NORTH CAROLINA LOOKOUTS
MOUNT MITCHELL
Yancey County
Pisgah National Forest > Mount Mitchell State Park
Pisgah National Forest > Mount Mitchell State Park
August 12, 1922: "A party representing the North Carolina geological and economic survey and the United States forestry service and others interested, will go to Mt. Mitchell next Tuesday for the purpose of formulating plans looking to the ultimate construction of an inn and a hotel upon Mt. Mitchell, the continuation of the present motor road from Campalice to the flats, just north of the very mountain peak and the construction of a more permanent lookout tower." (Hickory Daily Record)
1923-24: "Agreement has been made with the National Forest Service for cooperation in bearing the cost, and contract entered into with the manufacturer, for the erection of a steel lookout tower carrying a watchman's cottage and observation platform thirty feet above the summit, to replace the sixteen-foot wooden tower.. This will be occupied during the fire seasons in spring and fall by a watchman of the National Forest Service, equipped with proper instruments for observing and locating forest fires. Telephone connection will be provided over the present line to points in the Tow River Valley and to Marion, and later it is planned to connect direct with Asheville by way of Cane River Valley and Barnardsville.
There is great need of a new warden's cabin, roomy enough to provide shelter for campers and visitors from sudden storms; the present cabin has reached a state of decay which makes its repair inadvisable. The new cabin should not occupy the site of the present one, which spoils one of the most attractive natural features of the summit, the long used 'Campers' Cave'." (Biennial Report of the State Geologist and Director 1923-24)
January 27, 1925: "The lookout tower on Mount Mitchell, erected of steel by the State at a cost of several thousand dollars, was blown down by heavy winds last Tuesday and is now a twisted mass of steel girders, according to persons who have visited the mountain. The tower was 35 feet high and was erected at the crest of the famous mountain peak.
Dudley Clark, Alfred Miller and Paul Baker, Ashville youths, hiked to the summit of Mitchell Friday, returning Saturday and reported the fall of the tower.
The youths also declared that the top of the mountain is covered with ice and snow and real winter weather prevails.
It has not been announced as to whether the State will rebuild the tower which is on property owned as a State park." (Asheville Citizen-Times)
1925: "During the fall of 1925 a steel tower was erected on the summit of Mt. Mitchell, which is the central peak of the park, but before it was entirely finished a heavy sleet storm coupled with defective construction caused its collapse in January, 1925. Since this was to be used as a lookout tower to assist in the location of fires in the district the cooperative forest protection fund had been drawn upon for its construction and therefore stood its share of the loss. Through the generosity of Col. C.J. Harris, of Hillsboro, a rough stone tower has been promised to replace the steel structure, and steps have already been taken to complete the building during the summer of 1926." (Department of Conservation and Development of North Carolina - Biennial Report 1925-26)
July 1927: "A stone lookout tower on the summit of Mount Mitchell, N.C., was opened on June 17 and dedicated as a memorial to Dr. Elisha Mitchell. Doctor Mitchell was the first man to determine the peak's altitude. He lost his life, in 1857, in an attempt to descend it alone, and his grave is at the spot where the tower has been erected. The tower is a gift to the State from Col. Charles J. Harris, of Dillsboro, N.C.
Mount Mitchell, with its altitude of 6,711 feet, is the highest peak east east of the Great Plains. Its summit is included in the Mount Mitchell State Park, consisting of 1,224 acres, and is surrounded by lands of the Pisgah National Forest. The new tower, which is about 35 feet high, will serve both as an observation point for tourists and as an outlook for the detection and reporting of forest fires. It is being used by both the United States Forest Service and the North Carolina Department of Conservation and Development." (The Forest Worker)