The Maine Forest Service erected Mount Hope Fire Tower in 1962 after moving it from Sabattus, Maine, to replace a wooden tower on Ridley Hill in Springvale after the state lost its lease there and because the wooden tower was in poor condition. The steel Aerometer Tower, manufactured in Chicago, Illinois, was placed about three miles farther south on Mount Hope Hill at an elevation of 600 feet. It covers the seacoast south of York County, looks west into New Hampshire, and east to the outline of the city of Portland; from the cab, smoke from the cog railway can be seen climbing Mount Washington, and snow remains visible on the mountainsides until June each year. The tower was largely manned by women, including Ranger Anna Woodward of Cape Neddick, Maine, who spent more than 20 years there and became a local legend for her accuracy in locating fires, her humor, and her knowledge of every road and structure in view. Mount Hope watchpersons worked with Blue Job Tower in Farmington, New Hampshire, Pawtuckaway Tower in Nottingham, Green Mountain in Effingham, Ossipee Hill Tower in Waterboro, and Mount Agamenticus in Cape Neddick, with volunteers staffing these towers since 1991. Sanford Fire Department became the tower's sponsor in 1993, and that same year it was accepted to the National Historical Lookout Register in a public ceremony and dedication. Maine Forestry Service personnel staffed the tower from 1963 until state funding ended in 1991, including Harold Clark in 1963, Stephanie Corbett in 1963, Anna Woodward from 1964 to 1990, and Keith Meggison in 1991.