LEE
Midland County - State Department of Conservation
March 2, 1934: "As the result of a gift from the University of Michigan, a 150 foot fire tower, one of the tallest in the state, is to be erected in the Porter township oil field of Midland county as an increased protection against the menace of forest fires.
Porter township is largely an area of brush and cut over land in which a grave fire hazard exists during the period from April to November, jeopardizing not only private property, but operations of drillers as well.
The gift from the university was in the form of a 253 foot Insley steel builders tower, which was erected at a cost of $3,000 and weighs 17 1/2 tons. It was used in experiments on wind structures.
When dismantled, a sufficient portion to erect the new 150 foot structure in Midland county will be set aside and the remaining section raised at a site which will be determined later." (Lansing State Journal)
Porter township is largely an area of brush and cut over land in which a grave fire hazard exists during the period from April to November, jeopardizing not only private property, but operations of drillers as well.
The gift from the university was in the form of a 253 foot Insley steel builders tower, which was erected at a cost of $3,000 and weighs 17 1/2 tons. It was used in experiments on wind structures.
When dismantled, a sufficient portion to erect the new 150 foot structure in Midland county will be set aside and the remaining section raised at a site which will be determined later." (Lansing State Journal)
August 17, 1934: "Michigan's tallest fire tower is being erected in Lee township, Midland county, west on M10. The tower is 157 feet high, built of solid steel with 16 tie wires." (Clare Sentinel)
September 7, 1934: "Michigan's tallest fire tower--tall as a 13-story building--is nearing completion.
It rises to a height of 157 feet in Lee township, Midland county, seven and a half miles west of the City of Midland, according to the Department of Conservation.
The site selected affords visibility over the entire Midland oil field area. The new tower is half again as tall as the state's standard towers of the staggered ladder type, which are 100 feet high. (The Ironwood Times)
1933-34: "The highest tower in the state is the new Lee Tower, located in the high hazard area of the oil fields in Midland county. It is a steel, builders tower and rises perpendicularly to a height of 157 feet. The Porter oil field in which there is a great concentration of oil wells lies directly south and east of the tower." (Seventh Biennial Report, The Department of Conservation)