FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Franklin County, Tennessee

Sewanee Fire Tower

A 60-ft steel lookout built by the CCC in 1933-34 in Franklin County, Tennessee; manned until the 1970s, now closed to climbers and used only for maintenance.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Restricted access

Access is seasonal, gated or needs a permit. Check before you go. Tennessee Division of Forestry site. The nomination (based on 2014 information) says forestry staff barred entry to the cab interior. No public visiting arrangement found.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
No public visiting arrangement found in the sources; the nomination reports cab entry prohibited by forestry staff.
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a tower60-ft steel truss tower with 7x7-ft cab; register says International Derrick, nomination says Aermotor MC-39 typeThe designs: Aermotor MC-39, IDECO
Built of
SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1933
Height
60 ft (18.3 m)
Elevation
2,039 ft (622 m)
Agency
Tennessee Division of Forestry
Land
Unknown
Location
Franklin County, Tennessee
Coordinates
35.21972, −85.88805
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-tn-sewanee

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 3.1 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. 1933 BuiltRegister gives build year 1933 and says built by the CCC; nomination says construction began in 1933Sources: nhlr.org, npgallery.nps.gov
  2. 1934 BuiltNomination says construction was completed in 1934 by the CCCSource: npgallery.nps.gov
  3. 1934 EventState forestry service contract with Adolph Hunziker dated July 13, 1934, allowing construction, use and maintenance of the lookout on the propertySource: npgallery.nps.gov
  4. No record between 1934 and 1950
  5. 1950 EventRadio tower #1 and radio equipment building erected about 1950 near the lookoutSource: npgallery.nps.gov
  6. No record between 1950 and 1975
  7. 1975 Last staffedApproximate: nomination says the tower was constantly manned until the 1970s and no longer used for observance since the mid-1970sSource: npgallery.nps.gov
  8. No record between 1975 and 2010
  9. 2010 EventRadio/cellular lattice tower constructed about 2010 on the siteSource: npgallery.nps.gov
  10. 2016 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered March 20, 2016 as US 1120, TN 27Source: nhlr.org
  11. 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 8 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

The Sewanee Fire Tower stands in Franklin County, Tennessee, and it was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps.1,2 The lookout register dates the build to 1933, while the National Register nomination says construction began that year and was finished in 1934.1,2 Both sources give its height as 60 feet, and the nomination describes a seven-foot square cab on top.1,2

The sources disagree on the design and the elevation.1,2 The register calls it an International Derrick tower, but the nomination judges from its style that it is an Aermotor MC-39 type, a design it says is very similar to a 1933 International Derrick.1,2 The register gives the elevation as 2,039 feet, while the nomination gives 2,044 feet.1,2

The tower was part of the Tennessee Division of Forestry's statewide effort to guard forest land through fire control.2 On July 13, 1934, the state's forestry service signed a contract with Adolph Hunziker covering the building, use and upkeep of a lookout on the property.2 The nomination says the record on this particular tower is thin, and it names no specific fire it helped to spot.2 It also says that until the 1970s the tower was kept under continuous watch during the high-fire season.2 A radio tower and equipment building went up nearby around 1950.2

Its working life faded in the 1970s.2 Since the mid-1970s, forestry employees have leaned more on spotter planes and 911 calls, so the tower is no longer used for observation, though forestry staff still climb it now and then for maintenance checks.2 The small operator's cabin that once gave fire spotters shelter is in good shape but sits idle.2 A radio and cellular tower was added on the site around 2010.2

Today the Division of Forestry still administers the site.1 The nomination, which draws on 2014 information, says forestry staff barred entry to the cab interior.2 The tower is on the National Register of Historic Places under reference 15000116, and the lookout register recorded it on March 20, 2016.3,1 I did not find a public visiting arrangement or rental listing in these sources, so treat the tower as off-limits and do not try to climb it.

  1. Sewanee Fire Tower, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/tn/sewanee-fire-tower/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Sewanee Fire Lookout Tower, National Register of Historic Places nomination, National Park Service, https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/2007215e-cb5d-4328-b850-d52b968f853e (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Sewanee Fire Lookout Tower, NRHP asset detail (NRIS 15000116), National Park Service, https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/15000116 (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

May 28, 2009
May 28, 2009 (2009)Photo: Ron Stafford, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Sewanee Fire Tower
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Sewanee Fire Tower
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Sewanee Fire Tower
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Sewanee Fire Tower
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Sewanee Fire Tower
Photo: Brian Stansberry, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0 · source

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Sources

  1. National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, type, what it is built of, status, 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. tnlandforms.us fire lookout towers (Tom Dunigan) -- GA, NC, TN Gave us: register numbers, links tnlandforms.us (Tom Dunigan) · No licence stated; facts only (coordinates, county, elevation, NGS/GFC/BLL register cross-references, status where given). · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  3. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- eastern US (easternuslookouts.weebly.com) Gave us: 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
  4. Wikidata -- US fire lookout towers (Q748998 and subclasses) Gave us: register numbers, photos, links Wikidata · CC0 1.0 (Wikidata). Images keep their own Commons licence/credit. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  5. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, 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

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