Around 1900, this 50-foot wood tower was built in Walnut Valley by the citizens of the area. It was constructed for viewing the panorama of Pennsylvania to the west and the New Jersey farmlands. The tower was used by locals for Sunday excursions and picnics at first, and later by fire wardens to scout for wildfires. It was later replaced by the Catfish Tower, built in 1922 by the State of New Jersey, several miles north along the ridgetop.

There are rumored to be pieces of cable and wood from the old tower along the Appalachian Trail where it once stood.