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Fire lookout · Marinette County, Wisconsin

Pembine Lookout Tower

Wisconsin fire tower built at Pembine in 1933 or 1934; sold as surplus in 1990, moved to Paust's resort, now in Governor Thompson State Park; the Pembine site is listed as gone.

The lookout that stood here was moved. Now at Paust

Moved: The structure was moved. The map shows where it stands now; the timeline says where it came from. The original tower at Pembine is listed as gone; the same tower stands in Governor Thompson State Park as the Paust tower (FFLA, NHLR)

Visit & stay

Not rentable. As far as we know, this lookout cannot be booked for overnight stays.

Access

Open to the public. The Paust tower is listed in Governor Thompson State Park (NHLR). No source says whether the tower itself can be climbed or viewed up close.

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

Facts

Status
Moved
Type
Cab on a tower100-foot Aermotor tower (NHLR); wall material metal and International Stacey Company named in the architect field (Wisconsin Historical Society)The designs: Aermotor, Other steel maker
Built of
Not recorded
Built
1933
Height
100 ft (30.5 m)
Elevation
1,089 ft (332 m)
Agency
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (current administrator, per NHLR)
Land
Unknown
Location
Marinette County, Wisconsin
Coordinates
45.63292, −87.95457
Registers
Not on a lookout register
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 10 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wi-pembine

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.

The structure was moved. This view is from the position Firefinder shows for this record, at its recorded height.

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

  1. 1933 BuiltBuilt at its original location in T37N, R20E, Sec. 36 in November 1933 (Historical Society). The Register gives 1934 and credits the Civilian Conservation CorpsSources: wisconsinhistory.org, nhlr.org
  2. 1936 EventA November 12, 1936 newspaper item, quoted on the Faithorn page, reports a telephone line being run from the Wisconsin fire tower near Pembine to the Michigan tower at FaithornSource: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  3. No record between 1936 and 1990
  4. 1990 EventState declared the tower surplus and sold it to Dale PaustSources: nhlr.org, wisconsinhistory.org
  5. 1991 MovedMoved by Dale Paust to his Woods Lake resort, per the Historical Society; the Register says he moved and rebuilt it there without a dateSources: wisconsinhistory.org, nhlr.org
  6. 2000 EventState purchased the Paust Woods Lake Resort for a state parkSources: nhlr.org, en.wikipedia.org
  7. 2003 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered September 9, 2003 as US 107, WI 2Source: nhlr.org
  8. 2005 EventGovernor Thompson State Park opened, per WikipediaSource: en.wikipedia.org
  9. Date unknown MovedThe lookout was moved to Paust.Source: FFLA
  10. TodayMovedThe structure was moved. The map shows where it stands now; the timeline says where it came from. When it came down is not recorded.

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 10 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

The Pembine lookout was a 100-foot Aermotor tower that the state put up at Pembine, in Marinette County, Wisconsin.1,2 The sources do not agree on the year. The Wisconsin Historical Society gives November 1933 for the build at its original location, while the National Historic Lookout Register says the Civilian Conservation Corps built it in 1934.2,1 Only the Register names the CCC.1 The Historical Society lists the wall material as metal and names the International Stacey Company in its architect field.2

The sources read name no lookouts who worked the tower. The Historical Society says it was an active lookout until the 1980s, and the Register says it served until that decade.2,1 A November 12, 1936 newspaper item, quoted on a Michigan lookout page, says a phone line was under construction between the Wisconsin tower near Pembine and the Michigan tower at Faithorn, roughly 11 miles apart.3

In 1990 the state sold the tower to Dale Paust after declaring it surplus.1,2 The Historical Society dates his move to the tower's new location to 1991.2 The Register says he moved and rebuilt it at Paust's Woods Lake Resort, without giving a date.1 The state bought that resort in 2000 for a state park.1 Wikipedia says the park's core land was the former Paust Woods Lake Resort, and that the park opened in 2005.4

The Register places the tower in Governor Thompson State Park, Marinette County, and gives its registration as US 107, WI 2 on September 9, 2003.1 The Forest Fire Lookout Association lists the Paust tower as standing, and lists the original Pembine tower as gone.5 No source read describes what, if anything, remains at the original Pembine site. No source read says whether the tower can be climbed or viewed up close, so ask the park before planning a visit.5,1

  1. Paust Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/wi/paust-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  2. PAUST LN (Pembine/Paust Tower), Wisconsin Historical Society, https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/record/property/HI234017/paust-ln (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  3. Faithorn, Eastern US Lookouts, https://easternuslookouts.weebly.com/faithorn.html (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  4. Governor Thompson State Park, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor_Thompson_State_Park (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  5. Wisconsin Lookouts (by county), Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/wi/wi-co/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩

Sources

  1. Forest Fire Lookout Association (FFLA) - US lookout lists Gave us: name, location, county, type, status, links Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  2. OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures Gave us: elevation, links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  3. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, status, 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.