Fire lookout · Prince George County, Virginia
Prince George Forest Lookout
Also known as Disputanta (Prince George), Prince George
1937 CCC-built 120-foot Aermotor fire tower near Disputanta, Prince George County, Virginia; NHLR-registered 2003; inactive per NHLR, still listed standing. Access unknown.
- Standing
- Access unknown
- Verified
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. No source read says whether the public may visit or climb the tower.
- Can you climb it?
- Unknown
- Road to the top?
- Unknown
- Staffing
- Not staffed (as of undated)
Facts
- Status
- Type
- Cab on a tower120-foot Aermotor tower with 7 by 7 foot metal cabThe design: Aermotor
- Built of
- SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
- Built
- 1937
- Height
- 120 ft (36.6 m)
- Elevation
- 147 ft (45 m)
- Agency
- County of Prince George, Virginia
- Land
- Unknown
- Location
- Prince George County, Virginia
- Coordinates
- 37.18222, −77.20000 sources disagree
- Registers
- This entry
- VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
- Firefinder id
us-va-prince-george-forest
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 3.4 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
- 1937 BuiltConstructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps for the Virginia Department of Forestry; NHLR prints the year as l937Source: nhlr.org
- No record between 1937 and 1953
- 1953 StaffedAnnounced July 19, 1953 as going into operation that day because of dry timberlands; first summer manning since organization, per the Progress-Index as quoted by Forest LookoutsSource: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
- No record between 1953 and 2003
- 2003 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered April 25, 2003 as US 511, VA 7; nominated by Christopher B. Hargrave, Virginia RegistrarSource: nhlr.org
- 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 (opens another site) (click the spot there to list them, with dates and downloads).
Story
Researched 9 Oct 2026, fact-checked.
The Prince George Forest Lookout stands near Disputanta in Prince George County, Virginia, and is also listed as Disputanta (Prince George).1,2,3
The Civilian Conservation Corps built it in 1937 for the Virginia Department of Forestry, according to the National Historic Lookout Register.1 The Register describes a 120-foot Aermotor tower with a 7-by-7-foot metal cab.1
In July 1953 the Progress-Index, as quoted by Forest Lookouts, reported that the county's tower near Disputanta would go into operation that day because of dry conditions.2 Chief Fire Warden P.T. Birdsong said it was the first summer since organization that the tower had been staffed, and he asked residents to report fires by telephone or to police.2
The Register accepted the tower on April 25, 2003, on a nomination by Christopher B. Hargrave, the Virginia registrar.1 It describes the tower as now inactive, though one of the tallest left in Virginia.1 Prince George County owns it, and the Virginia chapter of the Forest Fire Lookout Association helps maintain it.1
The Forest Fire Lookout Association's Virginia list still shows the tower as standing.3 No source read says whether the public may visit or climb it, so ask the county before planning any trip.1,2,3
- Prince George Forest Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org), http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/va/prince-george-forest-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
- Prince George, Forest Lookouts (easternuslookouts.weebly.com), https://easternuslookouts.weebly.com/prince-george.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
- Virginia, Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org), https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/va/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
Photos
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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 the location by 1.1 km (0.7 mi).
- NHLR: 37.18222, −77.20000
- FFLA: 37.18149, −77.21294
They share a register number.
The map uses the position from NHLR.
Sources
- National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) (opens another site) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, what it is built of, 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
- Forest Fire Lookout Association (FFLA) - US lookout lists (opens another site) 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
- FOREST LOOKOUTS -- eastern US (easternuslookouts.weebly.com) (opens another site) 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
- Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, status, agency, access, staffing, 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
- NHLR register entry US 511 (nhlr.org) (opens another site)
- FFLA Virginia lookout list (firelookout.org) (opens another site)
- Prince George (easternuslookouts.weebly.com) (opens another site)
Firefinder takes facts (places, dates, numbers) from these sources and writes its own words. See all sources and licences.