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Fire lookout · Adams County, Wisconsin

Dyracuse (Dorro Couche) Lookout

Also known as Dyracuse, Dorro Couche Lookout Tower

80-foot Wisconsin standard tower atop Dyracuse Mound in Adams County, built in 1939 and listed as standing inside the Town of Rome's recreation area.

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. The tower sits inside the Town of Rome's Dyracuse Recreational Area, which opens on posted days; the sources read do not say whether the cab may be entered or climbed.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Unknown
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a tower80 ft Wisconsin standard tower with an external protected ladderThe design: Wisconsin standard tower
Built of
SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1939
Height
Unknown
Elevation
1,242 ft (379 m)
Agency
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Land
Unknown
Location
Adams County, Wisconsin
Coordinates
44.17305, −89.78402
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wi-dyracuse-dorro-couche

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.

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Or see what it could see on the map: the ground in its line of sight.

History

Then and now

  1. 1939 BuiltBuilt in 1939 (NHLR build field and description)Source: nhlr.org
  2. No record between 1939 and 2017
  3. 2017 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered August 16, 2017; nominated by Tyler Bormann; NHLR US 1230, WI 34Source: nhlr.org
  4. 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.

Dyracuse Lookout is an 80-foot Wisconsin standard tower in Adams County.1 The register gives its build year as 1939 and describes an external protected ladder.1 It says the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources administers the tower, and that the lookout was once named Dorro Couche, after a nearby lake.1

The tower stands on Dyracuse Mound, inside the Town of Rome's recreation area.2 The town says that area opened on May 29, 1982, and takes its name from the mound.2 The town also says it became the first in Wisconsin to build a motorcycle recreation area with money from the Motorcycle Recreation Program, which the DNR operates.2

The register gives Tyler Bormann as the nominator and records the tower's registration on August 16, 2017.1 The sources read do not say who staffed the lookout, when it was last used as a lookout, or whether any fires were reported from it.

The sources disagree about who controls the mound. A rock-formation guide says the land is privately owned and not open to the public.3 The town describes the mound as lying inside its recreational area, which the town operates, and the register lists the DNR as administrator.1,2 The sources read do not settle the question, so check with the Town of Rome before going near the tower.

The Forest Fire Lookout Association lists the tower as standing.4 The town's page says the park opens at the beginning of April, weather permitting.2 The sources read do not say whether the cab is open to visitors, and the tower should not be climbed without permission.

  1. Dyracuse (Dorro Couche) Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/wi/dyracuse-dorro-couche-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Dyracuse, Town of Rome, https://romewi.gov/dyracuse/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Dyracuse Mound WI, Dorro Couche Mound, D'oro Couche, thelandman.net, https://thelandman.net/?view=article&id=914&catid=117 (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Wisconsin Lookouts (by County), Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/wi/wi-co/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Dyracuse (Dorro Couche) Lookout
Photo: Brian Ziegler, 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, 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
  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 -- central US (centraluslookouts.weebly.com) Gave us: links centraluslookouts.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. OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures Gave us: links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  5. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, agency, access, 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.