STOCKHOLM – For more than 50 years, forest rangers stood atop the tower on Stockholm Mountain keeping a wary eye for forest fires. During World War II, watchers looked for German warplanes they thought could come from the north.

The steel tower, built in 1920, was turned over to the town by the state in 1971, although there is no deed registered in the town’s name for the gift received during Gov. Kenneth Curtis’ administration.

Depending on whom one asks, the tower is anywhere between 60 and 90 feet tall. It has five landings with steps between each, and an enclosed platform with a roof at the narrowed top. The old tower is held vertical by four guide wires anchored in the ground.

The 83-year-old tower has become a historical site for area residents. That caused some consternation last month when residents received a letter from the Board of Selectmen stating that the tower might be demolished because of safety concerns and insurance issues.

“The letter brought out a lot of sentiments,” Selectman Charles Sykes said Saturday in an interview at his Madawaska Lake chalet. “Many remember the tower that’s been around all their lives, and it has become a historical site to them.

“The only other alternative now is to make the site a safe one,” Sykes said. “There is no local budget to make the repairs, and a special town meeting will be needed, after we gather information on costs and possibly other available money.”

The alternative to repairing the tower, Sykes said reluctantly, is “tearing it down.”

Stockholm, a town of 271 residents, is located about 15 miles north of Caribou, off Route 161.

Sykes, and many other local residents, would like to fund needed renovations through grants. While no cost study has been done, Sykes thinks the needed work could be done for $10,000.

The problems with the site, which is a 15-minute walk from Donworth Street in downtown Stockholm, are safety and liability.

Sykes said the Maine Municipal Association, the town’s insurer, has told officials they no longer are covered with liability insurance for the tower.

The selectman said he thought that also prompted the owner of land where the tower trail is located to post no-trespassing signs at the start of the trail. The square parcel of land is surrounded by private land.

The problems include no enclosures along the stairway to the top, and no enclosures around the five landings. The entrance to the top level is a trapdoor, and that could easily fall onto the head of a person climbing near the top landing.

At one time, after the town gained ownership, the area had been fixed up with fireplaces, an outhouse and picnic tables for residents. Vandals destroyed the amenities, and they were never replaced.

The facility has been closed, at least temporarily.

Sykes said many people would like the site to be made safer and reopened as a historical area. The town also would have to develop a local budget to maintain the site.

The selectman said the town needs to find paperwork to show that the town actually owns the site and to find money to make the site a safe one. The area could be entirely fenced in to control access.

Sykes and Selectmen Greg Landeen and Herb Lausier are doing some research before holding a special town meeting.

Sykes thinks a special town meeting will be held this winter, before the annual 2004 town meeting, to address the situation.

“There is definitely a majority of residents who want to keep it as a historical site,” he said several times. “Most residents in the town are older people, and they want to keep what’s been around all their lives.”