In the middle third of the 20th century, when forest fires were a greater threat to rural Maryland counties, Cecil had three forest fire spotter towers. Sitting on top of those tall structures, some 80 to 100 feet above the ground, observers kept a careful watch out for wisps of smoke in the vast tracts of woodlands that covered the county.
From that high vantage point, the operators could provide a watchful eye, scanning the horizon for any sign of trouble. Working with other fire towers, they could triangulate the location and dispatch forestry and fire companies to the spot where an incipient blaze had started. This early warning system was critical in the time when the county was less developed and notification of a fire in an undeveloped area might be delayed.
Two of those structures were erected in the 1930s as part of the Roosevelt Administration program to provide relief from the Great Depression. A WPA (Works Progress Administration) publication noted that the erection of three structures was authorized. Woodlawn and Pleasant Hill (Egg Hill) opened in 1935. Black Hill came a little later, in the 1940s.
During World War II, the lookouts also doubled as posts for identifying airplanes. By the late 1960s, the importance of these protective measures for early warning was declining, though seasonal staffing continued into the 1970s. At some point in recent decades, the State stopped operating the towers as they had become obsolete due to their diminished value as an early warning system.
For a complete report on Forest Fire Tower Properties across Maryland, see this helpful report from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Is the one off of fire tower road accessable?