watcher.2 The paper believed she was the first woman to hold such a post in the state.2 Frank Robbins was named lookout in 1935.2

In October 1947 Oscar Featherman, in charge at the tower, reported a large fire on Jackson Hill and Red Rock Mountain. It took four hours and three crews to put out, and about 10 acres burned.2 In April 1955 John Falkowski was listed as the operator.2

The register says the tower was removed after 1957.1 The latest dated entry on the history page is the 1955 listing.2

No source describes what, if anything, remains on Knob Mountain now, or whether the public can reach the summit.

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

Sources

  1. Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (FFLOS) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, type, 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: agency, ownership, 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. OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures Gave us: links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  4. 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.