Information about Ferdinand tower
Names: Ferdinand
Location: Ferdinand State Forest
County: Dubois (the only tower in this county)
Topo quad: Saint Anthony
Condition: Standing; climbable up into the cab
Maps of Ferdinand fire tower
Above: Saint Anthony topo quad, 1955
Links
Ferdinand State Forest trails map PDF
Living New Deal page for Ferdinand State Forest Fire Tower
NGS datasheet for FERDINAND LOOKOUT TOWER and for nearby FERD marks
FFLA Indiana Chapter 2009 annual report has an update from Teena Ligman about this tower — its restoration and its history
Survey numbers 004-561-28006 and 037-561-38001
Data
| Coordinates | Latitude | Longitude |
| My coordinates (unofficial) | 38.275083 | -86.77876 |
| NGS FERDINAND LOOKOUT TOWER (JA1873) | 38 16 30.65511(N) | 086 46 43.71424(W) |
History of Ferdinand tower
Ferdinand State Forest was started in 1933-1934, according to this article in the February 1983 OI. A very old document from 1934 calls this the Dubois County State Forest.
The tower was started and constructed in 1935 according to the Living New Deal page.
There were two locations, according to two sources.
- The February 1983 OI article mentions that the fire tower was erected, and then “There is some debate whether the tower was erected and then later moved to its present location, or whether plans were changed after the foundations were laid. (The foundations are visible near Firelane #1.)”
- Teena Ligman did an interview with the Ferdinand property manager in 2009 who told her: “I do know that this was the second tower site at Ferdinand. The first one was about 1/2 to 3/4 a mile southeast of the present site. The original site had a towerman’s cabin nearby but I was told the tower was only there for a couple of years. I was never able to confirm if the same tower was moved or if a new one was erected.
The Ferdinand tower was renovated/restored around 2009 using AARA funds.
The two pictures above are from a book about the history of Ferdinand Indiana.