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Fire lookout · Pocahontas County, West Virginia

Gauley Mountain Tower Site (now at Cass Scenic RR)

Also known as Whittaker Station Fire Tower, Cass Scenic RR

Blaw-Knox lookout from Gauley Mountain (Fayette Co.), moved in October 2009 to Whittaker Station, Cass Scenic RR State Park, where it stands; the 2009 'built' date is the move.

Original site: Gauley Mountain Tower Site

Visit & stay

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

Access

Open to the public. Inside Cass Scenic Railroad State Park and accessible by train from Cass per NHLR; whether visitors may climb it is not stated

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Unknown
Trail
Reached by train from Cass, per the NHLR description; no climbing information found
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a towerBlaw-Knox towerThe design: Blaw-Knox
Built of
SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
2009
Height
Unknown
Elevation
3,272 ft (997 m)
Agency
West Virginia Division of Natural Resources
Land
Unknown
Location
Pocahontas County, West Virginia
Coordinates
38.40632, −79.94783
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wv-gauley-mountain-tower-site-at-cass-scenic-rr

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 3.1 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. 1926 EventCharleston Gazette item: Gauley Mountain tower had telephone connection to a coal company at Ansted; tower already in use; erection date not foundSource: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1928 AlteredTower completely renovated: new roof, windows, observation-room floor, paintSource: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1928 StaffedJ.M. Hammond of Ansted appointed section ranger with headquarters at the towerSource: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  4. No record between 1928 and 2009
  5. 2009 Built'Built' field on NHLR detail pageSource: NHLR register entry
  6. 2009 MovedMoved from Gauley Mountain (Fayette County) to Whittaker Station, Cass Scenic RR State Park; Blaw-Knox tower installed there October 28, 2009Sources: nhlr.org, firetower.org, easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  7. 2009 RemovedFayette County Gauley Mountain site listed as removed in 2009Source: firetower.org
  8. 2017 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterGauley Mountain Tower Site registered January 26, 2017 as US 1659, WV 50; nominated by Brian PowellSource: firetower.org
  9. 2017 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered January 26, 2017 as US 1176, WV 21; nominated by Brian M. PowellSource: nhlr.org
  10. Date unknown MovedMoved from Gauley Mountain to Cass Scenic RR.Source: FFLA
  11. 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.

Its first site was Gauley Mountain in Fayette County, West Virginia.1 A Charleston Gazette item from October 1926, quoted by the Forest Lookouts site, describes a telephone link from the tower to a coal company at Ansted, so the tower was already in use by then.2 We found no date for its first erection. The Forest Lookouts page lists the West Virginia Division of Forestry as its agency.2

In August 1928 the Charleston Daily Mail reported that J.M. Hammond, of Ansted, had been named section ranger with headquarters at the tower. The same item also reported a full renovation covering the roof, the windows, the observation-room floor and the paint.2 We found no record of particular fires it watched.

The National Historic Lookout Register gives 2009 as the tower's build year, yet its own description says the tower was moved to Cass that October.3 The 1926 and 1928 items show the tower already in use well before then, so the 2009 date seems to mark the move and re-erection, not the original build.3,2

The Fayette site is listed as removed in 2009.1 The Forest Lookouts page dates the Blaw-Knox tower's installation at Cass Scenic Railroad State Park to October 28, 2009, and describes it as meant more to be looked at than looked from.2

Today the Register places the tower at Whittaker Station in Cass Scenic Railroad State Park, Pocahontas County, and says the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources administers it.3 The Forest Fire Lookout Association lists it as standing.4 It joins a collection of exhibits on West Virginia forestry, and the Register says it is accessible by train from Cass.3 The sources do not say whether visitors may climb it, so check with the park before planning to.

  1. Gauley Mountain Tower Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://www.firetower.org/lookouts/us/wv/gauley-mountain-tower-site/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  2. Gauley Mountain, Forest Lookouts, https://easternuslookouts.weebly.com/gauley-mountain.html (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  3. Whittaker Station Fire Tower, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/wv/whittaker-station-fire-tower/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩
  4. West Virginia Lookouts, Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/wv/ (accessed 2026-10-09). ↩

Photos

July 2010 photo
July 2010 photo (2010)Photo: Brian M. Powell, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
July 2010 photo
July 2010 photo (2010)Photo: Brian M. Powell, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Tower being relocated
Tower being relocatedPhoto: Andy FitzGibbon, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Gauley Mountain Tower Site (now at Cass Scenic RR)
Photo: Andy FitzGibbon, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Tower restoration in October 2009
Tower restoration in October 2009 (2009)Photo: Andy FitzGibbon, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Tower restoration in October 2009
Tower restoration in October 2009 (2009)Photo: Andy FitzGibbon, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Tower restoration in October 2009
Tower restoration in October 2009 (2009)Photo: Andy FitzGibbon, 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: 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: name, type, status, register numbers, dates, 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, status, agency, access, 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.