October 2, 2026 - Teenagers growing up in East Texas during the 1940s and 1950s were accustomed to being surrounded by towering pine trees, and sturdy oaks. I was one of those kids being reared in about the deepest part of East Texas. In the pre-television days of the late 1940s, we kids had to invent our own activities to keep our minds occupied. Some of them were good, and some were not so good. Among the latter was climbing the metal fire tower located just west of San Augustine.
The U.S. Forest Service built a fire lookout tower probably during the 1930s just off Highway 21 west on what is now CR280. The tower was located approximately 150 yards back in the woods. Of course it was a dangerous thing to do, but it was great fun and a daring feat to trespass on the property to climb up the tower as high as one’s nerves would allow. I recall a few females trying their climbing ability, but mostly it was the hairy-legged teen boys showing off for their dates.
Another fire tower was located just south of Red Hills Lake in Sabine County on Highway 87. Whenever a group of teens made the trek to “Milam Lake” they usually capped off the swimming trip with a try at climbing that tower as well. I do not recall anyone falling or otherwise injuring themselves during this activity.
A recent drive down CR280 shows no evidence that a fire tower ever existed, having been torn down years ago. That is a shame as these fire towers served a significant service to our country. The same is true of the tower that used to stand south of Red Hills Lake. The towers have an interesting background, having been built out of necessity.
The obvious purpose of a fire tower was for a watchman to scan the forest for any sign of smoke indicating a forest fire. They were constructed of either wood, or steel, with a small 10’ by 10’ building on top of the tower. These towers gained popularity in early 1900s. Fires were originally reported by use of carrier pigeons. Later two-way radios were used, then telephones, or heliographs came into use as technology improved. By 1911 fire towers were being built on the top of mountains.
