- City:
- Delta, AL
- Site Type:
- Fire Lookouts, Forestry and Agriculture
- New Deal Agencies:
- Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Work Relief Programs
- Site Survival:
- Extant
Description
“Bunker Tower is an observation tower on the peak of Cheaha Mountain in Cheaha State Park located in Cleburne County, Alabama, U.S.A. The tower is located at the peak of Cheaha Mountain, the highest point in Alabama.[1] The tower is a large stone building completed in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps.[2] It originally had park offices and a gift shop in the wings on either side of the observation tower.
The tower is immediately adjacent to the very tall Alabama Public Television WCIQ transmitter tower which aids it being a central meeting place that can be easily found despite the trees and foliage at the top of Mount Cheaha. It was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage on December 15, 1989.”
“The highest point is marked with a USGS marker (photo below) in front of Bunker Tower, a stone Civilian Conservation Corps building with an observation deck on top. The CCC also constructed a road to Cheaha, but the road has been closed for years. The old road is locally referred to as the “CC Road” and contains interesting, inaccessible ruins.”
The CCC built a road, excavated for a lake with campground, developed hiking & horse trails, constructed 11 rustic cabins, a comfort station, a bathhouse, built the Cheaha Lodge & Bunker Tower, and conducted landscaping. The white CCC Company 468 SP-2 worked on the park until 1936; thereafter work was continued by Company 2420C SP-7, which was comprised of African American veterans of World War I.
Source notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunker_Tower
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheaha_Mountain
Our Mark on this Land: A Guide to the Legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps in America’s Parks by Ren & Helen Davis (McDonald & Woodward Publishing, Granville, OH, 2011)
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bpasquill
Gabriel Milner
JH
You took the history off of the park’s website which is not correct. Company 468 worked at Cheaha State Park from June 1933 to October 1937. Company 465 was a junior African-American company. They worked at the park from November 1934 to October 1935. The WWI veterans, were white, Company 2420, arriving at the park in June 1939 and working until early 1942.
Thank you for clarifying this important history! We would be happy to make the edits if you can provide us with a source for this information.
What is the height of Bunker Tower? Is this confidential information? Can’t find it anywhere.
Does anyone know?
Gabriel Milner, if you are still active on this website, the man who commented on the history was Bob Pasquill. He was The leading authority for CCC history in the state of Alabama. He is no longer with us, but please make the changes he requested. I currently work specifically with the history of Cheaha State Park. As for the height of the tower, it is roughly 50 foot tall.