DEER RUN
Missouri Lookouts - Reynolds County - Missouri Conservation Commission - 29N-1W-13
June 25, 1930: "A fire tower built and protection given the game and the new growth of pine." (The Neosho Daily News)
1939-1941: 85-foot steel tower. (Missouri Conservation Commission Annual Report 1939-41)
1942: Construction and development during 1942: 1 dwelling, 20 x 30; 1 garage and woodshed; 1 latrine; 1 cistern. (Missouri Conservation Commission Annual Report)
1947-1948: The 'Official Manual of the State of Missouri' indicates that the towersite is owned by the Missouri Conservation Commission and is located in the Deer Run State Forest.
April 19, 1951: "Clarence Pratt, towerman at Deer Run, while putting out flames nearby, heard whines and discovered the fox writhing in agony. So badly was it burned that it made only a feeble attempt to escape. The fire crew quickly dispatched the fox and brought the body into Ellington, where photographs were made of it for evidence.
Incensed Conservation Agents and civil authorities are conducting a complete investigation of the affair in an effort to bring the fiend to justice." (The Index)
FY1956-57: "An extra bedroom was added to the residence at Deer Run tower." (Missouri Conservation Commission Annual Report FY 1956-57)
FY1971-72: "The Deer Run tower residence received a new roof, ceiling tile, paneling and storm doors and windows." (Annual Report of the Missouri Department of Conservation)
The NGS Data Sheet
STATION DESCRIPTION
DESCRIBED BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1962 (VBM)
STATION IS THE CENTER OF THE BASE OF THE TOWER. IT IS A 4 LEGGED
STEEL STRUCTURE WITH AN ENCLOSED OBSERVING ROOM AT THE TOP. THE
TOWER IS OWNED BY THE STATE AND HAS AN OVERALL HEIGHT OF ABOUT
100 FEET.
TOWER IS LOCATED ABOUT 3 MILES SOUTHWEST OF ELLINGTON AND IN THE
DEER RUN STATE PARK.
TO REACH THE TOWER FROM THE U.S. POST OFFICE IN ELLINGTON, GO
WEST ON THE PAVED STREET FOR 0.05 MILE TO A STREET. CROSS THE
STREET AND GO WEST FOR ABOUT 30 FEET TO ANOTHER STREET. TURN
LEFT AND GO SOUTH ON THE STREET FOR 1.2 MILES TO THE END OF
PAVEMENT, A SIDE ROAD RIGHT AND A SIGN ON THE LEFT DEER RUN
LOOKOUT TOWER. TURN RIGHT AND GO WESTERLY ON THE GRAVELED ROAD
FOR 2.2 MILES TO THE TOWER ON THE RIGHT.