MASSACHUSETTS LOOKOUTS
ROBBIN HILL (CHELMSFORD)
Middlesex County
1917: "We have recently arranged for the purchase of a site on Robbins Hill, Chelmsford, where we have maintained a small windmill type of tower for the past five years. This tower has proved very unsatisfactory both in design and elevation, and as soon as negotiations for the acquisition of land are completed, and sufficient funds have been contributed by the surrounding towns, we shall proceed with the erection of a large 75-foot tower to replace the one now in use. In spite of the defects mentioned above, this station has proved a valuable one, and with a standard tower giving 40 feet additional elevation it should become one of the best in the State." (Public Document - No. 73, The State Forester Report of 1917)
1918: "For the past six years the State has maintained a forest fire tower on Robbins Hill, Chelmsford. This was a small windmill type of tower with a ladder. It has been known for some time that a much higher and heavier tower was needed at this point, in order to cover the forested area to better advantage, and last winter we asked the towns of Chelmsford, Westford, Tyngsborough, Dunstable, Dracut, Tewksbury, Billerica, Carlisle and Littleton to raise at their annual town meetings from $100 to $300 each for the purchase of a suitable tower with stairs at this point. This request was received very favorably by each town and $1,750 was raised. We therefore purchased the summit of Robbins Hill and erected a 75-foot tower, with a 10 by 10 foot room at the top, equipped with stairs. This tower was completed September 1." (Public Document - No. 73, The State Forester Report of 1918)
September 21, 1938: The lookout was destroyed in the Great New England Hurricane of 1938.
1939: A 68-foot steel tower with a 10x10 cab was constructed to replace to structure blown over the previous fall.
1939: A 68-foot steel tower with a 10x10 cab was constructed to replace to structure blown over the previous fall.