By Rachel Perry
The Friends of Brown County State Park is raising funds through its CLIMB TO THE TOP campaign to restore the Weed Patch Fire Tower and reopen the tower cab to public access by 2029, Brown County State Park’s 100th anniversary. Working with IDNR staff, the all-volunteer 501(c)(3) nonprofit seeks to address long-standing safety issues that have kept the cab closed for many years.
Built in 1927 by the Department of Conservation’s Division of Fish and Wildlife, the Weed Patch Fire Tower in Brown County State Park is the oldest recorded standing tower in Indiana. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is also included in the National Historic Lookout Register. The Weed Patch Fire Tower stands as a sentinel from the era when Indiana’s forests were protected by a network of towers staffed by dedicated lookouts, many of them local farmers. Thousands of visitors climb the tower each year to enjoy the view, even though the cab remains inaccessible. Reopening the cab would restore one of the park’s most memorable vantage points for future visitors.
This restoration is about more than preserving an old structure. The project will address safety concerns, restore controlled public access to the tower’s cab, and improve the surrounding plaza and parking area. Together, these improvements will allow the tower to remain a meaningful part of the visitor experience while protecting its historic character. Preservation is most successful when a place is not only saved, but also understood, responsibly used, and passed forward to another generation.
Following successful fire tower restorations at McCormick’s Creek and Ouabache State Parks, the Friends of Brown County State Park hopes to make the Weed Patch Fire Tower a renewed landmark and a fitting symbol of the park’s centennial.
The group has successfully raised $100,000 so far with generous grants from the Brown County Community Foundation and Duke Energy, along with a number of individual gifts.
We’ve recently been promised a match of up to $100,000 more to inspire additional donations to help us reach the total $450K estimated cost for the tower restoration, including a new tower plaza with sandstone columns and expanded parking. Donations are being matched now, making this an ideal time to contribute to the project.
Please visit the friends’ website to contribute online, or send a check to Friends of Brown County State Park, P.O. Box 1892, Nashville, IN 47448 and help us CLIMB TO THE TOP! Make checks to Friends of Brown County State Park with “Weed Patch Fire Tower” in the memo line. Please call Vice President Rachel Perry with any questions. 812-360-0929Note: The Indiana Parks Alliance awarded the Friends of Brown County a Tom Hohman Small Project Grant in 2026 to assist with the purchase of a bench for the new fire tower plaza.
Read about the impact this firetower had on John Bacone’s career.