{"nrhp_refnum":"11000253","name":"Dickinson Hill Fire Tower","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Fire Tower Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Grafton","county":"Rensselaer County","state":"NY","lat":42.794973684500036,"lon":-73.41336992123689,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2011-05-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Conservation","Engineering"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A sixty-foot steel fire observation tower erected in 1924 on top of Dickinson Hill in the town of Grafton, Rensselaer County, New York, on a 12-acre parcel east of Grafton Lakes State Park.","why_significant":"The tower is a representative example of an early 20th century prefabricated fire observation tower in New York State, significant for engineering (Criterion C) and conservation (Criterion A). It was made by the Aermotor Company and erected by the New York State Conservation Commission. It is the last remaining fire tower in Rensselaer County.","narrative":"On the summit of Dickinson Hill in Grafton, Rensselaer County, a sixty-foot steel tower rises above the surrounding woodland. Prefabricated by the Aermotor Company of Chicago, a maker of windmills, it was erected in 1924 by the New York State Conservation Commission as a fire lookout. The design adapted a windmill frame by replacing the upper stages with a seven-foot square enclosed cab, reached by a zig-zag stair with wood treads. The city of Troy contributed $1,000 toward the station to protect woodlands around its water supply. Eleven observers staffed the tower until 1972, including five women. Helen Ellett served about sixteen years and wrote of climbing its 81 steps. Today it is the last fire tower in Rensselaer County and one of about 20 outside the Forest Preserve. The site also holds a concrete water tank and the foundation of an observer's cabin. Restoration has begun as part of Grafton Lakes State Park.","period_of_significance":"1924-1961","architect_builder":"Aermotor Company","architectural_style":"No style","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Not manned since 1972 and not in use for over 30 years; stable but deteriorating, with missing cab floor boards and windows. Transferred to the state parks agency in 2010, and restoration has begun under the Friends of Grafton Lakes State Park.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:48.50796-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/11000253.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/11000253/cab7689753-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/11000253/cab7689753-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"RetroRenaissanceMan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dickinson_Hill_Fire_Tower_near_Grafton_Lakes_State_Park.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">RetroRenaissanceMan</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dickinson_Hill_Fire_Tower_near_Grafton_Lakes_State_Park.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75321210","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dickinson_Hill_Fire_Tower","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q22060971"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/rensselaer-county/dickinson-hill-fire-tower-11000253/"}