Atop the mountain is the Mount Adams Fire Observation Station, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.

It was planned that a large portion of this property would be transferred to the State of New York and subsequently become part of the High Peaks Wilderness Area, requiring that the tower and related structures be removed.

After considerable pressure, the OSI and the DEC agreed that the surrounding lands would be transferred to the State with the exception of the tower and cabin sites.

In early April 2006, the Adirondack Park Agency gave final approval to the plan for the Tahawus Tract.

[3] The observers cabin on Adams, which was built in 1922, is the oldest surviving in the state and one of the first of a standard design established by the Conservation Commission that same year.