Volume 19 • Number 1

SUMMER 2019

$9.95

Hurricane Mountain Fire Tower

ALSO INSIDE: Combat Missions // Crystal Palace // Syracuse Ragtime // Local Historians 12

FOOT TRAIL

BY PETER SLOCUM

­NEW YORK archives • SUMMER 2019 13

Festivities are planned to celebrate a local landmark, a monument to a fire tower’s heyday.

ilo Bronson’s 1919 the overall experience was a Fire Danger summer job was to raging success, a statewide In the very beginning of the Mspot fires from the top initiative that played a major twentieth century, the future of Hurricane Mountain on role in protecting and of the Adirondack Park did the eastern edge of the preserving the largest park in not look so good. Huge fires Adirondack High Peaks. But the nation outside of Alaska. roared through the wilderness what happened one August This summer, the in 1903 and again in 1908, day a century ago was a fire Adirondack History Center burning more than 800,000 observer's worst nightmare— in Elizabethtown will host a acres (an area larger than he spotted his own house on special exhibit on the Yosemite National Park) and fire. He raced a mile and a Hurricane Fire Tower's 100th coming within a few miles of half down the steep, boulder- Anniversary with photographs, Keene Valley and other villages. strewn trail only to find his historic documents, log Conditions were unusually dry home destroyed. His wife books, and oral histories. those years, and widespread and family were safe, but the Commemorative hikes are lumbering was increasing the house, shed, and livestock also planned for August 10 fire danger dramatically. were gone. and 11. The celebration Critically, the state had no Bronson's bad luck came honors the history and early detection system at all. nine years into New York’s changing role of the fire Maine is credited with the experiment with mountain top tower over its years standing first mountain top observers, fire observation. Fortunately, in the Adirondack Park. and New York followed suit in

Hurricane Mountain Fire Tower is celebrating its centennial.

COURTESY OF MARY JEAN BLAND IMAGE CREDIT

www.nysarchivestrust.org 14

1913. Hurricane, in the Town of Keene, played a significant part; its observers reported a total of forty-three fires in 1914, the most in the Adirondacks. As a prominent peak, Hurricane has a long role in New York history. The legend- ary state surveyor Verplanck Colvin climbed the mountain with his crew on July 21, 1873, achieving a key vantage point for his project to map and measure all of the Adirondacks. His men built a wooden tower on top, and used it as a sighting station to line up precision measurements from the shore of Lake Champlain into Mt. Marcy, Whiteface, and other peaks. The iron rings that Colvin's men drove into the rock to anchor his tower to Hurricane's rocky summit are still visible, just north of the fire tower. Building on its initial success, New York decided to Maine is credited with the first enhance the early warning mountain top observers, and New network by erecting towers even on bald, rocky peaks like

York followed suit in 1910, putting NEW YORK STATE ARCHIVES Hurricane and Whiteface mountains. These towers a pair of eyes on eight peaks. improved the view—on wooded summits they provid- ed the only view—and they also provided protection for the observers, who otherwise tried to shelter themselves 1910, putting a pair of eyes 1908 and 1913, the efficiency in wind-torn canvas tents or on eight peaks. Four years of the present system is behind rocks and ledges. later, there were observers on immediately seen. ... The area Any modern day hiker who forty-nine peaks and the plan burned in 1903 was 464,189 has spent an hour on top of was making a difference. The acres; in 1908, 368,072; Hurricane or Whiteface knows New York State Conservation and in 1913, 54,768 acres.” the price to be paid. Commission observed, “If we The average acreage consumed Turning midwestern wind- compare the three years of per fire dropped from 608 mills into forestry sentinels, great drought, namely, 1903, acres in 1908 to 79 acres in New York bought dozens of

­NEW YORK archives • SUMMER 2019 15

steel towers, most from Chicago’s Aeromotor Windmill Company, and put seven-foot square cabs on top. With a roof and windows, a round map table with sighting device, and a phone line, the observers were able to spot and report fires across the region. According to the September 12, 1919, edition of the Lake Placid News the Hurricane Mountain construc- tion project was quite involved. The steel components were “transferred to wagon teams and carried then to within three miles of the top, then by jumper (horse cart) to about one mile of the summit; then, by skidding, pack saddles and man power to the top, within twenty feet of that point where the tower will stand. ”The last mile of this way involved the building of a new

trail through an old fire slash OF NYS DEC COURTESY up to the last ledge, and then on a shelf of the ledge, about five feet wide.” The project took nine days, “including two days when operations were at a standstill owing to the necessity of fighting a forest had 110 steel towers all over role, the state required As seen here in a photo of the fire. The trail that was cut with the state, even on Long Island. observers to wear uniforms construction of the Adams much labor and difficulty made Most were in the Adirondacks. starting in 1926 and to fly the Mountain fire tower in 1917, it possible for the first time (There were another seventeen American flag atop the tower. trails were cut to allow horses to reach the summit carrying for horses to reach the top.” non-steel tower observation The Conservation Commis- steel components. Parts of the tower, “which posts in New York.) sion began compiling the could not be handled other- number of visitors to each wise, toward the finish, had Educators and Ambassadors tower, as well as the numbers to be carried a long distance In the Adirondack Park, as of fires spotted. Improving on the backs of the men.” lumbering declined and public hiking trails became a part of These crews developed access to the Adirondacks the job, and the role of the quite an expertise at assem- increased, those observers towers transitioned. Public bling towers, and travelled sitting up in the towers began education became paramount. from peak to peak, complet- to be more educators and At the same time, fire spot- ing each job in less than two ambassadors than fire spotters. ting from airplanes became weeks. Eventually, New York Conscious of this new public more cost effective, first in

www.nysarchivestrust.org 16

Inset: A panoramic map of Hurricane Mountain fire observatory, ca. 1920.

NEW YORK STATE ARCHIVES

Cornell forestry students at the Mount Morris fire tower, 1922.

state-owned planes and then As the national and world- towers were “non-conforming As lumbering with private contractors, lead- wide environmental move- structures,” and many were ing to a decline in the use of ment that grew out of the removed. declined and public the towers. 1960s led to a big increase in access to the Finally, on September 27, hikers, canoeists, and others Local Landmark 1979, Ranger Richard Olcott, who embraced the wonders But when it came to Hurricane, Adirondacks along with several other State of the Adirondacks, it also and a number of other towers, Department of Environmental gave birth to the DEC and a many local people had a increased, those Conservation (DEC) officials, new set of land use rules for competing view. The Hurricane observers sitting up in signed the official log book at public and private lands in tower was a landmark, an Hurricane Mountain tower the Forest Preserve under the important part of the local the towers began to this way: “Closed tower auspices of the Adirondack landscape, a beacon welcoming forever!!!” Park Agency. The new land them home. ”Our Statue of be more educators For a while, that seemed classification system sought to Liberty,” one woman called it. and ambassadors than to be true. All the state’s fire return many areas to wilder- A drawn-out struggle towers were mothballed in ness. Lean-tos above 3,500 ensued: Adirondackers who fire spotters. place. The bottom two flights feet were removed, tree- saw the tower as part of their of stairs were stripped off cutting forbidden, campfires history were the underdogs Hurricane’s tower to keep were banned in many areas, against state government, people from climbing up the size limits imposed on camp- which embraced the idea of 35-foot tall structure. ing and hiking groups. Fire wilderness. Gretna and Melvin

­NEW YORK archives • SUMMER 2019 DIVISION OF RARE AND MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS, CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY UNIVERSITY CORNELL COLLECTIONS, MANUSCRIPT AND RARE OF DIVISION the Mt.Adams and St.Regis the sameplanadoptedfor maintain thetower. Thiswas volunteers tohelprepair and and thestatewouldenlist zone, out ofthewilderness square HistoricDistrictcarved could stay, inahalf-acre change course.Thetower ultimately persuadedto Historic Places,thestatewas on theNationalRegisterof helped getthetowerlisted Heritage Association,which Adirondack Architectural amajorassistfrom the With Essex CountyLegislature. be saved,andsodidthe resolutions urging thetower if youcouldfixit,too.” up toseeit.Itwouldbenice really liketotake myfriends an historicallandmark.Iwould boy from Keenein2004. “It’s Tower?” wrote oneschool down theHurricaneFire support.” your efforts andadding moral certainly lookingdownon who wasaNYCfirefighter, is landmark down.Thomas, let DECtearthisvaluable before hedied. Please,donot Hurricane Mountainjust to theAdirondacks, climbed and laterafrequent visitor Thomas, acamperatDudley, two letters:“Mylateson and businesses. region,the localgovernments, community, schoolchildren in and calledonfriendsinthe They circulated petitions, save theHurricanetower. led thelocalcampaignto Longware, ofElizabethtown, All thelocaltownspassed “Why doyouwanttotake Here are excerptsfrom

Association crew washired to A StudentConservation 46 peaksover4,000feet. popular challengetoclimball version oftheextraordinarily many towersaspossible,a encouraged hikerstoclimbas Tower Climbingchallengethat structures, promoting aFire helped popularizetheold Adirondack MountainClub The GlensFallschapterofthe Tower Challenge and 1918,respectively. fire towers,erected in1917 COURTESY OF MARY JEAN BLAND Restoration began in 2015. Restoration beganin2015. it, isthiseducational mission. ing thetower, andotherslike An overtpurposeforpreserv protect theforest preserve. the never-ending struggleto and educatehikersabout signs aboutthetower'shistory, the summit,installinterpretive tower andthethree trailsto with thestatetomaintain volunteer group contracted Friends ofHurricaneMountain to enjoy. Anewlyformed reopen thetowerforhikers protective fencing,andformally treads andlandings,install replace thewoodenstairway

- Association crew was reopen thetower for fencing, andformally treads andlandings, hired to replace the wooden stairway install protectiveinstall hikers to enjoy. Conservation Conservation www.nysarchivestrust.org A Student

17 18

THE ARCHIVES CONNECTION

he New York State TArchives holds a collection of more than 5,000 glass plate negatives from the DEC and its predecessor agencies. Among many other images from the forest preserves in the Adirondacks and the Catskills are maps used in the fire towers. Archives staff made a high-resolution copy of the original hand-drawn panorama map used in the

COURTESY OF MARYCOURTESY JEAN BLAND Hurricane Fire Tower, which the Friends of Hurricane Mountain plans to use to recreate a fire-spotting map for hikers to enjoy in the newly restored observer cab. The Keene Valley Library Archives, Town of Keene Historical Society, and the The state provides funds to on sensitive alpine plants, Adirondack Experience hire a summit steward for defacing the tower with graf- As the Hurricane Fire Museum all have photographs, the summer months to help fiti, eroding trails, cutting live family histories, and local Tower ages into its hikers understand the fragility trees, and even found human reports, relating to fire towers of the wilderness they see feces right in the middle of the and Hurricane Mountain. The second century, it has around them. trail to Hurricane. As Ranger Adirondack Research Center Volunteers painted the John Olcott, who oversaw a role in protecting at the Saranac Lake Public tower in 2017 and are plan- Hurricane Mountain Fire Tower Library has official government the Adirondack ning to help install a new roof from 1920-1950, put it in a reports, photographs, mem- in time for the September 2019 interview, “What they oirs, and manuscripts about forests in a new way. 2019 centennial. call wilderness, well, they the forest preserve. Adirondack In an ironic twist, the very might just as well be down on Architectural Heritage also popularity of the 2.5 million 42nd Street, with the soil all offered its collection of acre forest preserve now gone, stream beds hollowed records and photos. threatens its special nature. out. That's not wilderness.” The Adirondack History Hordes of hikers, concentrated This spring, Outside Center in Elizabethtown, in certain popular areas, Magazine named Hurricane which enjoys a view of the including fire tower peaks like the “Best Hike in New York,” Hurricane Fire Tower from its For classroom activities Hurricane, are the prime an accolade that will come upstairs windows, maintains related to this article, reason that more back country with costs. As the Hurricane a historic collection of see our Educator Guide at educators are needed to Fire Tower ages into its Hurricane Fire Tower log www.nysarchivestrust.org/ inspire hikers to “Leave No second century, it has a role books dating to 1915. education/educator-guide- Trace.” Summit stewards in in protecting the Adirondack new-york-archives-magazine 2018 reported hikers trampling forests in a new way. n

­NEW YORK archives • SUMMER 2019