The David N. Hilton Memorial

The David N. Hilton Memorial. November 17, 1960 – May 24, 2023. , Dave Hilton was born at York hospital, the son of Janet and Alva Hilton. Dave’s father was a firefighter/mechanic for the Ogunquit Fire Department and was from Moody, Maine. His mother grew up in Cape Neddick where her parents ran a country store. Dave’s fascination with the fire department and forest fire lookout towers came at an early age. At the age of 12 Agamenticus tower watchmen (sic) John Chamblee would pick up Dave at the Cape Neddick Post Office on his way to work at the tower. This is where Dave got his first taste of the tower, quickly loved being there and spotting forest fires. In 1978 Dave briefly joined the York Beach Fire department and in 1979 he graduated from York High School. It was in that year he joined the York Village Fire Department. He was a firefighter, driver/operator and Lieutenant. When York received their new Engine 4, a 2001 Pierce Enforcer Dave focused on driving it and could be seen driving Engine 4 to calls when not in the tower., Dave became more notable for his love of the tower in 1991 when the State of Maine decided to close the towers to save money. Many York County Fire Chiefs along with York Chief Chris Balentine, a former tower watchman himself, decided to form a plan to man the towers in York county with volunteers. Dave stepped up to the plate. It was not long until Mt. Agamenticus, Mt. Hope and Ossipee Mt Towers were manned by volunteers. Dave felt very strongly that the towers were needed, and manned Mt. A many, many hours keeping that ever watchful and skilled eye on the horizon for smoke. He had a unique skill for spotting the lightest column of smoke and pinpointing it to within feet of the fire. The State would pay for the electric bills and Dave rounded up help where he could to maintain and man the towers. Dave trained all the volunteers he recruited. Dave contacted area fire departments to get permission to use their fire frequency to report fires in their towns. Dave constantly scoured the area for 39 AM radios to keep the towers up and in contact with the towers in Maine and New Hampshire. Somehow he always managed to get the job done, including putting a computer in the tower to pinpoint the fires better. He was a successful author of a book about the fire towers in Maine and Dave was a great son, husband, father, firefighter, tower watchman, but most of all a great friend to the fire service, forest fire service and all of us who knew Dave, Snowy 92. He is sadly missed. Thank you Dave for all that you did and the tradition that continues today, looking for smoke., Mt. Agamenticus is a beautiful little triple mountain of about 692 feet. Being composed of three hills, the highest being called “SASAONA” by Captain John Smith in 1616. It was named after the Sagamore Indian, “SASAONA.” For hundreds of years, the mountain was the first land seen by mariners out at sea, a landmark and guide for early sailors. , The lookout station at Mt. Agamenticus, on which a steel tower was erected in the fall of 1918, was connected to the system of New England Telephone and Telegraph Co. The station opened in May and was kept open until early October. Under an agreement with the United States Forest Service, the salary of the watchmen at this station was pair two-thirds by the service and one-third by the state. During the year there were 34 fires reported by this tower. , The steel for the first tower was dismantled in 1934 and erected atop Bear Mountain in Hartford, Maine as a fire tower that year. Norris Trafton of York supplied men, horses and wagons to haul material up the mountain for the new tower. Prior to World War II there was only a foot path to the top of the mountain. The granite steps at the base of the present tower were also the steps used at the original 1918 tower. The present tower was moved during the early 1940s when the U.S. Army occupied the top of the mountain as a radar base. , The first wedding ever performed on top of Mt. Agamenticus took place in the forest fire lookout tower on Sunday evening, August 29, 1937. United in marriage were Milfred W. Hartwell, daughter of Lovedale and Jennie (Cooper) Hartwell of Roxbury Massachusetts and Floyd R. Avery, son of Chester and Florence (Lewis) Avery of Cape Neddick, Maine (sic) , The 10:00 p.m. ceremony, held by light of an old fashioned lantern, was performed by the Rev. Stanley Stevens, locally known as the “Mountain Preacher”. Hosted by fire watchman Robert P. Ramsdell, the young couple was accompanied by three friends, York Beach motorcycle officer Raymond B. Salls, Mr. LeRoy Salls, and Mr. Caroll Matthews of Cape Neddick. , Robert Ramsdell, fire observer in Sept. of 1941, was the first to spot a disastrous fire after it broke out in a Berwick slash lot. The fire was in a lumbering operation, located in a swamp north of Beaver Dam. Firefighters from over 18 communities, a detachment from the Civilian Conservation Corps, forest rangers and a Boston and Maine Railroad crew and more than 500 men battled the fire for several days to save homes in the beaver (sic) Dam vicinity of Berwick and North Berwick. , A new cab was constructed atop the mountain’s fire tower in the early 1980s by the crews of the Maine Forest Service, including Anna Woodward, George Hill, Steve Harding and Mike Carter. It was raised to the top of the tower by Harold Jones, piloting the MFS helicopter. It remains in great shape today, thanks to the continued maintenance performed by the volunteer watchmen. , The view from the tower is commanding. On a clear day, on can see the skyscrapers of Boston, the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and the coastline of Maine all the way to Portland. Visitors are welcomed by the volunteers except during high fire danger day (sic)., Watch Tower Personnel manned this tower employed by the Maine Forestry Service from 1918 until the State stopped funding in 1991 , Arthur Ramsdell 1918-1922 Robbie Ramsdell 1922-1942 Wesley Birch 1943-1958 Russel Hornung 1959 Ed Cahoon 1960-1965 Russel Horning 1966-1968 Leon Chamblee 1969-70 Don Gilpatrick 1971 Leon Chamblee 1972-1075 Chris Balentine 1976-1978 Paul Jaques 1978 Diane Whiteside 1978-1985 Marilyn Daily 1985 John Leavitt 1985 Keith Meggison 1986-1990 , The area you are standing in represents the names of volunteers from York County, Maine and Southern New Hampshire that have served as lookouts from 1993 to the present. , Keep Maine Green , This is God’s Country , Why set it on fire , and make it , look like HELL.