Rogers, George W. Company Shot Tower
About this property
The Shot Tower located in Dubuque, Iowa, is one of the last remaining shot towers in the United States. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and remains a recognized symbol of the city. The tower stands 120 feet 5 inches (36.70 m) tall. At its location near the Mississippi River, the tower can be seen from the riverwalk. The tower underwent extensive renovations beginning in 2004. The tower was built in 1856 to provide lead shot. The invention of the shot tower enabled economical production of many nearly perfect lead spheres of the right size to fit in a shot gun. To make the shot, molten lead was poured through a grate at the top of the tower. The droplets that fell from the grate were of relatively uniform size, and the fall provided enough time for the liquid-metal droplet to form into a sphere before landing in the water below. The water cooled the lead to its solid state, retaining the spherical shape. The shot tower struggled almost immediately due to economic downturn from the Panic of 1857. A St. Louis company, Chadbourne & Co., purchased the Dubuque tower, but did not use it. After the war, the Standard Lumber Company used it as a fire watchtower. The tower was abandoned after a series of fires in 1911 destroyed the local lumber industry and damaged the tower's wooden interior. The fire was determined to be arson, but no one was ever arrested. In 1976, the tower was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Tuckpointing and repairs soon followed, and in 2004, the Shot Tower became part of ongoing riverfront renovations. Listing, drawing, and photographs, Survey number HABS IA-30-8 at the Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Questions about this property
When was Rogers, George W. Company Shot Tower listed on the National Register?
Rogers, George W. Company Shot Tower was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 7, 1976.
What type of historic resource is Rogers, George W. Company Shot Tower?
Rogers, George W. Company Shot Tower is classified as a structure in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Rogers, George W. Company Shot Tower?
The period of significance for Rogers, George W. Company Shot Tower is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Rogers, George W. Company Shot Tower?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Rogers, George W. Company Shot Tower will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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