FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Gloucester County, Virginia

Ark Fire Tower

Also known as Ark (Gloucester)

Gloucester County Aermotor tower at Ark, under construction in 1933: a 2015 scrap auction listing, still standing in 2023; height sources disagree (100 or 125 ft).

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. A chain-link fence surrounds the tower, and neither an NHLR sign nor directions are posted (visit report, April 19, 2023). No source states a public access rule.

Can you climb it?
No
Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
The April 19, 2023 visit report says the steps are too poor to be regularly climbed.
Staffing
Not staffed (as of 2023-04-19)

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a towerFour-legged steel Aermotor tower with a glass-enclosed cabThe design: Aermotor
Built of
SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
Unknown
Height
100 ft (30.5 m)
Elevation
87 ft (27 m)
Agency
Virginia Department of Forestry
Land
Unknown
Location
Gloucester County, Virginia
Coordinates
37.43829, −76.57856
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-va-ark

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 3.2 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 EventUnder construction near the Ark post office, per a Daily Press report of October 7, 1933 quoted by Weebly. Not a completion date.Source: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1942 EventCoast and Geodetic Survey station description: the Ark Lookout Tower, overall height about 125 feet, operated by the Virginia Forest ServiceSource: ngs.noaa.gov
  3. No record between 1942 and 2015
  4. 2015 EventPlaced up for bid at government auction, listed as scrap condition (Weebly, August 2015). The sources do not record a sale.Source: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  5. 2019 Condition assessmentRegister: still standing but disused as a fire tower; two radio antennas on topSource: nhlr.org
  6. 2020 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered March 24, 2020 as US 1408, VA 41Source: nhlr.org
  7. 2023 Condition assessmentRegister visit April 19, 2023: frame and cab intact; glass not intact; some upper steps and landings missing and sagging; not staffedSource: nhlr.org
  8. 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.

Ark Fire Tower stands in the settlement of Ark, in Gloucester County, Virginia, about three miles northwest of Gloucester.1 It is a four-legged steel Aermotor tower with a glass-enclosed cab on top.2,1

The earliest record cited here comes from October 7, 1933. A Daily Press report, quoted on a Weebly lookout page, said a fire watch tower was under construction near the Ark post office. The report described a new fire-protection system combined with fire-lane cutting, and said Civilian Conservation Corps crews from a camp near West Point were cutting those lanes through the local forest.2 The Weebly page links that report to this tower; no other source does. A 1942 Coast and Geodetic Survey description refers to the Ark Lookout Tower, so the tower was in place by then.1

The sources disagree on the height.2,1 The Weebly page calls it a 100-foot Aermotor tower, while the 1942 survey gives an overall height of about 125 feet.2,1 They also differ on the agency.2,1 The Weebly page lists the Virginia Department of Forestry, and the survey says the Virginia Forest Service operated the tower. The sources do not explain the difference in name.2,1

In August 2015 the 100-foot Aermotor tower was offered at a government auction, listed in scrap condition, according to the Weebly page.2 The sources do not say whether it sold.2 The Forest Fire Lookout Association lists the tower as standing.3 The Register, which registered it on March 24, 2020, says it was still standing as of 2019 but disused as a fire tower, and that it carries two radio antennas.4

A visit report dated April 19, 2023 found the frame and cab intact, but the glass was not intact, and some upper steps and landings were missing and sagging.4 The same report says the tower is not staffed.4

The 2023 report says a chain-link fence surrounds the tower, and that neither an NHLR sign nor directions to the tower are posted.4 It also judges the steps unfit for regular climbing.4 No source describes public access or rental, so visitors should not climb the tower.4,3,2

  1. Station GV4409, Ark Lookout Tower, National Geodetic Survey, https://www.ngs.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/ds_mark.prl?PidBox=GV4409 (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Ark - Forest Lookouts, easternuslookouts.weebly.com, https://easternuslookouts.weebly.com/ark.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Virginia - Forest Fire Lookout Association, firelookout.org, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/va/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Ark Fire Tower, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/va/ark-fire-tower/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Drone image from July 2019
Drone image from July 2019 (2019)Photo: James Hull, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
April 2023 photo
April 2023 photo (2023)Photo: Evan Stone, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source

Photos keep their own rights and are shown with credit. Is one of these yours? You can ask for a different credit or for removal.

Sources

  1. National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, register numbers, 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. 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
  3. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- eastern US (easternuslookouts.weebly.com) Gave us: what it is built of, design, height, agency, 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. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, status, agency, access, 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.