The new watchtower in Black Hills will serve as more than just a fire station

RAPID CITY, SD (KOTA) – Imagine being on duty at a fire tower, coming out of break and suddenly spotting a large cloud of smoke in the distance.

Tucked away in the Black Hills between Deadwood and Spearfish, the Tower of the Black Hills was built by entrepreneur Jeff Miller on the 168 acres of land he owns.

“It’s one of the largest fire towers ever built in the world,” Miller said. The tower is 48 feet tall and offers many breathtaking views of the surrounding area.

Miller believes fire towers are slowly becoming irrelevant. “Fire towers are kind of the way out these days, but I wanted to reintroduce them,” Miller said.

Many great ideas can arise in the garage, basement or other unusual places.

“I came up with it on a napkin about a year ago,” Miller explained.

The idea came out of the blue, and yet it’s all part of the entrepreneurial spirit.

“Entrepreneurship, you know, that’s what it’s all about. “A lot of us in this country have that,” Miller said.

He wanted to build something unique that would help promote the Black Hills, with the fire keeper only playing a part in his creation.

“At some point, you know, it earns the right to be a venue. People can get married here, you can have your annual corporate meetings here,” Miller said.

He also wants the tower to receive part of the podcast landscape.

“Let’s get Joe Rogan or Theo Von up here. I would love to have them,” Miller added.

After convincing his longtime friend Brad out of retirement, the two began building the tower in June and finished it 69 days later. The tower was built from stone, wood, wire and glass.

“I was in the process of building it for myself and a few friends came and suggested I make something out of it. You know, the further it went, the cooler it got,” Miller said.

Miller says South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem will be visiting the tower soon and would like the public to stop by to see it.

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