The House That Listened - The Cedar Hill Army Observation Post

This series explores the local history of New York’s Capital Region. Though not every article focuses directly on Germans, each one sheds light on the people, places, and communities that shaped their lives here. Click here for a full list of all articles in the "Threads of the Capital Region" series.

Today, most planes flying over the Hudson belong to familiar commercial airlines. But during World War II, there was a real fear that the next aircraft spotted overhead might be a German bomber.

When the United States entered the war, Americans had already witnessed the devastating Blitz in England—a sustained German bombing campaign targeting both military and civilian infrastructure. The fear that Britain might fall, combined with the memory of those air raids, led the U.S. to rapidly organize domestic defenses for a worst-case scenario: German aircraft attacking American soil.

While German U-boats posed the greatest threat along the East Coast, the Blitz showed what could happen if Germany gained long-range bombing capabilities. At the time, Germany lacked aircraft that could reach the U.S., but they were developing the so-called Amerikabomber for just that purpose. There were also concerns that German submarines—like some Japanese models—might eventually be able to launch aircraft from the sea.

In response, the federal government established the Office of Civilian Protection, which organized local War Councils across the country. The Bethlehem War Council, one of hundreds in the U.S., oversaw blackout drills, air raid shelters, rationing programs, childcare for working mothers, and most notably, air warning systems in cooperation with the Army. Because the Army lacked the personnel to monitor the entire coastline, civilian volunteers organized by the War Councils played a critical role.

In 1941, New York State established over 1,300 air-raid observation posts, all staffed by trained volunteers. Their job was to visually and audibly identify incoming aircraft and report sightings to filter centers in Albany, Buffalo, Syracuse, and New York City. Those centers would then coordinate a military response.

There were 12 air observation posts in Albany County, three of which were run by the Bethlehem War Council. Staffed 24 hours per day throughout the war, they were located at:

• The current site of Five Rivers Environmental Education Center

• The Albany Municipal Golf Course

• Cedar Hill

The Cedar Hill Army Observation Post was built in August 1942, atop the 1880’s carriage house of George Best, a former ice company businessman. The carriage house was a perfect location for an air observation post, since it offered an elevated and unobstructed view of the Hudson River. If German planes were to attack Albany, they would likely use the river as a natural landmark for navigation. 

The Cedar Hill Army Observation Post as photographed on March 10th, 1943.

To detect aircraft, volunteers used an acoustic listening device—a large horn that amplified sounds to distinguish airplanes from other noise, such as passing trains. This post remained active through the end of WWII and was briefly reactivated during the early Cold War in the 1950s.

In this photograph the listening horn is visible, which helped to distinguish aircraft noises from other sounds.

Today, the former observation post is a private residence, still visible from Barent Winnie Road—a quiet reminder of the volunteers who once watched the skies over Bethlehem. Though no enemy planes ever came, their vigilance tells a story of fear, resilience, and a community shaped by a distant German threat—another thread in the tapestry of Capital Region history. 

Today, the Cedar Hill Army Observation Post is a private residence. You can view it from Barent Winnie Road.

The cupola in the photo from 1943 is easily recognizable here.

Sources

Hartzell, Karl Drew, PhD. The Empire State at War. Published by the State of New York, 1949. 97-102.

Leather, Susan. Historical Tales of Bethlehem, New York. The History Press, Charleston, SC. 2016. 136.