In 1909, following years of forest fires that severely damaged the state’s woodlands, a new system of fire management was enacted in New York that included stricter regulation of industries, including railroads, and a network of fire observation towers in the Catskills and Adirondacks. From their perches high above the forest, fire observers could spot potential hazards and report on conditions in the forests they monitored.
One of the first fire towers in Ulster County was the observatory at Belleayre (also known as Belle Ayre) in Pine Hill, part of the town of Shandaken. At first, the tower was privately owned by Eugene E. Howe, a successful lawyer who amassed more than 4,200 acres of land on the mountain from the Belle Ayre Conservation Company and other private clubs. Though many of the first observatories were simple wooden platforms, Howe’s tower stood 65 feet tall and was built of steel. It stood at the summit of Belleayre Mountain, at 3375 feet. The state’s Forest, Fish and Game Commission took over the tower in 1909, along with the Balsam Lake Mountain Tower in the town of Hardenburgh.
Each fire observation tower was staffed with a fire observer, who remained on site from spring until late October. Early observers camped out in tents by their towers, until the state built a series of cabins at each observation site.
Charles Y. Persons was the first fire observer at the Belleayre tower, hired at a salary of $50.00 a month. The tower remained staffed until 1970.
In 1930, the original tower was replaced by another steel tower. The new tower stood 73 foot tall, and was the tallest in the area at that time. At the same time, a new cabin for the fire observer was constructed on the site. Fire towers became popular with hikers and by the mid-1930s, more than 1,500 hikers were visiting the Belleayre tower each year, as noted in the registers kept by the fire observers.
In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps was called upon to construct a number of trails for skiing in the Catskill Mountains. One of the trails they constructed was the “Belle Ayre run,” which started at the fire tower. Additional public access to the tower came in the 1940s with the opening of the state’s Belleayre Ski Center. The Catskill Mountain News reported in July of 1949 that “Harold Persons of Pine Hill was named as a foreman of work clearing woods and fields at the site of the new chair lift on Belle Ayre mountain. Work began Tuesday. Persons is the son of Charles Persons, who was the first observer appointed to the Belle Ayre fire tower more than 40 years ago. The elder Persons served on that post until his retirement after 21 years of service. Another son, Walton, then held the post for the next 14 years, until he, too, was retired a few years ago.”
In 1950, the Belleayre Ski Center, home to the state’s only chair lift, began offering summer visitors to the region a unique experience. The 3,000 long lift, containing 82 chairs, brought visitors to the summit of the mountain in about 8 minutes. At the summit, guest could find a picnic area and were encouraged to hike to the fire tower, which stood roughly a quarter of a mile away.
Staffing of the observation tower was discontinued by the state in 1970 and the Belleayre Mountain Fire Tower was officially closed in 1984. Though some of the other fire observation towers in the Catskills managed to survive through the efforts of conservation groups, because of extensive damage by vandals the state deemed the Belleayre tower unsafe and it was dismantled in 1985.
References
“Fire Towers of the Catskills” https://extapps.dec.ny.gov/docs/lands_forests_pdf/catskillsfiretower.pdf
“Forest Lookouts” https://easternuslookouts.weebly.com/belle-ayre.html
Podskoch, Martin. Fire Towers of the Catskills: Their History & Lore. New York: Podskosh Press, 2012
Bygone Hudson Valley 
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