Bramley Mountain Fire Tower Opens to the public

The Bramley Mountain Fire Tower received its Certificate of Completion on  January 2nd, and the Friends of Bramley Mountain Fire Tower held the first public  opening of the tower on January 4th. Due to the very cold temperatures and high  winds, the opening was brief, just one hour. Given the harsh conditions and the  short notice, there were a surprising number of attendees. Seventeen visitors came  from as far away as Lake George, Utica and Warwick and from as close by as  Andes, Bovina, Bloomville, Delhi and Roxbury. Tom Clark, Andrea Clark and  Lauren Packard, members of the Clark family who donated the tower making its  return to Bramley Mountain possible, were in attendance at this first opening. 

Tina Mole’, chairman of the Delaware County Board of Supervisors, commented  on the Fire Tower’s return: “Delaware County is excited to see the newly  reconstructed Bramley Mountain Fire Tower completed. I am proud of all the  work that went into making this a reality and I want to thank the Friends of  Bramley Mountain Fire Tower for their diligence and perseverance in making this  happen. We look forward to welcoming visitors to the County as they make their  way up the mountain to catch a glimpse of what makes Delaware County such a  special place to live.” 

The Bramley Mountain Fire Tower was erected on property owned by NYC DEP,  and in addition to allowing the return of the Fire Tower on their land, the DEP  assisted in the project by improving the access road used during construction, and  by building an additional parking area to handle the increased number of visitors 

that the tower will draw to the mountain. DEP Bureau of Water Supply Deputy  Commissioner Paul Rush said, "This fully restored iconic asset represents an  historic era of critical forest protection as we continue working with all of our  community partners today protecting the natural resources throughout the Catskill  Mountain region. DEP is proud to have partnered with Delaware County to enable  the return of the Bramley Mountain Fire Tower to its summit perch overlooking the  forests of the Cannonsville and Pepacton watersheds.” 

Ann Roberti, President of Friends of Bramley Mountain Fire Tower says “We’re so  excited to finally be able to open the tower to the public and we are so grateful to  everyone who helped make this possible – the Clark Family, Delaware County, the  NYC DEP and all the generous donors. There’s still more we are planning to do  including signage inside the cab that identifies all the visible mountains and other  sites and some benches for the summit. We will be recruiting and training  volunteer stewards in the spring so if you are interested in helping with that and  haven’t already been in touch with us, contact us at  

info@bramleymountainfiretower.org.  

The view from the tower is spectacular. To the north and to the west the town of  Bloomville and the beautiful forest and farmland of the area are visible. To the  south and the east, Lake Delaware, the Pepacton Range and some of the Catskill  High Peaks can be seen. With binoculars, one can see the fire towers on Balsam  Lake Mountain and on Mount Utsayantha and the many wind turbines located near  Deposit – almost 60 miles away.  

From Memorial Day weekend through Indigenous People's Day, volunteer tower  stewards will be present every weekend and holiday (weather permitting) to open  the tower to the public. They'll be sharing historical insights, fascinating facts  about the surrounding area, and even lending out binoculars for a closer look at the  stunning views! 

Stewards will also be present on an ad hoc basis on nice weather days throughout  the winter and spring. Announcements of these openings will be made on The  Friends of Bramley Mountain Fire Tower’s Facebook and Instagram accounts. 

The Friends of Bramley Mountain Fire Tower will be announcing the official  ribbon-cutting ceremony and other celebrations in the near future. 

Background: 

The Bramley Mountain Fire Tower fire was erected on the summit of Bramley  Mountain by the New York State DEC in 1950. For 20 years, Fire Observers and  Forest Rangers monitored the local area for fires from this tower, triangulating  locations in conjunction with the Mount Utsayantha and Balsam Lake Fire Tower  Observers. According to the DEC, the Bramley Mountain tower was also visible  from the Hunter Mountain and Tremper Mountain towers. A vital part of protecting  the surrounding region from forest fires, the tower stood prominently on the  summit for 25 years. The tower was decommissioned in 1970 and, in 1975, it was  sold to Pete Clark, a local farmer and removed.  

In 2016, with the approval of the NYC DEP, The Catskill Mountain Club created a  loop trail to the summit of Bramley Mountain. After the creation of this popular  hiking trail, Tom Clark, the son of Pete Clar contacted the Catskill Mountain Club  and offered to donate the tower if the Club would be able to return the tower to its  original location. Mr. Clark had been approached in the past about selling the tower  to a company who would move it out of the area, but he remained hopeful that it  could be returned to Bramley Mountain one day. Recognizing what an incredible  recreational, historical, economic and educational benefit the reconstructed Tower  would have for the community and surrounding towns, the Catskill Mountain Club  began working on this project.  

In 2020, after the NYC Department of Environmental Protection had generously  supported the concept of reconstructing the tower on their property, the Catskill  Mountain Club initiated the formation of Friends of Bramley Mountain Fire Tower  (FOBMFT), an organization dedicated to rebuilding the Bramley Mountain Fire  Tower. The Friends are an all-volunteer 501c3 corporation, whose mission was to  restore and reconstruct the Bramley Mountain Fire Tower, and to maintain the  tower going forward. FOBMFT is comprised of Catskill Mountain Club  representatives and leaders of the local hiking and business communities.  

From 2020 to 2024, The Friends of Bramley Mountain Fire Tower worked hard to  raise funding and to obtain the many necessary permits and permissions to build  the tower. 

While other fire towers have been removed and then restored, most of them were  either taken down, repaired and put right back up, or were restored to be re-erected  in new locations. The Bramley Mountain Fire Tower is the only existing fire tower 

in the United States which was disassembled, stored for years, and then  reassembled in the exact same spot, saving a piece of local history.

Attendees climb the Bramley Mountain Fire Tower on opening day.