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Fire lookout · Greenbrier County, West Virginia

Rich Mountain Tower Site (Greenbrier County)

Also known as Rich Mountain

Gone Rich Mountain site in Greenbrier County, WV; only the FFLOS register and county list describe it. A Randolph County Rich Mountain tower moved to Snowshoe is a different site.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. The Forest Fire Lookout Association's county list marks it Tower Gone; no source describes what remains.

Visit & stay

Gone: site only. The lookout no longer stands, so there is nothing to climb or rent.

Access

Access unknown

We do not know the access rules. Check with the land manager before you go.

Road to the top?
Unknown

Facts

Status
Gone
Type
Cab on a tower
Built of
Not recorded
Built
Unknown
Height
Unknown
Elevation
3,817 ft (1,163 m)
Agency
West Virginia Division of Forestry
Land
Unknown
Location
Greenbrier County, West Virginia
Coordinates
38.01833, −80.67333
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wv-rich-mountain-greenbrier-county

View from the cab

What the lookout saw from its 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.

This lookout is gone. The view is reconstructed from its recorded site and a typical height for a lookout like it.

Downloads about 3.2 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. 2017 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered January 26, 2017, nominated by Brian M. Powell.Source: firetower.org
  2. Date unknown RemovedListed as Tower Gone on the county list. No year or method is given.Source: firelookout.org
  3. TodayGoneThe lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. 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 Rich Mountain tower site sits in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, at an elevation of 3,817 feet (1,163 meters).1 The register lists the West Virginia Division of Forestry as the administering agency.1 The Former Fire Lookout Sites register added it on January 26, 2017, on the nomination of Brian M. Powell.1

The tower is gone, according to the Forest Fire Lookout Association's county list.2

Do not mix this site up with another Rich Mountain. The tower at the Rich Mountain Battlefield trail near Beverly was taken apart and moved to Snowshoe Resort.3 It now sits at Snowshoe Mountain, a ski resort in private hands.4

No source we found describes what remains at the Greenbrier County site, or says whether it is open to the public. The register gives its coordinates as N 38.018333°, W 080.673333°.1

  1. Rich Mountain Tower Site (Greenbrier County), Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wv/rich-mountain-tower-site-greenbrier-county/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  2. West Virginia Fire Towers (by County), Forest Fire Lookout Association, https://firelookout.org/lookouts/us/wv/wv-co/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  3. Walking the Old Watch: Former Fire Tower Hikes in the Mon, Mon Forest Towns, https://monforesttowns.org/former-fire-tower-hikes/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  4. Snowshoe Fire Tower, National Historic Lookout Register, http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/wv/snowshoe-fire-tower/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩

Sources

  1. Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (FFLOS) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, register numbers, agency, dates, links Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.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, 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.