FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Jackson County, Wisconsin

Oak Ridge Lookout

Jackson County tower near Millston; NHLR describes a 100-foot Aermotor built in the late 1930s and staffed until 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
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a tower100-foot tower manufactured by the Aermotor Company, with an internal corner leg ladderThe design: Aermotor
Built of
SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
Unknown
Height
100 ft (30.5 m)
Elevation
1,276 ft (389 m)
Agency
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Land
Unknown
Location
Jackson County, Wisconsin
Coordinates
44.21376, −90.72255
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wi-oak-ridge

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 3.6 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. 2015 Last staffedIntermittent spring-season staffing ended when Wisconsin decommissioned its lookout networkSource: nhlr.org
  2. 2018 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered January 29, 2018 as US 1266, WI 47Source: nhlr.org
  3. 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.

Oak Ridge Lookout stands in Jackson County, Wisconsin, on a ridge near Millston.1,2 The National Historic Lookout Register says it was built in the late 1930s as a 100-foot tower made by the Aermotor Company, with an internal corner leg ladder.2

The Register says the tower was manned irregularly during spring fire season until 2015, when the state shut its lookout network down, and it names one earlier observer, Russell Young.2 The DNR said it would stop using its towers because it did not consider them a safe or necessary tool for spotting wildfires.3 Its forest bureau director told Wisconsin Public Radio that the towers had been manned for just 17 days the previous year.3

The Forest Fire Lookout Association's Wisconsin list shows the tower as standing.1 The Register lists it as US 1266, WI 47, registered January 29, 2018.2 The DNR sought new owners for its decommissioned towers.4 Towers were generally offered at public auction twice, and unsold ones were to be torn down.4,5

The sources we read do not say who owns the Oak Ridge tower now, whether it has been sold, or whether the public may visit or climb it. We found no rental listing for it. Check the owner and the access rules before going, and do not climb the tower without permission.

  1. Wisconsin Lookouts, Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org), https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/wi/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Oak Ridge Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org), http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/wi/oak-ridge-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. DNR Officials Will No Longer Use Fire Lookout Towers, Wisconsin Public Radio (wpr.org), https://www.wpr.org/history/conflicts-disasters/dnr-officials-will-no-longer-use-fire-lookout-towers (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. DNR Decommissioning All Wisconsin Fire Towers, Door County Pulse (doorcountypulse.com), https://doorcountypulse.com/dnr-decommissioning-wisconsin-fire-towers/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  5. 2021 Wisconsin FFLA Chapter Report, Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org), https://firelookout.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cr-wi-2021.pdf (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Photo of Oak Ridge Lookout
Photo: Brian Ziegler, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
1937 view east from Oak Ridge Lookout
1937 view east from Oak Ridge Lookout (1937)Photo: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source

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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. 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, 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

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