MISSOURI LOOKOUTS
SUNRIDGE
Jefferson County
Missouri Conservation Commission
42N-4E-36
Missouri Conservation Commission
42N-4E-36
FY 1948-49: A 6 acre towersite was acquired. (Missouri Conservation Commission Annual Report)
1949-1950: The 'Official Manual of the State of Missouri' indicates that the towersite is owned by the Missouri Conservation Commission and is 6 acres in size.
June 1, 1951: "There will be a public dedication of the Sun Ridge Fire Tower on Highway 21, just 25 miles south of St. Louis, on Sunday, June 17, at 2 p.m. central standard time. Leonard Hall of Possum Trot Farm will be present to make the formal presentations. Representatives of many groups, the Missouri Conservation Commission and Federal Forestry agencies will be in attendance." (Washington Citizen)
July 9, 1951: "The dedication of the Sunridge Fire Tower. This lookout stands on a hilltop about half-way between Hillsboro and the Meramec river and dominates a great stretch of Ozark countryside which is today a part of the Meramec Fire Protection District of the Missouri Conservation Commission. The event was significant not because there is anything unusual about the building of a fire tower, but because no fewer than a dozen civic groups, conservation organizations and state and federal agencies, plus perhaps 150 private citizens, were on hand for the dedication ceremony. And equally interesting was the fact that the site for the lookout had been presented to the state by an outstanding and public-spirited citizen of the Jefferson county community." (The Daily Standard)
September 11, 1968: "Construction will commence this week on an 80-foot steel conservation lookout tower on Sunridge drive, about seven miles north of Hillsboro on Highway 21 near the AT and T tower. Dismantling of the old wooden tower ended late last week.
Jack Koch, Hillsboro, is forest agent for this area.
Koch, who has been in charge of the lookout tower for the past 15 years, said the state is changing the tower because the wooden structure was badly deteriorated and was coming to the point where it was not safe. It extended 65 feet into the air.
The 80-foot steel tower will be erected on the same site and is expected to be ready for use by Koch by about September 20.
Although the new tower cab will be smaller, it will be safer. Koch related. The old cab measured 7x7x7 feet while the new one is is only 5x5x7. Koch's visibility from it, on a clear day, will be 15 to 20 miles. This is the only conservation lookout tower in Jefferson county.
The entire tower site consists of 6.7 acres, which includes a large picnic area for visitors. Koch estimated that between 500 and 700 visitors visit the tower site during the summer months, many of them also using the picnic area.
Upon completion of the new structure, Koch will continue to man the tower. The old tower just taken down was erected in 1949 and Koch is the fifth man assigned to it by the State Conservation commission. The other four were there a total of five years.
When he first took the position, Koch said many fires were reported by him. In recent years the number has declined, mainly, he feels, because people are becoming more fire conscious, 'In fact,' Koch said, 'I reported four fires in one day this past April but have not had to report any fires since that time.'
Once the new tower is completed, countians and motorists traveling Highway 21 will be welcome to visit the tower site again." (Daily News Democrat)
Jack Koch, Hillsboro, is forest agent for this area.
Koch, who has been in charge of the lookout tower for the past 15 years, said the state is changing the tower because the wooden structure was badly deteriorated and was coming to the point where it was not safe. It extended 65 feet into the air.
The 80-foot steel tower will be erected on the same site and is expected to be ready for use by Koch by about September 20.
Although the new tower cab will be smaller, it will be safer. Koch related. The old cab measured 7x7x7 feet while the new one is is only 5x5x7. Koch's visibility from it, on a clear day, will be 15 to 20 miles. This is the only conservation lookout tower in Jefferson county.
The entire tower site consists of 6.7 acres, which includes a large picnic area for visitors. Koch estimated that between 500 and 700 visitors visit the tower site during the summer months, many of them also using the picnic area.
Upon completion of the new structure, Koch will continue to man the tower. The old tower just taken down was erected in 1949 and Koch is the fifth man assigned to it by the State Conservation commission. The other four were there a total of five years.
When he first took the position, Koch said many fires were reported by him. In recent years the number has declined, mainly, he feels, because people are becoming more fire conscious, 'In fact,' Koch said, 'I reported four fires in one day this past April but have not had to report any fires since that time.'
Once the new tower is completed, countians and motorists traveling Highway 21 will be welcome to visit the tower site again." (Daily News Democrat)
FY 1968-69: "A new steel tower was erected at Sun Ridge." (Missouri Department of Conservation Annual Report FY 1968-69)