Union Lookout

Union Lookout, a historic fire lookout tower in Trail of Tears State Forest in southern Illinois, was built around 1934 by the Civilian Conservation Corps as part of Shawnee National Forest's fire detection system. During the New Deal era, CCC crews also planted trees, built bridges and trails, and controlled erosion in the forest. The tower remained in use through the 1960s, until airplanes largely replaced staffed towers for spotting fires. As the only surviving tower from that forest network, it preserves an important part of the region's conservation and fire protection history and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Illinois · United States