Chenocetah Fire Tower is a historic
fire tower
A fire lookout tower, fire tower or lookout tower, provides housing and protection for a person known as a "fire lookout" whose duty it is to search for wildfires in the wilderness. It is a small building, usually on the summit of a mountain or ...
in the
Chenocetah Mountains,
Cornelia, Georgia
Cornelia is a city in Habersham County, Georgia, Habersham County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. The population was 4,160 at the 2010 census, up from 3,674 at the 2000 census. It is home to one of the Cornelia, Georgia#The Big Red A ...
,
Habersham County, Georgia
Habersham County is a County (United States), county located in the Northeast Georgia, northeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the population was 43,041. The county s ...
. It was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
on June 11, 1984. The tower was built in 1937 as part of a public works program by the Farm Security Administration's Resettlement Administration in effort to move and employ impoverished farmers. The purpose of the building was to allow fire fighters to spot fires in the
Chattahoochee National Forest
The Chattahoochee River forms the southern half of the Alabama and Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia border, as well as a portion of the Florida - Georgia border. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the con ...
.
History
The stone tower measures 40 feet tall and was first dedicated on June 7, 1938. Governor
Eurith D. Rivers
Eurith Dickinson Rivers (December 1, 1895 – June 11, 1967), commonly known as E. D. Rivers and informally as "Ed" Rivers, was an American politician from Lanier County, Georgia. A Democrat, he was the 68th Governor of Georgia, serving fr ...
delivered the dedicatory address and Cornelia Mayor Crawford gave the address of welcome. Charles S. Vance, the project manager who took over from Mr. Woodroof and William A. Hartmen, regional director, were also in attendance. Governor Rivers was taken on a tour of the projects afterwards. The tower was dedicated again after World War II in memory of three forest workers who died during the war. The tower was used in active service as a fire tower until 1975. After 1975, it was unused until 1989 when the
Georgia Forestry Commission took over staffing during the fire season.
Locals have formed the Chenocetah Conservation Corps to provide grounds maintenance around the structure and surrounding landscape.
Gallery
See also
*
References
Buildings and structures in Habersham County, Georgia
Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state)
Towers in Georgia (U.S. state)
Towers completed in 1937
Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest
National Register of Historic Places in Habersham County, Georgia
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