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Fire lookout · Ashland County, Wisconsin

Marengo Lookout

Third Marengo tower, a 100-foot stair-type built 1987 in Ashland County; preceded by a 1939 tower destroyed in 1941; state network decommissioned 2015; listed as standing.

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.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
A visitor report on the NHLR page says the road is heavily rutted on a small stretch. No public access level is established in the sources read.
Staffing
Not staffed (as of 2015)

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a tower100-foot stair-type tower, likely an Aermotor MC-39 (present tower, erected 1987)The design: Aermotor MC-39
Built of
Not recorded
Built
1939
Height
100 ft (30.5 m)
Elevation
1,420 ft (433 m)
Agency
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Land
Unknown
Location
Ashland County, Wisconsin
Coordinates
46.36799, −90.80736
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wi-marengo

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 3.8 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. 1939 BuiltFirst 100-foot Wisconsin Standard tower on the point, per NHLRSource: nhlr.org
  2. 1941 DestroyedDestroyed in a fall windstorm, September 1941, per NHLRSource: nhlr.org
  3. 1949 Replaced by a new structureReplacement 65-foot steel tower with enclosed cab; NHLR says the mountain 'presumably' stood vacant until approximately 1949, when photographs show a replacementSource: nhlr.org
  4. No record between 1949 and 1987
  5. 1987 BuiltPresent 100-foot stair-type tower erected, likely an Aermotor MC-39; the 65-foot tower had served until the late 1980sSource: nhlr.org
  6. No record between 1987 and 2015
  7. 2015 Last staffedSaw active service until 2015, when Wisconsin decommissioned its lookout network; WJFW says the 72 towers still in use were decommissioned that yearSources: nhlr.org, wjfw.com
  8. 2018 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered April 3, 2018; NHLR US 1271, WI 52Source: nhlr.org
  9. 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 9 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

The Marengo Lookout stands in Ashland County, Wisconsin, on National Forest System land in the Penokee Mountains, at an elevation of 1,420 feet (433 m).1 The register says no fewer than three towers have stood on that point.1

The first was a 100-foot Wisconsin standard tower, built in 1939 and destroyed in September 1941 by a fall windstorm.1 The register says the steel legs were broken away from their footings in the wreckage.1 Photographs suggest a replacement stood by about 1949. Citing Geodetic Survey notes, the register describes it as a 65-foot steel tower with an enclosed cab.1 That tower served until the late 1980s, when a local resident told the register that vegetation had grown too tall for it.1

The present 100-foot stair-type tower went up in 1987, probably an Aermotor MC-39.1 The register suggests it was likely surplus from elsewhere in the state, taken down and rebuilt here to replace the shorter tower, though it does not confirm this. A visitor's comment on the page says it may have come from Park Falls, and I found no other source for that.1

The register says the tower was owned and operated by the state, and that it saw active service until 2015, when Wisconsin decommissioned its lookout network.1 A WJFW feature says that year the 72 towers still in use were decommissioned.2 I found no source recording anyone staffing it after that.

The Forest Fire Lookout Association lists the tower as standing.3 A visitor report on the register says the road is heavily rutted on a small stretch.1 I found no source on whether the public may visit or climb the tower, so check with the DNR or the forest before going.

  1. Marengo Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/wi/marengo-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Connecting the dots: the fire towers of Wisconsin, WJFW, https://www.wjfw.com/news/connecting-the-dots-the-fire-towers-of-wisconsin/article_fd447056-4b4e-11ed-b245-cf384385e71f.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Wisconsin Lookouts, Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/wi/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

May 2005 photo
May 2005 photo (2005)Photo: U.S. Forest Service, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Original tower damaged by 1941 windstorm
Original tower damaged by 1941 windstorm (1941)Photo: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Original tower damaged by 1941 windstorm
Original tower damaged by 1941 windstorm (1941)Photo: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
1949 view looking west
1949 view looking west (1949)Photo: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Indication tower was removed from Park Falls?
Indication tower was removed from Park Falls?Photo: Jacob Hufnagle, 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, 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. 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, height, status, agency, 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.