Hamilton Mountain, a 3,215-foot summit in New York’s Adirondacks near Wells, became regionally important as a fire observation point beginning in 1909. A wooden lookout tower built that year was replaced in 1916 by a 50-foot Aermotor steel tower, which was later modified with wood steps in 1918 and an internal staircase in 1931. The tower remained active through the 1971 fire lookout season, but improved aerial fire detection reduced the need for such stations. It was closed after that season and removed around 1977 because it was no longer needed and did not conform to the Silver Lake Wilderness Area.