FirefinderFire lookouts of the US

Fire lookout · Hampshire County, West Virginia

Ben's Knob Fire Tower

Aermotor LS-40 60-foot tower dated circa 1952-53 in Hampshire County, WV; disposed of by the state by 2017, now on private land, visits by landowner permission.

Permission required

You need permission from the tribe or landowner before visiting. Access by permission of the landowner, per the NHLR page.

Visit & stay

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

Access

Permission required. See the warning at the top of this page.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Unknown
Staffing
Unknown (as of 2022)

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a towerAermotor LS-40 7x7 all-steel cab on a 60-foot towerThe design: Aermotor LS-40
Built of
SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1952
Height
60 ft (18.3 m)
Elevation
2,028 ft (618 m)
Agency
Private landowner (disposed of by the WV Division of Forestry by 2017)
Land
Unknown
Location
Hampshire County, West Virginia
Coordinates
39.25773, −78.52593
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wv-bens-knob

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 3.0 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. 1916 EventVisitor comment says the site has been used for fire observation since 1916Source: nhlr.org
  2. No record between 1916 and 1952
  3. 1952 BuiltRegister gives circa 1952-53; a visitor comment says the current tower was built in 1952Source: nhlr.org
  4. No record between 1952 and 2017
  5. 2017 EventDisposed of from the WV Division of Forestry inventory by 2017; now on private landSource: nhlr.org
  6. 2022 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered October 16, 2022Source: nhlr.org
  7. 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.

Ben's Knob sits in Hampshire County, West Virginia, and the Register gives the site an elevation of 2,028 feet.1 A visitor's comment on the Register's page says the knob has been used for fire observation since 1916, and that the current 60-foot tower and its ground cabin were built in 1952.1 The Register's own description is less precise, dating the tower to circa 1952-53.1 It is an Aermotor LS-40 with an all-steel cab.1

The West Virginia Division of Forestry held the tower until it was disposed of from the Division's inventory, a step the Register places by 2017.1 The Register does not know when the tower was last staffed.1 It now stands on private land, and a residence cabin may also still be on the same property.1

The tower still stands. A visitor describes the boards as still intact and some glass left in the cab. The same visitor says pine trees now mostly surround the tower, though the views still open out in every direction.1 The Forest Fire Lookout Association's West Virginia list also marks the site as a standing tower.2

The Register says visits need the landowner's permission, so anyone interested should ask first.1 The Register added the tower to its listings on October 16, 2022.1

  1. Ben's Knob Fire Tower, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/wv/bens-knob-fire-tower/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. West Virginia Fire Towers, Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/wv/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

Ben's Knob Fire Tower - 2022
Ben's Knob Fire Tower - 2022 (2022)Photo: Rocco Germani, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
June 2023 photo
June 2023 photo (2023)Photo: Rocco Germani, 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. 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

Firefinder takes facts (places, dates, numbers) from these sources and writes its own words. See all sources and licences.