Palmer Hill is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

in the

Adirondack Mountains The Adirondack Mountains (; a-də-RÄN-dak) form a massif in northeastern New York with boundaries that correspond roughly to those of Adirondack Park. They cover about 5,000 square miles (13,000 km2). The mountains form a roughly circular ...

region of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. It is located north of the hamlet of Au Sable Forks in

Clinton County Clinton County may refer to: *Counties named for George Clinton, first and third Governor of New York, and later the fourth Vice President of the United States: **Clinton County, New York **Clinton County, Ohio *Counties named for DeWitt Clinton, s ...

. In 1930, the Conservation Department built a steel fire lookout tower and an observer cabin on the summit. Due to increased use in aerial detection for fire lookout purposes, the tower ceased fire lookout operations in early 1971. It resumed fire watching operations from 1979 to 1988, before being officially closed in early 1989. The tower still remains, but is on private property and is not open to the public.

History

In 1930, the Conservation Department built a Aermotor LS40 tower and an observer cabin was built on the mountain and reporting 9 fires the first year. The tower on Palmer Hill was built to supplement the tower on

Whiteface Mountain Whiteface Mountain is the fifth-highest mountain in the U.S. state of New York, and one of the High Peaks of the Adirondack Mountains. Set apart from most of the other High Peaks, the summit offers a 360-degree view of the Adirondacks and clea ...

. The land around Palmer Hill is in an area where early spring and late fall fires are common. Due to the inability to operate the tower on Whiteface Mountain during these high fire periods, the fires frequently grew large in size before being reported by another tower farther away. Due to increased use in aerial detection for fire lookout purposes, the tower ceased fire lookout operations in early 1971. In 1979, the tower resumed fire lookout operations until closing at the end of the 1988 season. The tower was officially closed in early 1989, when the Department of Environmental Conservation determined that towers were no longer effective and decided to phase them out of service. The tower still remains, but is on private property and is not open to the public.

References

{{Fire lookout towers in New York Mountains of Hamilton County, New York Mountains of New York (state)