Mount Hood (Slayton Memorial) Tower, Melrose, Massachusetts

When talking about pillars and foundations maybe a tower, like the Slayton Memorial Tower truly encapsulates both. Truly a hidden gem that locals know about, but transplants like myself can easily miss. It took me years to learn about its existence and years more to finally dedicate the time to walk through the Mount Hood Park & Golf Course to see this incredibly unique structure, hidden away in the far corner of tiny Melrose. 



My photographs do not do this view out to the Boston skyline and the Atlantic Ocean justice.

There’s been a few write ups on the tower through the years, so my post is far from original, however I do think in the course of our busy lives we take for granted what is in our back yard, and that is true for me and Mt. Hood. I write this with a focus on the tower, but really the whole area is quite beautiful with its ponds, trails, and a golf course that you’d expect to be private country club with a quick glance, when in fact it is open to the public (while being privately managed).

The tower was constructed in 1934 near the Saugus border in the Mt. Hood park and Golf Course, and is properly known as the Slayton Memorial Tower. The Mount Hood Park Association website has some excellent information on the site's history. John C. Slayton had purchased the land in 1907 and interestingly had constructed a tower on the site of the one that stands today. The original tower was destroyed in a fire. The golf course had been planned for a purchase of 210 additional acres of land by Melrose (Slayton willed his property to Melrose), and it was completed by the Works Progress Administration in 1937.

The tower according to the wikipedia page, was utilized as an army outpost, in particular during WWII, for looking for German U-boats. I'm glad I found the wikipedia page, because while I saw several descriptions of the tower's history, the purpose of a tower (an unusual thing to construct) is absent from several websites I've come across. The wikipedia page also makes note of some other former features of Mt Hood now long gone such as a ski jump and a toboggan track.  

The Mount Hood Park Association has some great additional photos of the area surrounding the tower across the different seasons. When Mt. Hood isn't in season for golf, I understand that it can be a popular sledding and ice skating location as well (weather dependent of course!). One writeup/website (Outdoortroop) even listed it first as one of the best places to sled (as well as other winter activities) in Massachusetts! This link from the Mt. Hood Park Association has some great vintage photos from the 1930s, demonstrating the importance of Mt. Hood for Melrose across the generations.


To get to the tower you need to take a few turns through some of Melrose's bucolic suburbia, and then you'll find a sizable parking lot to the right of the picturesque fieldstone Mt. Hood clubhouse. I believe there is designation for the golf course v. the park on signs. The park offers picnic areas, trails, ponds which I understand people fish in, and an escape to see some wildlife. There are signs with maps of trails available. You do need to walk across one fairway to get to the tower on a cart path, so do be cognizant of people playing golf, both out of a sense of courtesy, and of course safety.  

Upon a visit to Mt. Hood Tower this past summer I was able to climb to the top, where previously they were renovating the structure. The reviews from the hill it stands on are impressive, even more pronounced at the platform. 

The choice of Melrose to rent out space on the tower to cell phone companies is unfortunate, however it still is a beautiful spot and perhaps these humming contraptions help pay for the up-keep for future generations.

I found this link from mass-trails.org which has a map, and some links on how to get to Mt. Hood for anyone who hasn't had the opportunity to enjoy this hidden gem.

Mt. Hood Tower is a bit of a departure from my typical posts which have generally had an element of culture or spiritual reference. Regardless, it was always my intention to make Pillars & Foundations a blog that would explore cornerstones of communities. This included, churches, temples, graveyards, civic buildings, and many other elements that are deeply woven into the character of locales. 

Text and photographs by George Parks
Sources are embedded in links


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