Rock Mountain Fire Lookout Tower
The Rock Mountain Fire Lookout Tower (officially Tedd Joy, state number 14) is located in west Jefferson County near Bessemer and McCalla. It was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1941. In a ceremony on November 9, 1943, it was dedicated to Tedd Joy, a noted conservationist and president of the Alabama Wildlife Federation. Joy had died the previous year. A granite tablet is embedded in the nearby sandstone cliffs that reads, “In Memory of F.M. (Tedd) Joy 1878 – 1943 Conservationist, Developer, Friend.”
The 100-foot steel tower stands at the highest point on Rock Mountain, 810 feet above sea level, in an area once designated by the Jefferson County Sportsman’s Association as Tedd Joy Wildlife Sanctuary. The sanctuary encompassed 18,000 acres. The tower was built in one of Alabama’s most inaccessible areas.
The tower was abandoned in the very early 1960s.
References
- Coleman, William L. (2011) The History of Rock Mountain In Jefferson County, Alabama. Dog Ear Publishing. ISBN 1457507080
- "Tedd Joy Tower is Dedicated" (December 1944) Alabama Conservation
External links
- Rock Mountain Lakes website
- Forest Fire Lookout Association website