STRATTON MOUNTAIN
Vermont - Windham County - Green Mountain National Forest
May 17, 1912: "Other fire prevention measures for this county will consist of a lookout station with watchman on Stratton mountain." (Vermont Phoenix)
1913: "In the southern part of the State a trail of four or five miles has been completed up Stratton Mountain." (5th Annual Report of the Vermont State Forester)
April 18, 1914: "On Monday H.H. Forrester placed a telephone on a hand-sled and went to Manicknung log cabin near the top of Stratton mountain, where he installed the telephone and afterwards had connections made with several places, including C.C. Fitt's office in Brattleboro. Mr. Forrester found the snow about six feet deep.
During the summer this cabin will be used by the state forestry department as a fire station. A 65-foot steel tower is on the mountain under the snow and will be erected as soon as weather conditions are favorable." (The Brattleboro Daily Reformer)
May 22, 1914: "In the Southern part of the State, several of the land owners have cooperated with the State, and a lookout station has been erected on the top of Stratton mountain. A man will be kept on this mountain during the dry periods, and as there is now a telephone line running up to the top of the mountain, the watchman can call for help as soon as a fire is discovered, in any of the surrounding country." (Middlebury Register)
June 2, 1914: "Fire, which started yesterday in sprout land on the Guilford road, owned by Crystal Springs Ice Co., 25 acres were burned over at a loss of $1,000. The fire was seen and reported by the state observer on the fire tower on Stratton mountain." (The Bennington Evening Banner)
June 8, 1914: "Construction work on the steel observation and fire protection tower on the summit of Stratton mountain, which is being erected by the Stratton Mountain club, has been delayed a little, the wind having blown down one section while the tower was being put up, but the damage can be repaired easily and the delay will not hinder the dedication." (Rutland Daily Herald)
June 20, 1914: "The Stratton Mountain club will hold dedication services at the completion of the observation and fire protection tower on Stratton mountain on the summit of that mountain. Thursday, June 25, 1914, at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. The public is invited to be present.
The speakers are to be Lieut. Gov. Frank E. Howe of Bennington. James P. Taylor, president of the Green Mountain club of Burlington, and H. E. Eddy of Brattleboro. Fred C. Adams of Brattleboro will sing.
A conveyance will be provided at a moderate price to carry visitors from the Green Mountain house at West Wardsboro to the foot of the mountain. People wishing to take advantage of this should write to Ray E. Lyman, West Wardsboro, Vt. A picnic lunch will be enjoyed on the summit, each one to provide for himself.
Three accessible trails lead from the foot of the mountain to the top. One, on the southern side, starting from the Wardsboro-Arlington highway about a mile east of the 'Grout Job,' one from the eastern side from the Stratton-Jamaica road about one-half mile below the old Stratton church, and one from the northeastern side near H. P. Forrester's. The distance from the road to the summit by way of each trail is about three miles.
The tower, a steel structure, is 65 feet high. The view from the top is one of unusual beauty and extent, commanding a panorama which includes all of southern Vermont, and sections of New York, New Hampshire and Massachusetts." (The Bennington Evening Banner)
July 2, 1914: "A lookout tower 65 feet high on the summit of Stratton mountain, one of the highest peaks in southern Vermont, was dedicated under the auspices of the Stratton Mountain club, by which it was erected. The tower is erected near the point where Daniel Webster addressed the large crowd in the campaign of 1849. From the tower can be seen one of the grandest panoramas of New England. About two hundred persons walked the two and three-eights miles through the dense forest from the nearest point that could be reached by teams or automobiles to attend the exercises." (Burlington Weekly Free Press)
1914: "A fund was raised in the fall of 1913 by parties interested in the woodlands of the southern part of the State, for the erection of a lookout station on Stratton Mountain. At the time of writing a sixty foot steel tower is in process of erection, thus making it possible to see over the tops of the surrounding trees." (6th Annual Report of the Vermont State Forester)
c.1924: "New steel towers with stairs and glass enclosures have been constructed or are under construction at the following locations: - - Stratton." (3rd Biennial Report of the Commission of Forestry)
August 15, 1924: "Stratton mountain in Stratton, elevation 3,859 feet." (Vermont Phoenix)
1932: "Repairs have been made to the Stratton tower." (Biennial Report of the Forestry Commissioner, ending 6/30/32)
1936: Members of the 119th Company CCC of Bellows Falls erected a steel forest fire tower on Stratton Mountain. (Report, Department of Conservation and Development, term ending June 30, 1936)
1936-38: "Razed old tower. Improved camp--lined interior. Graded area around tower and camp." (Fire Control Work, During period July 1, 1936, to June 30, 1938, "Report of the Department of Conservation and Development" State of Vermont)
1940-42: "New woodshed constructed" (Report, Department of Conservation and Development, term ending June 30, 1942)
1947-48: "One and one-half miles of pole line relocated to make way for road widening. Tower cab and stairs painted." (Vermont Forest Service Biennial Report)
1949-50: "Tower stair treads and cabin painted. Relocated 1 1/2 miles of telephone line to accommodate road widening." (Biennial Report of the Vermont Forest Service)
1951-52: "New metal eavestroughs and waterbarrel installed. New woodshed built. New toilet built. Tower grounding system installed. Inside of cabin modernized with new sink, additional cupboards and shelves and painted." (Biennial Report of the Vermont Forest Service)
November 18, 1952: "Miss Caroline Parmenter, who has completed her duties at Stratton Mountain lookout tower for this year." (The Brattleville Reformer)
1953-54: "Four miles of telephone line was made unnecessary by the extension of the New England Telephone and Telegraph lines. The poles from this line were salvaged and transferred for use in other districts. The line wire was used to convert the remaining three miles of Forest Service line from one wire to a two wire system. The lookout phones were converted to dial.." (Biennial Report of the Vermont Forest Service)
1955-56: "The cabin was reroofed with aluminum and a hedgehog proof enclosure was built at the foot of the mountain for the lookout's car." (Biennial Report of the Vermont Forest Service)
September 27, 1957: "The temperature dipped to 22 degrees in Wardsboro, according to Brown's Store there, and forest ranger Joseph Ruel reported a nippy 15 degrees at the base of the fire lookout tower atop Stratton Mountain." (The Brattleboro Reformer)
1957-58: "A rough garage was built at the foot of the mountain to replace the wire hedgehog-proof enclosure previously used for the lookout's car. An addition was made to the cabin for storage space." (Biennial Report of the Vermont Forest Service)
April 21, 1959: "Spring may have turned the corner in most low-lying sections of this area but it's still a long way off on Stratton Mountain.
Stratton's fire tower operator, Joseph Ruel, said today that hiking parties, unwilling to believe that snow is still deep on the mountain, have arrived at his quarters soaking wet and needing shelter. Some of the parties have included small youngsters. He warned that snow is too deep to negotiate except with snowshoes and estimated it will be two weeks before the way is passable." (The Brattleboro Reformer)
July 23, 1962: "Thirsty climbers are urged not to stop at the fire tower on Stratton Mountain looking for drinking water.
Joseph Ruel, tower man for the Vermont Department of Forests and Parks, reports all the spring's near the tower are dry for the first time in the nine years he has been at the post.
The tower man has to use a horse to tote his own water supplies from the base of the mountain." (The Brattleboro Reformer)
June 9, 1967: "Percy Moffitt of Peru is the attendant at the Stratton Mountain Lookout Tower this summer." (The Brattleboro Reformer)
July 14, 1969: "The Stratton fire tower is practically never bothered by vandals during the hiking season, but every spring, all the windows have to be replaced and the accumulation of beer cans and bottles left by the skiers cleaned out. The ski lift makes it easily accessible to crowds, and hence vulnerable." (Berkshire Eagle - Mass.)
July 25, 2009: "Stratton Mountain's historic fire tower will get a facelift thanks to the latest round of stimulus funding released by the U. S. Department of Agriculture this week.
The money is part of the more than $3.5 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding that Vermont is in line to accept for trail, dam and ecosystem projects throughout the Green Mountain National Forest." (Brattleboro Reformer.com)
2010: Restoration of the tower included placing a new roof on the cab, new stair treads and landings.
May 20, 2015: The tower and Towerman's cabin on Stratton Mountain were vandalized some time before May 16. The U.S. Forest Service asking for help in it's investigation. Both structures are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and are prominent landmarks along both the Appalachian Trail and Vermont's Long Trail.
DESIGNATION - STRATTON MTN LOOKOUT TOWER
PID - OD1317
STATE/COUNTY- VT/WINDHAM
COUNTRY - US
USGS QUAD - STRATTON MTN (1986)
STATION DESCRIPTION
DESCRIBED BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1942 (GWL)
THE STATION IS LOCATED ON THE SUMMIT OF STRATTON MOUNTAIN,
ABOUT 10 MILES E OF ARLINGTON. IT IS OWNED AND OPERATED BY
THE VERMONT STATE DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND IS A 4-LEGGED
STEEL STRUCTURE WITH A GLASS-ENCLOSED CAGE ON THE TOP. THE
OVERALL HEIGHT IS ABOUT 75 FEET.