At St. Croix State Park, a forest-fire towerman climbed 100 feet and 134 steps to a fire tower cab and, during fire season, spent hours scanning the horizon for smoke or fire in rain or shine through spring, summer, and fall, for as little as $.20 an hour. Built in 1937 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, the tower was one of 123 used across Minnesota to monitor wind and fire danger. Using two-way radios to communicate with nearby towers and forestry stations, the towerman judged the color, size, and distance of smoke, often without binoculars. An oversized compass called an alidade pinpointed a fire's site by triangulating readings from other lookout towers. Although aerial surveys have almost eliminated the need for fire towers, this tower remained manned during fire season until 1981. The last towerman was a woman, volunteer towerperson Mrs. Wolters, who climbed the tower for the last time after 19 years of smoke spotting. A towerman's cabin built nearby was moved to the campground in the mid-1960's and serves as the present campground registration and ranger station.