SKYLINE (MILLER)
Indiana - Jackson County - Jackson County State Forest - Indiana Department of Natural Resources
September 30, 1931: "A temporary fire tower is being erected on the Jackson county State Forest at the present time. It will be completed by Friday evening of this week and a patrolman will be on duty at this tower throughout the fire season this fall. A telephone line will be built to the tower next week. Work on a permanent 90 foot tower will start within a month. It is necessary to wait for cooler weather before sawing the trees to be used in this permanent tower. Trees for the construction of the permanent tower will be cut on a part of the State Forest." (Jackson County Banner)
November 11, 1931: "Work on a mile of roadway which will give access to the Jackson County State Forest and enable visitors to drive within about a half mile of the temporary fire tower was started Monday morning, according to an announcement of E.C. Swain, district forester.
Through the courtesy of Wm. Brandt, county highway superintendent, a county road grader was loaned to the forestry division and this was used to make a grade and road bed for the road. Red creek gravel will be used to surface the road and will be secured from the creek bottoms on what is known as the Adam Heller homestead which is now included in the forestry." (Jackson County Banner)
July 20, 1932: "A survey to determine a definite location for the new 90-foot fire tower for the Jackson County State Forest is being made today by Ed Swain, district forester; Wm. Daggy, patrolman, and Emil Zabel, county surveyor.
It is probable that the tower will be located along the ridge road which connects the Emil Heller and W.J. Robertson peach orchards and possibly near the site of the towers used years ago by the U.S. government geodetic surveyors. Mr. Swain states that he is seeking the highest point of this ridge and the survey today is being made for that purpose.
The material for this tower is wood and was cut last winter from property of the Jackson County State Forestry. It has been seasoning since then and Mr. Daggy is now preparing to receive bids to have the timbers moved near the administration building to the site selected." (Jackson County Banner)
August 8, 1932: "A location has been decided upon for the new fire tower 90 feet high which is to be built on the Jackson county state Forest reserve. When the structure is completed, it will be possible to observe Jackson, Bartholomew, Jennings, Brown Washington and Lawrence counties and a part of Monroe county, William Daggy, patrolman of the reserve has announced.
The wooden tower is to be located about two and one-half miles south of Brownstown on the Baldwin knobs. Construction will begin about August 25. When completed a man will be kept in the tower fifteen hours each day for observation of the timber lands." (The Republic)
September 14, 1932: "The steel for the new eighty-foot fire observation tower to be erected at the Jackson County State Forestry arrived in Brownstown Tuesday afternoon and work was started this morning trucking it to the site where it will be erected according to an announcement of J.C. Baker, district forester.
Erection of this tower, together with similar towers in Floyd and Harrison counties, will be under supervision of Ed Swain, district forester, who is expected here the latter part of this week to prepare the concrete base. The site chosen for the tower is that used in the past by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic surveyors on land which was a part of the Heller peach orchards about one and a half miles south of Brownstown.
Since the opening of the forestry here more than a year ago it had been the plan of State Forester Ralph F. Wilcox to erect a wooden tower but when bids were received for such it was found that the cost was nearly twice that of a steel tower. In changing to the steel towers Mr. Wilcox is able to erect twice as many towers with the same amount of money and so give protection against fire to twice as large an area of timber land as would be possible should the wooden tower plan have been followed.
From one to two weeks will be required for the erection of the tower here after which time it will be open to the public. Timbers which were sawed last winter for the tower will be used in the erection of a shelter house near the tower for the use of the public. The weight of the steel for the tower is more than six tons." (Jackson County Banner)
January 1933: "The third district has an 80-foot tower situated in the Jackson County State Forest with a range of 75,000 acres in Clark, Brown, Washington, and Lawrence Counties." (The Forest Worker)
January 23, 1933: "Work is expected to be started sometime this week on a road leading through the Jackson County State Forest near Brownstown to the fire tower which was erected recently.
A portion of the road, which is to be graveled, leading through the reserve to the tower, is being constructed as a part of a make-work program and the part to be constructed by the reserve will lead from that point to the tower.
It is planned by men of the conservation department in charge of the reserve to construct a shelter house near the tower and to provide picnic grounds nearby. It is believed the reserve and particularly the tower will prove to be a popular place for outings during the coming summer months." (The Tribune)
May 27, 1936: "Purchase of twenty-one Osborne fire range finders, one for each of its established fire towers, by the department of conservation of Indiana will give very material aid to local fire wardens in fighting forest fires according to an announcement of Paul Yost, district forester of Brownstown. One of the instruments will be installed in the fire tower of the Jackson County State Forest within a short time." (Jackson County Banner)
July 21, 1938: "A rattlesnake, measuring fifty-three inches long, was killed near the fire tower in the Jackson county state forest near Brownstown this week. A truck of of the veteran's camp ran over the snake, which had seven rattles and a button." (The Tribune)
2010: Restoration of the tower was completed.
DESIGNATION - SKYLINE LOOKOUT TOWER
PID - JA1670
STATE/COUNTY- IN/JACKSON
COUNTRY - US
USGS QUAD - VALLONIA (1994)
STATION DESCRIPTION
DESCRIBED BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1946 (CAE)
THIS IS A TRAVERSE STATION.
THE STATION IS THE APEX OF THE POINTED ROOF OF THE LOOKOUT TOWER,
WHICH IS LOCATED ABOUT 2-1/2 MILES SOUTH OF BROWNSTOWN, ON
THE HIGHEST HILL IN VICINITY, ABOUT 100 FEET WEST OF AN APPLE
ORCHARD, AND ABOUT 100 YARDS NORTH OF A GRAVEL ROAD. IT IS 15.51
METERS EAST OF TRIANGULATION STATION MILLER 1889. THE LOOKOUT TOWER
IS OF FOUR LEG STEEL CONSTRUCTION WITH A SMALL CABIN AT THE
TOP. IT IS ABOUT 108 FEET HIGH.
TO REACH FROM THE JUNCTION OF U.S. HIGHWAY 50 AND STATE HIGHWAY 250
IN SOUTH BROWNSTOWN, GO WEST ON HIGHWAY 50 FOR ONE BLOCK, THEN
TURN LEFT AND FOLLOW A WINDING GRAVEL ROAD FOR 3.5 MILES TO THE
LOOKOUT TOWER ON THE LEFT.