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# Indiana Fire Towers (by Mark A)

Detailed subjective guide to Indiana fire towers

## Sitemaps

- [XML Sitemap](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website.

## Posts

- [Starting this site Jan 16 2024](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/2024/01/16/hello-world/) - Just getting started, not much here yet.

## Pages

- [Indiana Fire Towers](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/) - A detailed guide to the fire towers of Indiana Covering the 40+ fire tower (lookout tower) sites of Indiana, with photos, maps, and historical information Quick links January 2026: Teena Ligman's '2025 Indiana and Illinois Chapter Annual Report for the Forest Fire Lookout Association' is available online IN the Parks podcast episode about Indiana's fire
- [Brown County State Park trail maps](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/brown-county-sp-trailmaps/) - Bonus content: This page is not about fire towers. It's a collection of trail maps and other maps of Brown County State Park and Nashville. But the Weed Patch tower at BCSP shows up in most of these maps. Most of this content comes from Indiana State Library Digital Collections website here. Credit: Indiana Division,
- [Weed Patch](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/weedpatch/) - This page is about the Weed Patch fire tower in Brown County Indiana. There are maps, information, photos, and history of this tower. This tower stands today and can be climbed.
- [Winamac](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/winamac/) - Information Names: Winamac, Beard's Hill Location: Tippecanoe River State Park County: Pulaski (also in this county: Jasper-Pulaski) Topo quad: Winamac Condition: Standing, climbable, good shape, nice view. A Facebook post in May 2024 says that the tower is open dawn to dusk, except the colder months. A Facebook post after Thanksgiving in 2025 said the
- [Skyline](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/skyline/) - Information for Skyline tower Names: Skyline Location: Jackson-Washington State Forest, originally Jackson County State Forest or Jackson State Forest County: Jackson Topo quad: Vallonia Condition: Standing, climbable up into cab Subjective: Great tower. Good views in a couple directions but not all directions. The drive up to the tower is a little nerve-wracking because the
- [Hickory Ridge](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/hickory-ridge/) - Information Names: Hickory Ridge Location: Charles Deam Wilderness in Hoosier National Forest County: Monroe (there are 3 tower sites in Monroe County: Hickory Ridge, Mason Ridge, and Dutch Ridge) Topo quad: Elkinsville Condition: Standing, and climbable up into cab. As of my last visit in 2025, there is no gate or fence, so it is
- [Indiana Firetower History](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/history/) - This page contains some links and history of the fire towers and fire control in Indiana in general. It's a place for me to drop some images that apply to towers in general that don't fit into the specific tower pages. (This page isn't aiming for completeness.) Generally speaking, the history covers the overlapping areas
- [List of Indiana Fire Towers](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/list-of-indiana-fire-towers/) - This is my list of Indiana lookout tower site; other people have other lists. - Mark A. Here’s my list of 38+ Indiana tower sites, both standing and non-standing. They’re listed in a subjective order. Overview of my list of tower sites I start with the “easy” ones. The first 13 can be visited. There
- [Sources and Tools](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/sources-and-tools/) - Here are some of the sources of information and tools I have used to research Indiana fire towers. Maps with tower sites by county Posted sign at actual fire towers – the Colorful map (my page) Historical fire tower and fire distract maps – the Black and White Map (my page) US Forest Service website
- [Indiana State Fair](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/state-fair/) - Indiana had a (replica) fire lookout tower at the Indiana State Fair and fairgrounds for decades. In 2025, Indiana DNR posted a series of posts about DNR's history at the state fair as part of a 75th anniversary look back at history. Some of the facts on this page come from those posts. Outdoor Indiana
- [Black and White Maps](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/black-and-white-map/) - 1952 edition I refer to this as the black-and-white map. I've copied this from the Forest Service website's towers page. My understanding is that this is from 1952 when there were 32 towers. Some of the towers are marked as "FS" presumably meaning US Forest Service as opposed to state properties. Three towers in Martin
- [What about Illinois?](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/illinois/) - Although I was born and raised in Illinois, and live in Illinois, I've always been more interested in Indiana's lookout towers. But Illinois has towers and tower sites too! The majority of the Illinois tower sites are in the far southern part of the state, mostly in the Shawnee National Forest area. One old official
- [Henryville](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/henryville/) - Information Names: Henryville, (also possibly Grandview Tower for the early site) Location: Clark State Forest (once known as Clark County State Forest) County: Clark Topo quad: Henryville Condition: Standing; climbable generally but not currently. It has been under repair and closed to climbing in 2023 and 2024. Updates can be found on the forest webpage.
- [Crane (multiple towers)](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/crane/) - This page is about all the fire towers at Crane (unlike all my other pages which are about a single tower site.) Information Names: Indian Springs and Trinity Springs for one of the towers; no names for the other towers. Location: Crane US Naval Ammunition Depot County: Martin (aside from the Crane towers, Martin County
- [Bryantsville / Georgia](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/bryantsville/) - Information Names: Georgia, Bryantsville - both names are used Location: Hoosier National Forest property. West of Mitchell; south of Bryantsville; north of Georgia. County: Lawrence (This is the only tower on the normal maps in Lawrence County. Salt Creek might have been in this county also.) Topo quad: Georgia Condition: Not standing. The footers for
- [Ferdinand](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/ferdinand/) - Information about Ferdinand tower Names: Ferdinand Location: Ferdinand State Forest County: Dubois (the only tower in this county) Topo quad: Saint Anthony Condition: Standing; climbable up into the cab Maps of Ferdinand fire tower Above: Saint Anthony topo quad, 1955 Links Ferdinand State Forest trails map PDF Living New Deal page for Ferdinand State Forest
- [Cataract](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/cataract/) - Information Names: Cataract Location: Owen-Putnam State Forest, a 13-acre patch of state forest property on Cunot-Cataract Rd and by Ponderosa Rd, near Upper Cataract Falls County: Owen (McCormick's Creek is the other one in Owen County) Topo quad: Cataract Condition: Tower not standing; all four concrete bases still exist in 2024 (personally visited in April
- [West Fork](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/west-fork/) - Information Names: West Fork Location: Hoosier National Forest, Tell City district County: Crawford County; some online sources say Perry County but it's north of (current) Perry County. (Other tower in this county is Spears.) Topo quad: Branchville Condition: Not standing; it was removed. Maps of West Fork tower Above: Branchville topo quad, 1958 (West Fork
- [Spears](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/spears/) - Information Names: Spears, John Spears Location: Hoosier National Forest property; near what is now Patoka Lake County: Crawford (the other tower in this county is West Fork) Topo quad: Greenbrier Condition: Not standing; the tower was dismantled. Google Maps shows a communication tower on site. Maps of Spears tower Above: Greenbrier topo quad, 1956 Above:
- [Buzzard Roost](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/buzzard-roost/) - Information Names: Buzzard Roost, Buzzard's Roost, maybe also Buzzards Roost and Mount Pleasant Location: Hoosier National Forest, Tell City district County: Perry (other towers in this county: Marchand, German Ridge) Topo quad: Beechwood 1:24000 (and Alton 1:62500) Condition: Not standing. There is a weedy clearing on the north side of a road, at or very
- [Indiana Dunes](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/indiana-dunes/) - Information Names: Indiana Dunes Location: Indiana Dunes State Park, Mt. Jackson specifically County: Porter Topo quad: Chicago 1:250,000; Porter 1:62,500; Dune Acres 1:24000 Condition: Not standing; long gone Maps Very old Indiana Dunes State Park maps show the tower on the state park maps The Chicago 1:250,000 map from 1953 has a "Tower" in the
- [McCormick’s Creek](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/mccormicks-creek/) - Information Names: McCormick’s Creek, McCormick Location: McCormick’s Creek State Park County: Owen (the other tower site in Owen County is Cataract) Topo quad: Gosport Condition: Standing; refurbished; climbable up into the cab. Great tower to climb, but there isn't a lot of view because the trees block much of the view in most directions. There's
- [Salt Creek](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/salt-creek/) - Information Names: Salt Creek, maybe? Location: Southeast of Bloomington generally County: Lawrence (according to my topo find), but Monroe (according to Forest Service lookouts page) Topo quad: Bedford 1:62500 1937, Bedford 1:48000 1934 Condition: Not standing Maps of Salt Creek tower site Bedford 1:62500 topo quad, 1934 Notes about this mystery This one is a
- [Borden](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/borden/) - The Borden fire tower site is a historical non-standing tower in Clark County Indiana. This page provides maps and historical information about the Borden tower site.
- [Pleasantville](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/pleasantville/) - Information Names: Pleasantville Location: Greene-Sullivan State Forest County: Sullivan (the only tower in this county) Topo quad: Bucktown Condition: Not standing (I have not visited this site yet) Maps Above: Bucktown topo quad, 1957 Links History The Division of Conservation's annual report in 1940 stated: "At the Greene-Sullivan State Forest the WPA will construct a
- [Hickman Hill](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/hickman-hill/) - Information Names: Hickman Hill, Floyd County Lookout Tower, Floyd Lookout Tower Location: southwest of New Albany County: Floyd (the only tower in this county) Topo quad: Lanesville Condition: Not standing Maps of Hickman Hill tower Above: Hickman Hill lookout tower in Lanesville quad topo from 1951 Above: This county cultural map indicates that the tower
- [Lilly](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/lilly/) - The Lilly fire tower site in Brown County, Indiana is a standing fire tower that is on private property and cannot generally be climbed.
- [Hartwell](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/hartwell/) - Information Names: Hartwell Location: Pike State Forest (previously named Pike County State Forest) County: Pike Topo quad: Augusta Condition: Standing; it was in bad repair and not climbable when we visited it Maps Above: Augusta topo from 1961 Above: Pike State Forest map detail with tower in the middle Links about Hartwell tower National Historic
- [Ouabache](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/ouabache/) - Information Names: Ouabache Location: Ouabache State Park , previously known as Ouabache State Recreation Area, and before that the Wells County State Forest and Game Preserve County: Wells (the only one in this county) Topo quad: Linn Grove Condition: Standing, climbable, recently restored Maps of Ouabache tower Linn Grove topo quad, 1962 Links Living New
- [Lincoln](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/lincoln/) - Information about this tower site Names: Lincoln City, Lincoln, Lincoln Park Location: Lincoln State Park County: Spencer (the only tower in this county) Topo quad: Santa Claus Condition: Standing; climbable up into cab. Fun climb and great view. Maps of the Lincoln tower Above: Santa Claus topo quad, 1960, excerpt Links about the Lincoln tower
- [Wyandotte](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/wyandotte/) - Information Names: Wyandotte, O'Bannon Woods Location: O'Bannon Woods State Park (previously part of Harrison-Crawford State Forest) County: Harrison (the only tower in this county) Topo quad: Leavenworth Condition: Standing; climbable up into cab. Great climb, great view. Maps of Wyandotte tower Note that the current roads around the tower may be different than they were
- [Willow Valley](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/willow-valley/) - Information Names: Willow Valley Location: Martin State Forest (once named Martin County State Forest) County: Martin (other towers in Martin County are Shoals and the ones in Crane) Topo quad: Huron Condition: Standing; climbable up into the cab. It's not in the best shape, but the view is great. Maps of Willow Valley tower Above:
- [Mason Ridge](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/mason-ridge/) - Information about this tower site Names: Mason Ridge Location: Morgan-Monroe State Forest County: Monroe (there are 3 in Monroe County: Hickory Ridge, Mason Ridge, and Dutch Ridge) Topo quad: Hindustan Condition: Climbable up into cab. Gate around tower is locked most of time. Maps of Mason Ridge Above: Hindustan topo 1948, detail Above: Hindustan topo
- [Paoli](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/paoli/) - Information about Paoli tower site Names: Paoli, Valeene, Orange (?) Location: Seemingly just a place between two roads south of Paoli. May once have been an ‘experimental’ forest area. County: Orange (this is the only tower in Orange County that I can confirm) Topo quad: Valeene Condition: Not standing Maps Above: Valeene topo quad, 1950,
- [Colorful Map](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/colorful-map/) - I call this the colorful map, because it depicts the towers in red, blue, and green. One sees this map on physical signs near the bases of most of the standing fire towers in the state parks. This sign is a lot of what prompted me to start digging into this whole topic. I typically
- [NGS Info](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/ngs-info/) - About National Geodetic Survey is part of the federal government, currently part of the NOAA. They have the NGS Map mapping tool for searching for survey marks (or benchmarks) and seeing the related datasheets. The following is my own research for survey marks for Indiana lookout towers. In many cases there is a survey mark
- [Dutch Ridge](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/dutch-ridge/) - Information Names: Dutch Ridge Location: Hoosier National Forest property, Pleasant Run purchase unit. (Just west of Charles C. Deam Wilderness, but not in it.) Just off 446 southeast of Bloomington. County: Monroe (other tower sites in Monroe County are Hickory Ridge and Mason Ridge) Topo quad: Allens Creek Condition: Not standing; all four base corners
- [Versailles](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/versailles/) - Information Names: Versailles Location: Versailles State Park near Trail 1; before 1943 this was called Versailles Recreational Demonstration Area County: Ripley (the only one in this county) Topo quad: Milan Condition: Not standing; location is pretty clear within a few yards Maps Milan topo quad, 1946, showing the Fire Tower Part of Versailles State Park
- [Shoals](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/shoals/) - Information Names: Shoals, maybe also Lacy Location: South of Lacy. Possibly at one point in Martin County State Forest, and also in Hoosier National Forest property, Lost River Purchase Unit County: Martin (along with Willow Valley and the Crane towers) Topo quad: Shoals Condition: Not standing (drove close to it but did not look for
- [Five Points](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/five-points/) - Information Names: Five Points Location: on IN-7 northwest of Madison, IN County: Jefferson (the only tower site in this county) Topo quad: Volga Condition: Not standing. The footers still exist as of June 2024. Maps Above: Volga topo quad, 1956 Links National Geodetic Survey datasheet for mark CAMP (HZ2308) which is said to be about
- [Muscatatuck](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/muscatatuck/) - Information Names: Muscatatuck Location: Muscatatuck County Park. was Muscatatuck State Park, Vinegar Mill State Park, and other names since being founded as Indiana's fourth state park in 1921. County: Jennings (the only tower in Jennings County) Topo quad: Vernon Condition: Not standing Maps Vernon topo quad, 1959 Vernon topo quad, 1959, zoomed in Links Jennings
- [Marchand](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/marchand/) - Information Names: Marchand Location: Hoosier National Forest, Tell City district, near Mogan Ridge County: Perry (also in this county: Buzzard Roost, German Ridge) Topo quad: Derby Condition: Not standing. There is a communications/radio tower at this site now. One of the four old footers is visible next to the radio tower fence. Maps Above: Derby
- [German Ridge](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/german-ridge/) - Information Names: German Ridge Location: Hoosier National Forest County: Perry (also in this county: Marchand, Buzzard Roost) Topo quad: Rome Condition: Not standing. One of the tower base footers is visible in a parking lot at a trailhead in HNF in the German Ridge area. Maps Rome topo quad, 1953 Above: German Ridge section of
- [Wilbur](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/wilbur/) - Information Names: Wilbur Location: Not known to be associated with any state forest or park. County: Morgan Topo quad: Hall. (Section 35 of T13N R1W) Condition: Not standing Maps Hall topo quad, 1955 History Data
- [Cincinnati](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/cincinnati/) - Information Names: Cincinnati, Little Cincinnati Location: Private property; southwest of Bloomington Indiana. I'm not sure if it was ever part of a state forest or other state property. County: Greene (the only tower in this county) Topo quad: Stanford Condition: Standing but the cab is in horrible condition. Not climbable. Not on public land. (Based
- [Jasper-Pulaski](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/jasper-pulaski/) - The Jasper-Pulaski tower site is a past fire tower site in Indiana.
- [National Geographic HNF Maps](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/nat-geo-hnf-maps/) - National Geographic Maps Trails Illustrated series map 770 is the Hoosier National Forest. I have three editions of this. Over time, the tower sites have generally disappeared from this map series. 1997 Edition For starters, the 1997 edition is notable for the drawing of the Hickory Ridge tower on the cover. On one side is
- [Houston](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/houston/) - Information Names: Houston Location: Hoosier National Forest property, old Pleasant Run Purchase Unit County: Jackson Topo quad: Story Condition: Not standing; communication tower on site currently Maps Houston topo quad, 1956 Bloomington 1986 1:100000 quad, showing radio tower to west, lookout to east Houston tower on the alidade from Skyline; see the triangle in a
- [Salem](https://www.indianafiretowers.com/salem/) - Information Names: Salem, Washington County Location: Washington County northeast of Salem, not in a state park or state forest. Near, but not in, Jackson-Washington State Forest. County: Washington Topo quad: Little York Condition: Standing on private property, not accessible Note: Ron’s website has a newspaper quote indicating this was originally the Borden tower, moved here.

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