Photo left: 1974, photo right: 2025
Background on the usage of Fire Towers can be found here.
In 1950, an 80-foot Aeromotor Company LS40 fire tower was erected on the summit of Bramley Mountain by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. A three-room pine paneled observer’s cabin was then constructed by Forest Ranger Lester Rosa and Utsayantha Fire Tower Observer Jim Davies. Local electric and telephone companies strung lines to the cabin and tower. A radio antenna was also erected near the tower. A picnic table and fireplace rounded out improvements to the summit grounds. The fire tower was accessed by a dirt road leading up from Bramley Mountain Road in Bovina.
For 20 years, Fire Tower Observers monitored the local area for fires from this tower. Along with Mount Utsayantha and Rock Rift Towers, they were able to cover the entire Delaware River Valley. They also often triangulated with the Balsam Lake Fire Tower observers. According to the DEC, the Bramley Mountain Tower was also visible from the Hunter Mountain and Tremper Mountain Towers.
Three Observers served at the tower from 1950-1970:
Ernest Jackson: Spring 1951
Theresa “Que” Aitken: 1952 and some periods from 53-57 (Theresa was one of the few female fire observers in New York State.)
Charles Atken: April 1958 to October 1970
Four Forest Rangers served during this period:
Lester Rosa and Noel Ganyo (1951-69)
Gerry Hamm and Pete Rossi (1970-71)
During the years the tower was in operation, it was a frequent destination for residents, for visitors and for school trips. One visitor to the tower recalled that the observer actually spotted a fire while they were there.
As communication and transportation systems changed, fire towers and their observers began to be replaced by air surveillance. Funding for the fire tower system began to dwindle. By the 1970s and 1980s many towers were closed all around New York State. The Conservation Department sold some of the fire towers to the highest bidder, as was the case with the Bramley Mountain tower.
Tower Decommissioned and Deconstructed
The DEC closed the Bramley Mountain Fire Tower in 1970, and, in 1975, they put it up for sale with the buyer required to remove it themselves. Pete Clark, a Delhi dairy farmer, bought the tower for $50 and he and his brother, Dave and some friends carefully took the tower down. They marked all the tower components to make it easier for them to reconstruct it on the farm, but they never did that, worrying about insurance.
The Resurrection of the Bramley Tower
In 2016, with the approval of the NYC DEP, The Catskill Mountain Club created a loop trail to the summit of Bramley Mountain. After the creation of this popular hiking trail, Tom Clark, the son of the farmer who had originally purchased the tower, contacted the Catskill Mountain Club and offered to donate the tower if the Club would be able to return the tower to its original location. Mr. Clark had been approached in the past about selling the tower to a company who would move it out of the area, but he remained hopeful that it could be returned to Bramley Mountain one day.
In 2020, after the NYC Department of Environmental Protection had generously supported the concept of reconstructing the tower on their property, the Catskill Mountain Club initiated the formation of Friends of Bramley Mountain Fire Tower (FOBMFT), an organization dedicated to rebuilding the Bramley Mountain Fire Tower. The Friends are an all-volunteer 501c3 corporation, whose mission was to restore and reconstruct the Bramley Mountain Fire Tower, and to maintain the tower going forward. FOBMFT is comprised of Catskill Mountain Club representatives and leaders of the local hiking and business communities.
From 2020 to 2024, The Friends of Bramley Mountain Fire Tower worked hard to raise funding and to obtain the many necessary permits and permissions to build the tower.
In November of 2024, the reconstruction of the Bramley Mountain Fire Tower was completed and the official Certificate of Completion, allowing the opening of the tower to the public, was issued in early January of 2025.
For an in-depth history of Bramley Mountain, check out the Catskill 3500 Club‘s article Historical Profile: Bramley Mountain in The Catskills Canister, Volume 55, Number 1.
And we are so proud to be featured in an article in the national magazine of the Forest Fire Lookout Association.
To listen to an informative and entertaining podcast on Fire Towers and this fire tower project, Check out this great Kaatscast podcast featuring Brett Barry doing an on-trail interview with FOBMFT board member Laurie Rankin. Besides talking about our project and its origins, Laurie gives a short history of New York State fire towers. Laurie is the daughter of Larry Bake who was the observer at the Balsam Lake Fire Tower, and her deep, personal knowledge of fire towers makes this podcast extremely compelling.
Not to be missed! Listen here.
