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Fire lookout · Webster County, West Virginia

Point Mountain Fire Tower

Also known as Potato Hill Tower Site, Point Mountain (Potato Knob), Point Mountain (Potato Hill)

Point Mountain (Potato Knob) fire tower above Webster Springs, Webster County, West Virginia; built 1925 or 1927 (sources differ), 100 ft after 1965; standing, not regularly staffed.

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 sources disagree
Type
Cab on a towerAermotor LS-40 tower with a 7 by 7 foot cab, 60 feet originally and extended by 40 feet in 1965; concrete block observer's cabin added near the base in 1952The design: Aermotor LS-40
Built of
SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1925
Height
100 ft (30.5 m)
Elevation
3,364 ft (1,025 m)
Agency
West Virginia Division of Forestry
Land
Unknown
Location
Webster County, West Virginia
Coordinates
38.52572, −80.29924
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wv-point-mountain

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.

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Or see what it could see on the map: the ground in its line of sight.

History

Then and now

  1. 1913 EventState spent $81 on a contract to establish a lookout structure (WV Forest, Game and Fish Warden Biennial Report 1913-14, as quoted by Forest Lookouts)Source: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1916 First staffedWatchman posted at the station, living 12 miles away and staying there each night; seven miles of telephone line built to the stationSource: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1925 BuiltRegister: built by the West Virginia Conservation Commission as a 60-foot Aermotor LS-40 towerSource: nhlr.org
  4. 1927 EventA 1973 Charleston Gazette article, as quoted by Forest Lookouts, says the tower was originally built to 60 feet in 1927. Conflicts with the Register's 1925.Source: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  5. No record between 1927 and 1952
  6. 1952 AlteredConcrete block observer's cabin added near the baseSource: nhlr.org
  7. 1963 StaffedBlind observer E.D. Harrison relayed fire reports during deer season; a helper spotted smoke for him (Post Herald-Register, as quoted by Forest Lookouts)Source: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  8. 1965 Altered40-foot section added, bringing the tower to 100 feetSources: nhlr.org, easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  9. No record between 1965 and 1998
  10. 1998 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered September 10, 1998; nominated by Ralph P. Glover, Jr., Deputy State ForesterSource: nhlr.org
  11. No record between 1998 and 2017
  12. 2017 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterDate registered per FFLOS detail page: January 26, 2017Source: FFLOS register entry
  13. 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 8 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

The Point Mountain tower overlooks the Webster Springs area in Webster County, West Virginia, on a summit that is commonly known as Potato Knob.1,2 A 1913 state report records $81 spent on a contract to set up a lookout structure there.1 By 1916 a watchman was posted at the station, living twelve miles away and staying there each night, and seven miles of telephone line had been built to it.1

The Register dates the tower to 1925, when the West Virginia Conservation Commission built a 60-foot Aermotor tower, and it says a concrete block observer's cabin was added in 1952.2 A 1973 Charleston Gazette article, quoted by Forest Lookouts, says the tower was originally built to 60 feet in 1927, so the build year is disputed.1 The 40-foot extension came in 1965, bringing the tower to 100 feet.2 The elevations also differ: the Register gives 3,364 feet, and the 1973 article gives 3,500.2,1

In 1963 a blind observer, E.D. Harrison, relayed fire traffic during deer season, both for other towers in the area and for his own reports.1 A helper with no earlier fire-tower experience spotted smoke for him, according to a Post Herald-Register story quoted by Forest Lookouts.1

The Register says the tower is no longer manned on a regular basis but is kept up for emergencies, and it lists the West Virginia Division of Forestry as administrator.2 The tower was registered on September 10, 1998, on the nomination of Ralph P. Glover, Jr., Deputy State Forester.2 A West Virginia lookout list shows the tower as standing.3

The Register page links to a 2015 video of a climb.2 None of the sources read says whether the tower is open to visitors now. A separate Potato Hill tower site in the Former Fire Lookout Sites register has an unknown location within Webster County, so that listing may not describe this tower.4 Check with the state Division of Forestry before any visit, and do not climb a tower that is closed.

  1. Point Mountain (Potato Hill), Forest Lookouts (easternuslookouts.weebly.com), https://easternuslookouts.weebly.com/point-mountain.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Point Mountain Fire Tower, National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org), http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/wv/point-mountain-fire-tower/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. West Virginia lookouts list, Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org), https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/wv/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  4. Potato Hill Tower Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org), http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wv/potato-hill-tower-site/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Point Mountain Fire Tower
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
View photo at firetower.org
Photo: Ron Stafford, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source

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Where sources disagree

We show disagreements between sources instead of quietly picking one. If you know which is right, please tell us.

  • Sources disagree on whether it still stands.

    • FFLA: Standing
    • NHLR: Standing
    • FFLOS: Gone

    NHLR lists lookouts that were standing when registered.

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. Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (FFLOS) Gave us: register numbers, dates, photos, links Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved (American Resources, Inc.); facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  3. 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
  4. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- eastern US (easternuslookouts.weebly.com) Gave us: height, links easternuslookouts.weebly.com · No licence stated; facts only (county, coordinates where the page's own map widget gives them, status, height, design hints, register links). The site's own historical quotes, newspaper citations and narrative are not reproduced. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  5. 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

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