{"nrhp_refnum":"01001034","name":"Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain Fire Observation Station","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chesterfield","county":"Essex County","state":"NY","lat":44.38790073200005,"lon":-73.50760994899997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2001-09-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Entertainment/Recreation","Conservation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A fire observation station on the 2,170-foot summit of Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain in Chesterfield, Essex County, New York, in the Adirondack Forest Preserve. It includes a 40-foot steel tower erected in 1917, a jeep trail, an observer's cabin ruin and a spring box.","why_significant":"The nomination finds the station significant under criteria A and C for its association with the New York State Forest Preserve and as a representative early twentieth century fire tower with associated structures. The steel tower was prefabricated by Aermotor and was among the first of the heavier type with integral steel stairs. The cabin was most likely upgraded by the CCC in 1936.","narrative":"Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain's 2,170-foot summit in Chesterfield, Essex County, carries a fire observation station that served the New York State Forest Preserve. The station centers on a 40-foot steel tower prefabricated by the Aermotor Corporation and erected in 1917, with a glass cab atop an angular steel frame and steel stairs in five flights. Also included are a jeep trail climbing from the base of the mountain, a spring box and the rubble foundation and chimney of an observer's cabin, possibly rebuilt with CCC help in 1936. A station was established here in 1912, and in 1920 it received an experimental Osborne Fire Finder. The station was deactivated in 1988. After a 1995 plan to remove the tower, a local friends group helped save it, and repairs have included new wooden stair treads. The site was recognized for its link to forest fire protection and its representative tower design, with significance from 1917 to 1950.","period_of_significance":"1917-1950","architect_builder":"Aermotor Corporation (tower manufacturer)","architectural_style":"No style/utilitarian (fire tower)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Station deactivated in 1988; tower intact and undergoing repair; observer's cabin abandoned; trails in active recreational use.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:50.689172-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/01001034.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/01001034/d91933736f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/01001034/d91933736f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.0","author":"Rosie De Lise from Eugene, OR, USA. Cropped and color-corrected by Daniel Case prior to upload","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Poke-O-Moonshine_Mountain_fire_tower.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Rosie De Lise from Eugene, OR, USA. Cropped and color-corrected by Daniel Case prior to upload</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Poke-O-Moonshine_Mountain_fire_tower.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75312890","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poke-O-Moonshine_Mountain_Fire_Observation_Station","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7208573"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/essex-county/poke-o-moonshine-mountain-fire-observation-station-01001034/"}