 But Crowing County recently purchased the Pequot Lakes fire tower and the 41 acres that surrounded from the state with intentions of reopening it to the public. The 100 foot tall tower was built in 1934 and it was originally used by the Department of Natural Resources to spot wildfires. The DNR closed the historic site to the public in 2017 due to vandalism and maintenance costs. Now Crowing County has big plans for the tower. We need to redo the treads, redo the cab, there's a lot of work that needs to be done there. I would like to see us eventually get to a fire suppression museum at the base of that to make it into really another educational usable facility that the public can use. Crowing County's goal is to have the fire tower open to the public by next summer. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.