Bramley Mountain Fire Tower

INTO THIS.

Fire Tower Presentation at Delhi Library October 4th

Marty Podskoch, the author of The Fire Towers of Catskills: Their History and Lore, will give a presentation at the Cannon Free Library in Delhi on Tuesday, October 4^th at 6:00 PM. 

Podskoch has done extensive research on the history of all 23 fire towers in and near the Catskills, including the Bramley Mountain Fire Tower which we are in the process restoring. His work focuses on the compelling personal stories of the observers and rangers who worked tirelessly to protect the Catskill Forests from being devastated by fires.

This presentation is free and open to the public.  For more information, click the link here.

We’ve been asked why does it cost so much to return the tower to Bramley Mountain when we already have all the parts of the tower and they are in good shape? Good question!  Here are some of the things we need to pay for to restore and reconstruct the tower :

• 12 to 14 cross brace pieces that have pack rust because of insufficient galvanizing at the time of the original construction need to be replaced
• All tower components need to be picked up from the Clark Farm and brought to a facility to be sand blasted to remove the old paint and then hot dip galvanized to insure they will withstand the elements for decades to come. Of course, they then need to be transported back to Delhi.
• New supporting footers need to be constructed for the tower
• All bolts and fasteners will be replaced with new ones to insure strength and safety
• Wooden stair treads and landings will be replaced with non-skid metal treads and landings, again for safety as well as for longevity
• Safety fencing needs to be purchased for each flight of stairs
• We also need to pay for labor and equipment to transport the tower components and other materials to the top of the mountain and to do the reconstruction work.

Fire Tower History
When one takes in the view of the Catskill forest from a fire tower in 2020, they see a heavily forested, lush, green and healthy landscape. That was not the case in the early 1900’s. At that time, the Catskill landscape consisted of farm buildings, homes and businesses that were built of wood and heated with wood. The logging business and the tanning industry were working in the forest, harvesting trees and bark on a daily basis. Communication systems were poor, with the telephone in its infancy. Transportation was still by foot, horse, and rail. Trains passed through the forests with coal sparks flying from their stacks and from the wheels on the rails. This scene was played out throughout New York State. read more.....

Bramley’s tower was closed at the end of 1970, and in 1975 the DEC sold the tower for $50 to a local dairy farmer, Pete Clark, of Delhi. Mr. Clark and his helpers took the tower down with great care, saving all parts and even coding many as to their placement. The Clarks hoped to put the tower up on a hill on their farm, but they were never able to accomplish this.

In 1997, a group of Delhi and Bovina residents formed the Bramley Mountain Fire Tower Club, in the hope of restoring the tower to Bramley Mountain. The group raised funds with the goal of purchasing the summit parcel and right-of-way on the old access road as the first steps in their project, but they were unable to come to an agreement with the parcel’s owner. In the end, the funds raised were donated instead to the restoration of the Mt. Utsayantha tower. read more ….

The Bramley Mountain Trail is one of the most popular hiking options in the western Catskills. It was designed and built by the Catskill Mountain Club, in partnership with the NYC Department of Environmental Protection.  Located on a NYCDEP parcel in the Towns of Delhi and Bovina, it totals about 4 miles in length.  The complete loop visits the 2817’ summit with its site of a former fire tower, a beautiful abandoned bluestone quarry, and the impressive cliffs and caves that lie between. read more ….

The Friends of Bramley Mountain Fire Tower

The newly formed Friends of the Bramley Mountain Fire Tower group held its first meeting on the evening of January 6th at the O’Connor Hospital in Delhi. The Friends were formed to organize the reconstruction of the fire tower that was decommissioned by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation in 1970 and removed in 1975. With the formation of the Friends group, the effort to raise funds and complete the resurrection of the tower has officially begun.

Among those agreeing to serve on the Friends’ board of directors are Ann Roberti, who will serve as president. Ann shepherded the project through the approval stages with Rick Roberts, who will serve as Vice-President. They are joined by Amy Beveridge, David DeForest, Wendell George, Jillienne LaFever, Laurie Rankin, John Sandman, Jeff Senterman and Doug Sluiter.

Read more about the Project Participants

Friends of Bramley Mountain Fire Tower are grateful to our Business Sponsors:

Platinum Sponsor	Wayne Bank	$10,000
Silver Sponsor	Outsource Consultants	$2,500
Bronze Sponsor	Sluiter Agency, Inc.	$1,500
Bronze Sponsor	Capital District Physicians’ Health Plan	$1,000
Bronze Sponsor	Community Bank	$1,000
Bronze Sponsor	Delaware National Bank	$1,000
Bronze Sponsor	Delhi Telephone Co.	$1,000
Bronze Sponsor	Margaretville Telephone Co.	$1,000

We are also thankful to have received donations from The Catskill Mountain Club, The Catskill 3500 Club The Delaware County Historical Society

We are proud to report we have received donations from 157 individuals/families and small businesses, mostly local, but also from Fire Tower supporters around the country.     

(This is the most recent news. Click the News Link in the menu bar to see the all the news about the project.)

Send email inquiries to info@BramleyMountainFireTower.org

Click here to be added to the Friends of Bramley Mountain Fire Tower’s email list, to get more detailed news on the progress of the fire tower project and to learn about volunteer opportunities. Volunteers will be needed throughout the project, to assist with fundraising, to help sort the components of the tower for inspection, painting components, assistance during construction as well as work afterwards staffing the cabin for visitors.

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