The Fire Tower was once an Icon of the Forest Products Industry in that it stood tall and were manned to watch over the country's forests as a means to catch forest fires before they went out of control. Many of the original, more than 5000 Fire Towers in the US, are still standing though not in use. The Maine Chapter of the Nature Conservancy desired to preserve the historical structure on Trout Mountain as part of Maine's historic legacy.

David Vana, the owner of Davana LLC, was hired by the Maine Chapter of the Nature Conservancy to construct an 80-foot observation tower on Trout Mountain to give visitors a view of fabled Mount Katahdin in Baxter State Park. At 5,268 feet, Katahdin is the highest mountain in Maine and is the inspiration of writers such as Henry David Thoreau and painters such as Frederic Edwin Church. Vanna was commissioned to replace a fire tower that was closed due to safety concerns in the 70's on Trout Mountain. 

Trout Mountain has an elevation of 1,427 feet and appears as a soft rise on the southern slope in front of Mount Katahdin. The Nature Conservancy acquired the mountain as part of a 3,564-acre purchase from Great Northern Paper in 2000. It is an ecological reserve, which means the Nature Conservancy conducts no active timber management, allowing natural forces like wind and ice to shape the forest.

Davana Ltd. buys and restores historic fire towers. The tower on Trout Mountain was built from parts from a 120 foot tower David salvaged from Alabama. That tower was built in the 40’s and was in use up until 2017 when it was purchased by Davana. David used the middle sections of the salvaged tower to build the tower on Trout Mountain. He had 6 tons of the originally galvanized steel stripped to recoat the salvaged pieces. In addition, he used 4 tons of newly galvanized steel for parts to complete the Maine installation.