BIGELOW MOUNTAIN
Somerset County -Maine Forestry District
September 4, 1905: "The third observatory is on top of Mt. Bigelow in the Dead river section, and the chief fire warden of that district is Mr. E.P. Viles of Skowhegan. The Bigelow observer has had his experience in the last eight weeks in reporting several fires starting in his district, all of which have been speedily controlled." (Daily Kennebec Journal)
December 1905: "Some of the wild land owners who have heartily co-operated with the State Forestry Department have been instrumental this year in establishing three lookout telephone stations--one on the summit of Squaw Mountain, one on Mount Attean and one on Bigelow Mountain. These stations, with the aid of powerful glasses, have covered a wide range of vision, and the watchmen have thus been enabled to overlook a vast stretch of territory." (Forest Leaves)
August 1907: "The Mount Bigelow station controls a view of 200,000 acres of timber and farming land, and reported 11 fires in 1905." (Forest Leaves)
1917: "Ralph Wing, Dead River, Chief Warden, Kennebec Watershed: A steel tower 38 feet high has been erected on Mt. Bigelow." (Forest Protection and Conservation in Maine)
1920: Inventory shows a 16-foot steel tower.
December 23, 1925: "These towers are built to withstand a considerable sweep of wind and only one has previously blown over, that being the tower on Bigelow Mountain which was wrecked a few years ago." (Daily Kennebec Journal) (From a story about the Mt. Abraham tower being blown down)
July 8, 1949: "Aubrey Bishop, 40, of Madrid, fire warden at the lookout tower on Mt. Bigelow in the fire region died today of a heart attack. It was believed the attack was induced by his exertions in connection with the fires." (Portland Press Herald)
May 18, 1962: "Atop 4,000 foot plus Mount Bigelow the nine tons of material required for a new fire tower were airlifted from the Base. Sometimes the helicopter could make only a single trip each week due to fog, clouds and bad weather. But it was accomplished." (The Lewiston Daily Sun)
April 15, 2011: The lookout was burned by the Maine Department of Conservation, citing vandalism and other distractions as a reason for the removal.