For much of the early 20th century, the summit of Belvidere Mountain served as an important fire‑watching station in Vermont’s northern Green Mountains. Hikers approaching the peak via the Forester’s Trail emerged beside a newly built fire lookout tower and the adjacent forester’s cabin, both of which were praised in early Long Trail guidebooks for their sturdy craftsmanship and practical design. The tower, constructed largely from materials sourced on the mountain itself, was built by L. T. Kinsley, whose skillful joinery allowed the structure to withstand the fierce storms that regularly swept across the exposed summit.
The cabin, occupied seasonally by the state fire warden, stood just beyond the tower. Together, the two structures formed a small but vital outpost in Vermont’s statewide fire‑detection network, which expanded rapidly during the early 1900s as logging and slash fires became a major concern. From the summit, the fire warden commanded sweeping views southward along the Green Mountains, while to the east and south lay the vast open pits of the Eden–Lowell asbestos mines, once among the most productive chrysotile deposits in the United States.
By the mid‑20th century, however, the Vermont State Forestry Department allowed both the tower and the cabin to fall into disrepair. The cabin deteriorated severely, and the tower’s platform and guardrails rotted to the point of becoming hazardous. In response, the Green Mountain Club launched a major restoration effort in the summer of 1984, partnering with the Vermont Job Service’s Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). The program, funded through CETA, provided twelve youth workers, while the GMC supplied tools, supervision, and trail expertise. Under the leadership of Bob Lindemann of the Sterling Section and John Lepinski of the Killington Section, the team restored the fire tower to safe condition and cleaned up the summit. The cabin, however, was deemed beyond repair and was demolished.
The summit’s dramatic views also reveal the region’s industrial past. For decades, the Eden–Lowell asbestos mines dominated the eastern slope of Belvidere Mountain. First opened in 1900, the mines eventually produced 96% of all asbestos mined in the United States, employing 240–300 workers and operating around the clock. Vermont’s chrysotile deposits were once considered the finest in the country, a fact highlighted in C. E. Crane’s 1937 book Let Me Show You Vermont. The mines finally closed in 1992, after the health hazards of asbestos became widely recognized.
Today, only the restored fire tower remains on Belvidere’s summit. The forester’s cabin—once a symbol of Vermont’s early fire‑protection efforts—survives only in guidebooks, photographs, and the memories of hikers who visited before its removal.
Sources
- Long Trail Guide Book. 10th Edition ed. Green Mountain Club, 1935.
- "Long Trail News." 1961.
- "Long Trail News." 1963.
- Long Trail Guide Book. 24th Edition ed. Green Mountain Club, 1996.
- Crane, C. E.. Let Me Show You Vermont.. Alfred A. Knopf, 1937.
