Since 2001, Azure Mountain Friends have been educating visitors about the importance of being good land stewards.
Azure Mountain Chronology
1914 - Fire Observation Station constructed of wood.
1918 - Present 35-foot Aeromotor galvanized steel fire tower erected at a cost of $530. (Tower height is measured to the floor of the cab.)
1978 - Tower closed by the DEC and lower two sets of stairs removed to prevent tower access.
1995 – DEC removes the Observer’s cabin, built in 1936.
2001 - Azure tower named to National Register of Historic Places along with 6 other fire towers. (They are also on the NYS Historic Register.) NYSDEC announces plans to remove tower; Azure Mountain Friends (AMF) organizes. At the time of this recognition, the Azure tower was the only one of the seven that had not already been restored. The Azure Mountain Friends group formed late in the fall.
2002 - Tower restored through the hard work of NYSDEC personnel, AmeriCorps workers and numerous AMF volunteers.
2003 - Azure Summit Volunteer Stewardship program begins; tower officially re-opened with Sept. 27 observance.
2006 - Azure Mountain Friends Scholarship program initiated.
2018 - Centennial of the tower observed, July 29.
