Fred Robertson Jr. and Glendon Easter, both of the O’Neal Community in western Limestone County, were found leaning against the back of a pickup truck Tuesday morning. The two reminisced as they prepared to watch an old fire tower, which has served as a landmark for more than 40 years, be disassembled.  The site of the old 60-foot Aermotor MC-39 tower is tucked away in the pines and surrounded by cornfields on O’Neal Road.

On Tuesday, both Robertson and Easter told stories and worked to pinpoint the date the structure was built, agreeing it had to be sometime in the early 1970s.

“Back then you could see for miles from the top of the tower,” said Easter, who lives across the road from the tower.

Greg Wood, volunteer fire department assistant coordinator with the Alabama Forestry Commission, who remembers the structure being constructed by members of the Forestry Commission in the ‘70s, agreed, adding during it’s prime you could see into counties bordering Limestone. “On a clear day in the fall or spring during fire season, you could see the bordering counties of Limestone or at least a portion of the counties,” he said.

During the ‘70s, the structure was moved from a National Forest in Georgia and restored by the Forestry Commission at its current location.

The point where O’Neal Lookout Tower stands is the highest point near the center of the county, according to Wood. The elevation is approximately 781 feet.

For many years the location was used regularly to detect fires in Limestone County.

Doug Ezell. Limestone work unit manager for the Alabama Forestry Commission, said it wasn’t until the 1990s, when the Forestry Commission started using aircraft to spot fires, that the tower was rarely used. It was later deemed out of operation and a liability and marked to be torn down.

Now, it seems the old fire tower will continue its legacy. On Tuesday, Dave Vana, owner of Davana LLC- Fire Tower Restoration, of Bloomingdale, N.Y., and a member of the Forest Fire Lookout Association who is commissioned to dismantle, restore and re-erect the fire tower by different individuals and groups, had a crew on-site at the O’Neal location to begin the process of giving the structure a new life.

Vana, along with his three-man crew made up of Marc McIntosh of Lake Clear, N.Y.,

Sean Burke of Geddas, N.Y. and Mike Wilson of Tallassee, as well as Greg Cruce, crane operator with Solley Crane Service of Decatur, worked to remove the tower from its current location. Cruce used the crane to lift the top portion of the tower before lowering it to the ground to be disassembled. The remaining part was disassembled in place. The group uses the same disassembly technique on all tower sizes.

Vana knows the tower served as part of forestry history in the United States. “These fire towers, there were thousands of them, dotted the country and served the forestry industry as the vanguards of fire detection,” Vana said. “They are all bits of history. Even though all of them can not be saved from the scrap yard we save as many as we can find; we locate, purchase, disassemble and restore to whatever degree our clients want them.”

Vana said many are totally reprocessed with any new structural pieces needed. The towers are then given a new hot-dipped galvanized coating, which is what was originally on them.

“The new coating then gives them a 50 to 60-year rust free coating,” he said. “With all new bolts and fasteners, they are as good as new.”

Vana believes the O’Neal Fire Tower is in “exceptionally good condition.” He will help find it a new home, possibly in a public park or with a private client. “Either way it will remain as a part of forest protection history,” he said.  Vana’s company has saved 13 towers and re-erected eight to date. Davana LLC- Fire Tower Restoration, has projects in Wyoming and Mississippi that are on schedule this year. The company will re-erect the fire towers for clients.

The company recently disassembled a tower in DeKalb County near Desoto State Park.

At one time, the state had 211 fire towers that were staffed during the fire season each year, according to Vana. Today, there 119 still standing minus the two towers recently disassembled.

When it comes to the fire tower on O’Neal Road, “I’m sure going to miss it,” Easter and Robertson said. However, both feel better knowing it won’t be used for scrap and will continue to serve as piece of history.

To find out more about fire tower history and restoration across the nation, visit  www.firelookout.org/.