NEW YORK LOOKOUTS
DICKINSON HILL
Rensselaer County
April 5, 1924: "Grafton--New fire observation tower to be erected in this vicinity." (Rockland County Times)
1924: "The city of Troy subscribed $1,000 towards the expense of establishing a fire observation station on Dickinson Hill in the town of Grafton, Rensselaer county. This station was equipped with a sixty-foot tower erected this spring, and has been of great assistance in detecting fires in that part of the county. The city's interest in this station is that it covers the forested area on the city watershed, including hundreds of acres of plantations." (Conservation Commission Fourteenth Annual Report)
October 9, 1952: "Mrs. Helen Ellett of Grafton, N.Y., has a lonely vigil.
During seven months of the year, from early Spring until late Fall, the trim, blonde 38-year-old matron dons the olive green uniform of the New York Conservation Department and mans the Dickinson Hill fire tower located in the remote forest area near the Massachusetts state line.
During favorable weather, her husband commutes from the tower site to his job near Troy, about 30 miles distant, but there are many nights she must spend alone in her wilderness retreat. Her 16-year-old daughter, Connie, is her frequent companion when school is closed, but in Spring and Fall Mrs. Ellett's life is a lonely one.
The tower is linked with civilization only by a narrow twisting dirt road. During her long watch each year, Mrs. Ellett reports an average of 60 fires. She has been on the job ten years, and likes it. 'When the long winter is over, I just can't wait to return here to the tower and the quiet, pleasant life it represents for me,' says Mrs. Ellett." (The Brainerd Daily Dispatch) (Minnesota)
June 3, 1965: "Helen Ellett has resigned as forest fire observers at Dickinson Hill Fire Tower after years of service there." (The Troy Record)
1972: The lookout tower was decommissioned and the structures passed along to the State Police for use as a communications facility.
June 17, 2012: After several years of work, the tower was remodeled and re-opened to the public. In 2010 the lookout was acquired from the State Police, the Friends of Grafton Lakes State Park provided volunteers that spent many hours on the project. The tower will be a destination for hikers in the park.