From the earliest years of Canada Lake as a resort community in the late 19th century, Kane Mountain was a popular hike for vacationers. In an article entitled “A Popular Resort” that was published in the August 9, 1892 issue of The Daily Republican, there is an early reference to Kane Mountain and suggests the popularity of the hike to the summit: “…‘Loch Villa’ [is] the home of those most hospitable souls, Dr. and Mrs. Colgrove. Back of this cottage an easy trail leads to top of Kani [sic] mountain, a pleasant excursion, and one of the accepted ways of putting in the time. From the top you can see nine lakes and the picturesque scenery of this region.” An 1899 article extolling the beauty of Canada Lake in The Daily Leader includes the following account of climbing Cain [sic] Mountain: “Among the rambles none equal “Cain” mountain in extent of vision: from its rock-scarred summit can be seen six lakes, the vast Adirondack wilderness stretching away to the north and east, with mountain peaks as numerous as hay cocks in a meadow; while to the southwest you look beyond the forest over well-tilled farms in Herkimer county.”
In a diary from 1896 there is a poem recounting the adventures of summer visitors. The last stanza reads: “To the cave we went one day/And in spite of all the rain/And the losing of our way/Finally went up old Mt. Cain [sic].” The “cave” referred to in the poem is what was known as Cave Rock which offered a magnificent view down the west part of Canada Lake to West Lake as shown in this 1922 postcard.
While today one has to climb the fire tower to see the vista of lakes and mountains, the late nineteenth century accounts regularly marvel at the view from the summit of Kane Mountain. It was not just Kane. An 1893 article in The Johnstown Daily Republican praising the beauty of Canada Lake includes the following description: “Mountains covered with dense wood sweep around in a graceful magnificent circle, whose summits command a scenic panorama bounded in some directions only by the visual limits of the human eye. From these mountains can easily be seen ten of the numerous lakes which nourish Canada Lake with their sparkling water. Green, Mud, West Canada, Lily, Pine, …, Bellow’s and Stink Lakes [Stoner Lakes] are all within a small radius, while Garoga lake is but a short mile away. To climb to the summit of one of the mountains on a clear moonlight night is a task that has a rich reward, and one that will never be effaced from the memory. All around are the companion summits that reach their proud heads high towards the star-studded sky, and throw their deep fantastic shadows on the vales far below.” The panorama below was taken from the summit of Sheeley Mountain looking north towards Kane. The presence of the Durey Lumber mill at the base of Kane Mountain indicates that the photo would have been taken 1905 or after. Like Kane, the view from Sheeley today is obscured by the growing forest around it.
View of Canada Lake from Sheeley Mountain, ca. 1905
In the 19th and early 20th centuries forest fires were a real threat to developing communities. Canada Lake resident Barbara McMartin in her Great Forests of the Adirondacks wrote: “The one natural cause of fires –drought– would not have accounted for many fires if there had not been the three major man-made causes: the vast amount of land cleared for agriculture, sparks from engines of trains, and the practice of leaving tops of logged trees uncut, so huge piles of tops and branches were exposed to sun and drying winds, which turned into tinder….”
The illustration above comes from an album of pictures depicting Canada Lake in 1896, It was done by Rufus Grider, a Canajoharie art teacher, who left behind a remarkable collection of albums documenting the region at the end of the 19th-century. Grider’s illustration is of Kane Mountain viewed from West Lake and shows stalks of trees that as Grider records in his caption were “…the result of lumbering and destruction by burning …still seen after 30 years have passed.” This refers to the lumbering that was done by the Wheeler Claflin Company as part of the tanning industry. The tree tops left behind as they harvested the hemlocks for their bark became tinder for wildfires. Barbara McMartin in her Caroga book (p.36) mentions a fire on Kane Mountain in 1877. Are these references to the same fire and that the discrepancy between 20 and 30 years is a result of imprecision on the part of Grider? It is not clear. Other than the reference in the Caroga book, there is no known documentation for a fire in 1877.
Newspaper clippings from the spring of 1903
A spring drought in 1903 and another in the fall of 1908 produced major outbreaks of forest fires. In 1908 dense clouds of smoke mistaken for fog shrouded New York harbor. Between April 20 and June 8, 1903 there were 643 forest fires which burned approximately 428,180 acres in the Adirondacks and over 36,000 acres in the Catskills. With alarming frequency fires broke out along rail lines with embers from steam engines igniting tinder along the tracks.
The Caroga community was not free from the wildfire threat in 1903. An article from the May 11, 1903 edition of The Gloversville Daily Leader reports of a fire that began around Prairie Lake that threatened the
cottages and hotels of Canada Lake. The Johnstown Daily Republican on May 13 reported that fire spread into the town of Caroga and was close to Pine Lake: “Last night the flames raged unmolested and lighted up the sky as in daytime for miles around….Fire Warden Francis Fulton summoned every taxpayer in the town of Caroga today and all are fighting the fire….But little headway is made in checking the course of the flames and the fire is now over two miles in extent. If the east wind continues for a couple of days, the cottages on the north side of Canada Lake will be endangered. It is expected that the fire will reach the back end of Pine Lake tonight. A great amount of damage has already been done and the prospects are not favorable to stop the destruction.” Fortunately by May 15 as reported by The Gloversville Daily Leader due to a wind shift the threat to Canada Lake had passed.
These accounts illustrate the role of the Fire Warden to rally the community to combat fires. As part of the 1885 legislation creating the Forest Preserve a system of local Fire Wardens was established. These Fire Wardens had an official warrant that in the case of a fire emergency the Warden could require by law “[a]ll persons in the territory, whom you may order to render you such assistance…, to obey your order, and any person who may refuse to act in obedience to your order is, by statute, liable to a fine of not less than five nor more than twenty dollars [Curth, p. 17].” Fire Wardens were members of the local community who “…are not required to discharge any duties except those necessary for the prevention and extinction of forest fires….” Francis Fulton who served as the Caroga Fire Warden was the son of James Y. Fulton, the owner of the Fulton House Hotel on Canada Lake. Francis was most known for being a popular steamboat captain on Canada Lake.
The fire threat to the nascent tourist economy in the Adirondacks led to the publication of this full-page appeal to tourists in New York City in June of 1903:
In response to the 1908 fires which scorched more than 360,000 acres, the Fire Warden system was deemed inadequate since it was merely reactive to the outbreak of fires. The function of the Fire Warden was to organize a force of residents to fight a fire. There was understood to be the need for a professional force that could monitor forests and work proactively to prevent fires. Legislation in the spring of 1909 created a fire patrol service in place of the Fire Warden system. A provision of the law called for the erection and staffing of forest fire observation stations and for the construction of modern telephone circuits to them. An article in The Fulton Patriot from April 1909 describes the plan calling for the creation of “…a force of trained fire observers on duty from April to November … located in glass-enclosed rooms at the top of high towers on the highest mountains. Maps and field glasses enable them to locate a fire instantly and exactly and a telephone in the tower puts them immediately in touch with the nearest forest ranger. This insures quick action which is of vital importance in fighting forest fires….”
In 1909 nine observation stations were put into operation. These early towers were not necessarily the “glass-enclosed rooms at the top of high towers” called for in the state’s plan. In many cases they were open platforms built on top of frames made of local wood. In some cases the station was a tent set up on the top of a mountain with an unobstructed view. By the end of 1916 there were 20 mountaintop observation stations in the state of which sixteen were in the Adirondacks.
The first towers made of wood began to be replaced in 1916 by steel structures (click here for a 1916 article on the steel towers). These were made by the Aermotor Company, a windmill manufacturer from Chicago. The ten towers purchased in 1916 were lightweight models (Model #LL-25) with the cab accessible by an exterior ladder. In 1917 a heavier model (Model # LS-40) with an interior stairway was introduced. These stairs with their handrails made these towers safe for anyone to climb. The educational value of the towers became evident as hikers enjoyed visiting the observer in the cab. The Aermotor brochure advertising the towers acknowledges the public interest: ” People do not like to stand at the foot of a tower and look up. They want to get on top of it and look out. Interest in the work of the foresters is greatly enhanced when people have a chance to see for themselves the scope and effectiveness of it.”
The towers could be assembled from the ground up in a matter of days with a crew of five or six. The Aermotor brochure describes the division of labor: “There should be two men on the ground to pick out the material and pull it up, one man on the tower to receive the material and pass it on to the two assemblers. Another man can be used to advantage to tighten the nuts after the erectors have completed a section of the tower…. Every piece or bundle has its part number stencilled on it. The loading list which accompanies the invoice has the same numbers listed with a full description of every part. The blue prints show the location of every piece.” All of this would have been done without the benefit of power tools. Albert Tebeau, the Forest Ranger from Owl’s Head in Franklin County, is documented in a 1930 article as being in charge of the construction of Fire Towers including Kane Mountain. An undated Aermotor brochure lists the price of a 60 foot tower at $725.
Of the 110 steel fire towers built across New York State by the Forest Fire Control staff between 1909 and 1950, 57 were located in the Adirondack Park. Only 34 of these still exist today.
A 1912 Annual Report to the legislature touts the benefits of the early detection provided by the towers: “The fact that so many fires have burned over only small areas is due to their being discovered promptly. These fires were discovered by observers on mountain stations, and thus, by means of this information and the telephone, were were able to get men to fires quickly….”
An individual fire tower could only do so much. The success of the system depended upon the coordinated efforts of the different towers. The map on the left documents the overlapping coverage of the towers in the region.
To find out more about these towers you are encouraged to read Martin Podskoch’s book: Adirondack Fire Towers: Their History and Lore, The Southern Districts, 2017.
Hamilton Mountain
Located in southern Hamilton County near Speculator, Hamilton Mountain (3,250′) was chosen as the site for one of the first nine observation stations put into operation in 1909. The original tower was an eighteen-foot log tower with an open platform. It had a five-mile telephone line. The total cost of the station was $694.51.
The wooden tower was replaced in 1916 with a 50′ Aermotor Model LL-25 steel tower. The seven-by-seven foot cab was accessed by a ladder attached to the exterior of the tower. In 1918 wooden stairs were built. The tower was closed in 1971 and was pulled down in 1977.
Hamilton Mountain is the one site of a tower that is visible directly from Kane Mountain. 17 miles away from Kane, it can be seen in the northeast.
Cathead Mountain
Cathead Mtn. (2,423′) located in southern Hamilton County near the town of Benson had a fifteen-foot log tower with an open platform constructed in 1910. It had a two mile telephone line. The original tower cost $138.18. In 1916, a fifty-foot steel tower, an Aermotor LL-25, was erected, that like Hamilton, had an exterior ladder. Wooden steps were added within the structure to ease access for both the Observer and general public in 1918 or 1919. In 1986 a forty-foot antenna was added to service State Police communication. That same year the tower ceased operation at the end of the season.
While a popular trail and destination for hikers in the past, this State-owned fire tower is on private property that has been closed to the public. Discussions between the owners and the DEC are ongoing regarding public access to the summit and fire tower on Cathead Mountain. Attempts have been made to amend the State Constitution to allow for a land exchange to provide for public access to the tower. See also the 2022 Adirondack Explorer article.
T-Lake Mountain
Located to the north of Piseco Lake, T-Lake Mountain (3,070′) was the site of a fifty-foot steel tower constructed in 1916. It was an Aerometer LL25 tower with only access to the cab by exterior ladder. In 1977, the U.S. Army engineers were allowed to test shaped explosive charges which brought the tower crashing down. Within a week the sections of the tower were flown out by helicopter.
View from the Kane Mtn. Fire Tower shortly after construction compared to today.
Forest Ranger Holton Seeley (left) with Observer Everett "Buckshot" Smith, September 1967
James C. Luff, 1859-1948, Observer from 1926-1934
James Luff, the first Observer, was born in Chatham, England. At the age of 14 he enlisted in the British Army and served as a bugler during the Zulu War. At twenty-one he came to the United States and became a route agent for the American Express Company. He retired from the company in 1914 due to health concerns. He was twice married, the first time to Lillian Durey who died in 1900. He then married Lillian’s half sister Harriett Katheleen Durey in 1901. It would have been through his connection to the Durey family that James got his position as Observer.
Cyrus Durey, James’s brother-in-law, was the major political and business leader in Caroga at the time. He founded Durey Land and Lumber Company. Through the sale of lake front properties, Cy played a central role in the development of Caroga as a resort community. It was Durey who offered the land for the construction of what would become the Nick Stoner Golf Course. Durey was instrumental in the development of the roads and the construction of a new dam at Stewarts Landing. A cartoon in a 1913 letter by Charles Sarka to his friend Paul Bransom captures the political sway that Durey had at the time. As part of the political spoils of this time, Durey controlled positions like the Kane Mountain Observer. The appointment of Observer would change with the political winds. The long time Observer “Buckshot” Smith had to change parties to get his position. The newspaper account of James Luff’s retirement in 1934 acknowledges the political influence: “Politics are said to play only a small part in the switch of Kane Mountain overseers, for Mr. Luff is 75 years old and intended to retire this year…..”
After recovering from his illness that had forced his early retirement from the American Express Company in 1914, Luff thrived in the role of Observer: “When I first went into this service, I was up on Tomany Mountain for a year. Then they built this tower….” Apparently the work at the tower was beneficial to his health. He also valued the interaction with the public. In a 1930 article he was quoted: “Tell any of your friends who want to see one of the grandest sights in the country, this is the place to see it, and I am always glad to see them.” In an article from August of 1933, Luff recorded that the tower had 1500 visitors since the beginning of the season. The register recorded visitors from at least fourteen different states. He took an interest in pointing out to the visitors the major landmarks visible from the tower. He was amused “watching the varied shapes and sizes of humanity struggle up the steep slopes, ” and then the climbers who had made it up the mountain but refused to climb to the top of the tower. “You should see the big, husky men that get part way up those seventy-five feet and then can’t make themselves go another step. Then they hang on for dear life as they go back down the winding steps.” He would kid visitors who had made it to the cab of the tower who were reluctant to descend the steep stairs: “I guess you are stuck here.” Luff took great pride in making the tower “…a real beauty spot with flower gardens and modern equipment of all sorts and it has always been his joy and pride to keep the tower a most interesting and enticing place to visit.”
There was the unfortunate incident reported in local papers in 1929 of James Luff being “rendered unconscious from shock when a lightning bolt struck a saw and pail in his cabin during a severe rain and electrical storm…. He was seated alone in the cabin when the storm broke and remained unconscious from the time the lightning struck until after the storm. He was unable to say how long a period he remained in this state. Although still weak and suffering from shock, no serious effects are anticipated.”
Click on image to see large format PDF of map.
Along with the telephone, the most important piece of equipment in a fire tower would have been a circular map and alidade, a device used in surveying that allows one to sight a distant object and determine its direction or azimuth and distance. In 1921 Observers began using what were known as Panorama Maps. These circular maps had the physical land features visible from the tower plotted along the perimeter. The inner portion was a topographic map. The map had a diameter of only 12 inches with a scale of one mile to an inch. This meant that while the map was effective locating a fire within six miles, more distant fires would be more difficult to locate.
Around 1938 the Panorama maps were replaced with maps made from USGS topographic maps. The two Kane Mountain maps preserved today, one owned by the DEC, shown on the right, and another in a private collection, are of this latter kind of map. The accompanying map attempts to recreate the Kane Mtn. map. It uses USGS topographic maps used in the Kane Mtn. maps. These maps were on a scale of 1:62,500 or 1 inch = approximately 1 mile. The maps have a diameter of 30 inches. Like the actual map, this recreated one identifies the other fire towers in the region as well as the major highways. In the 1950s, the maps not only had degree markings around the perimeter of the map, but 5″ azimuth rings were added around neighboring towers.
A curious aspect of the map are the degree markings. Rather than North being connected to 360 / 0, it is connected with 180 degrees. This idiosyncrasy is explained by how the map was used. The photo on the left shows an observer sighting smoke with the alidade. The observer could determine the azimuth by reading the degree marking adjacent to his end of the alidade. The observer would report the azimuth reading to the nearest Forest Ranger, and this could be combined with the reports from other nearby towers. The Ranger would be able to correlate the different reports by using a map with strings simulating the alidades on the fire towers’ circular maps. For example, the Kane Mountain observer reports smoke at 6 degrees, while the Tomany observer reports smoke at 67 degrees. In this imaginary scenario, the Cathead observer records smoke at 274 degrees, from Hamilton smoke is observed at 219 degrees, and T Lake at 160. The intersection of the strings locates the fire in the area of Loomis Pond.
Kane Mtn. Circular Map
Tomany Mtn. Circular Map
Recreation of the String Map
Without the ability to communicate all the maps in the world would be useless and effectively the tower would be out of commission. Each tower was equipped with a telephone that was tied to the commercial network. One of the major responsibilities of the Observer was to make sure that the phone and the lines connecting the phone to the network were in good working order. Each spring the lines would be gone over thoroughly. The Observer was expected to test the telephone by calling his Ranger the first thing in the morning and at least two or three times during the day. If there were issues the Observer would be expected to go down the line to locate the trouble spot.
Being tied to the general phone network, the Observer would make a toll collect call to the local Ranger. A 1965 document outlining the responsibilities of the Observer states that in the case of toll calls “the Observer should inform the operator that he wants to report a fire and ask her in a courteous manner to rush the call.” If the tower’s phone was part of a party line and it is in use, the Observer “…should, in a courteous manner, interrupt the people talking to tell them that he has to report a fire and ask them if they will yield the use of the line to him while he makes his report. The exercise of courtesy on the part of the Observer in using the telephone line will do much to speed up the service and maintain good will.” The Observer was required to keep a monthly log of all toll charges so that the District Office could reconcile the charges with the phone company’s statement. It was a very different world of tele-communications than today just as the gender assumptions with the Observer being male and the telephone operator being female.
While not replacing the telephone, advances in technology made two-way radios more feasible. By 1950 nearly half the towers had them. In 1965 each fire tower was equipped with a two-way radio. These allowed the Observers to communicate with Forest Rangers in their trucks equipped with two-way radios. 
With being equipped with a radio and telephone, the tower effectively became a dispatch center communicating with emergency services and the community. The map on the right records the radio coverage from Kane to the other fire towers in the state.
From the time it was constructed in 1925 the recreational value of the Kane Mountain Fire Tower has been appreciated. A 1925 article Utica Daily Press about the plans for a new golf course at Caroga Lake and its benefits for the community goes on to say: “From the new fire observation tower on top of Kane Mountain overlooking Canada Lake, no less than 13 lakes can be discerned. The scenery is really quite superb and being easily accessible from New York and the Mohawk Valley, the promoters of that region anticipate for it a most promising future.” The article goes on to talk about the new highway connecting Stratford to the west with Pine Lake. The fire tower was valued not only for its protection of the community but also as a recreational asset. The following article from the September 8, 1926 edition of the St. Johnsville Enterprise and News captures the public interest in the tower: “Last Friday Mrs. Etta Curry and Mrs. Earl Wheeler had the privilege of visiting one of the most picturesque spots in the Adirondacks called Kane Mountain on which the fire observation tower is located. The long winding trail up to the top of the mountain is wonderful…. James Luff of Johnstown has charge of the tower which is equipped with telephone. He also lives in a neat three room cottage on top of the mountain. There are 84 steps leading to the top of the tower and it is well worth while to make that climb for the sight which greets your eyes is wonderful. Mr. Luff always welcomes visitors and willingly explains all about the tower and its uses.”
Scrapbooks are full of family pictures taken at the summit documenting a climb. A child’s first unassisted climb is a family milestone.
Generations of children took pride in receiving a signed card from the Observer that they had climbed the mountain and made it to the top of the fire tower. The Observer Floyd Waters signed the attached card for the young Mary Jablonski.
Along with the number of fires spotted, the number of visitors who signed the register in the tower was regularly recorded. James Luff reported that in 1929 “…2,371 persons climbed the mountain and the tower to write their names in the register. Just a few Sundays ago I had 161 callers and they did keep me busy. But I like to answer questions.” The majority of the references to Kane Mountain in newspaper archives refer to group expeditions up the mountain. Schools, churches, scouts, YMCAs, and summer camps frequently sponsored outings that were reported in local papers.
As Observers were on duty from dawn to dusk, living quarters were provided. After an early period when Observers had a range of living quarters including tents or a range of types of cabins including bark shanties, log constructions, and some with framed lumber, a standard design was adopted in 1922. The original Kane Mountain three-room cabin built in 1926 was based on the 1922 model. James Luff, the first Observer, said it took two weeks to bring the material up the mountain: “They dragged it up with a jumper and a team of horses to say nothing of a crew of men. It took a whole day to get a hundred pound stove up here.”
The first cabin was replaced in 1961 by a cabin using the 1941 cabin design. The cabin interior consisted of a main room called the office, a small pantry / kitchen, and a bedroom big enough for two twin size cots.
A 1957 article in the Leader Herald, describes the life of the Observer Floyd H. Waters. He would man the tower from 8 am to dusk from the beginning of April to the beginning of November. He was allowed one day off a week when he would be able to go to town to pick up groceries during periods when there would be little danger of fires. During dry spells, he would be on duty seven days a week. A 1948 article in The Leader Republican reports that heavy rains had broken a drought during which for a period of three weeks “one warden in a fire tower had been unable to leave for groceries or water and had been living on green tomatoes….” The Forest Ranger “…singled out Everett Small [sic] of Kane Mountain, Walter LaGrange of Tomany Mountain, and Oscar Howland of Cathead Mountain for special praise. He said their alertness in spotting fires as soon as they started gave ground crews a chance to put them out before the blazes spread.”
Most of the Observers lived by themselves on the mountain, while wives and their families would sometimes live on the mountain as well. Marty Podskoch’s book recounts Cordie Smith’s, Buckshot’s wife, memories of living in the Observer’s cabin with an infant. Dealing with diapers was a challenge. Water would either be collected rain water or else carried up the mountain. Cordie took pride in carrying pails of water up each day without spilling a drop. Since there was no electricity at the top of the mountain, there was no refrigeration. James Luff speaks of a diet of beans and bacon. Cordie Smith mentioned how Buckshot would cook bean or pea soup and biscuits with the little wood stove. James Luff took pride in his flower garden.
Kane Mountain Stewards
After the closure of the fire tower in 1988, there was concern that the tower would suffer the fate of so many other towers and be torn down. Of the other towers in the region only Cathead remains and that was because with its forty-foot antenna the tower was critical in State Police communication. Since the tower is located on private land, trails to the summit were closed to the public. The Tomany, T-Lake, and Hamilton towers were all torn down.
The DEC appreciated the value of the Kane Mountain tower. Its accessibility to large population centers from the Capital District through the Mohawk Valley communities to Utica makes the Kane Mountain Tower a popular recreational destination. Local residents mounted a campaign under the motto “Don’t Raise Kane-Save the Tower.” The Canada Lakes Protective Association signed an agreement with the DEC to repair and maintain the tower, cabin, and trails. Members of the CLPA under the guidance of Bill Fielding and Tim Mitchell completed projects like repairing the roof of the cab, painting the tower, and replacing the treads of the stairs. CLPA members were called upon to carry up materials to the tower. The preservation of the tower reflects the collective efforts of members of the community.
In 2018 the New York State Chapter of the Forest Fire Lookout Association signed an agreement with the DEC to maintain the fire tower and Observer’s cabin.
In the Fall of 2021, the DEC replaced the roof of the Observer’s cabin, repaired the porch, and secured the building from vandalism. Volunteers from FFLA and staff of the DEC stained the cabin as well. A Volunteer Service Agreement signed in 2022 between the FFLA and the DEC has the objective of “restoration, maintenance, creation of interpretive exhibits, and staffing of the tower.”
Since 2022 FFLA has run the Kane Mountain Fire Tower Steward program with the participation of members of the CLCA. They staff the tower on weekends during the summer to provide outreach to the general public providing information about the history of the tower, the local flora and fauna, and the recreational opportunities in the area including mountain bike opportunities at Wheelerville Trails. The CLCA participates in FFLA’s annual “Lighting of the Fire Towers” each Labor Day weekend.
