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Fire lookout · Raleigh County, West Virginia

Round Knob Tower Site

Raleigh County, WV state fire tower built 1928 (60 ft, not the 75 ft planned); removed in the 1980s; no source found describing the site today.

Gone: The lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left. Removed in the 1980s per the register, which gives no exact year; no source found describing the site today

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 tower60-foot steel Aermotor tower with a 7'x7' cabThe design: Aermotor
Built of
Steel
Built
1928
Height
60 ft (18.3 m)
Elevation
2,730 ft (832 m)
Agency
West Virginia Division of Forestry
Land
Unknown
Location
Raleigh County, West Virginia
Coordinates
37.75655, −81.06510
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 9 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-wv-round-knob

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 its recorded height.

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. 1928 BuiltBuilt 1928 by the five men the register names; 1928 newspaper notice announced a planned 75-foot tower, but the register and a 1962 article describe 60 feetSources: firetower.org, easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1937 EventA crew of 16 men was set to begin a telephone line from the tower to Freezeland MountainSource: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  3. No record between 1937 and 1962
  4. 1962 StaffedObserver Ray Redden of Crow; visitors welcome under the observer's supervision during fire seasonsSource: easternuslookouts.weebly.com
  5. No record between 1962 and 1980
  6. 1980 Removed'Removed' field on FFLOS detail page: "1980s" (about 1980).Source: FFLOS register entry
  7. No record between 1980 and 2016
  8. 2016 Added to the Former Fire Lookout Sites RegisterRegistered July 19, 2016; nominated by Ronnie ScarbroSource: firetower.org
  9. TodayGoneThe lookout no longer stands. Only the site is left.

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.

Round Knob's fire tower went up in 1928 on a knob in Raleigh County, West Virginia, near the head of the Little Beaver River.1,2 The register credits five men by name with the build: Pop Wriston, J.J. Goulden, John Hammond, Pat Kirk, and Wint Lilly.1

Sources disagree on the height and the agency. An August 1928 newspaper notice, quoted on the Forest Lookouts page, announced a planned 75-foot steel tower and credited the state game and fish commission.2 The register describes a 60-foot steel Aermotor tower with a 7-by-7-foot cab, and a 1962 newspaper piece also gives 60 feet.1,2 The Forest Lookouts page lists the West Virginia Division of Forestry as the agency.2

In 1937 a crew of 16 men was set to begin a telephone line from the tower to Freezeland Mountain.2 By 1962 the observer was Ray Redden of Crow. Visitors were allowed at the tower with the observer present, during the March-to-May and October-to-December fire seasons.2

The register says the tower was removed in the 1980s and gives no exact year.1 The site was registered on July 19, 2016, on the nomination of Ronnie Scarbro.1

No source we read describes what, if anything, remains at the Round Knob site today, or whether the public can reach it.

  1. Round Knob Tower Site, Former Fire Lookout Sites, http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/wv/round-knob-tower-site/ (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩
  2. Round knob, Forest Lookouts, https://easternuslookouts.weebly.com/round-knob.html (accessed 2026-10-10). ↩

Photos

Round Knob Fire Tower
Round Knob Fire TowerPhoto: Raleigh Register newspaper, via Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (firetower.org) · All rights reserved · source

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Sources

  1. Former Fire Lookout Sites Register (FFLOS) Gave us: name, location, county, elevation, what it is built of, 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
  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. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- eastern US (easternuslookouts.weebly.com) Gave us: height, agency, 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
  4. 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.