Shot Tower (Dubuque)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

the Dubuque Shot Tower in Dubuque, Iowa.

The Shot Tower located in Dubuque, Iowa is one of the United States' last standing shot towers. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and remains a recognized symbol of the city. From its location near the Mississippi River, the Tower can be seen from the riverwalk and is currently undergoing extensive renovations.

[edit] History

The tower was built in 1856 to provide lead shot for the military. The concept of a shot tower solved the problem of how to produce many cheap, nearly perfect lead spheres of the right size to fit in a musket. To make lead shot, molten lead was poured into the top of the tower, where it passed through a grate. 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.

Advances in the manufacture of ammunition led to eventual sale and repurposing as a watch tower for the nearby lumberyard. However, the tower was abandoned following a string of fires in 1911 that destroyed the local lumber industry and damaged the tower’s wooden interior. 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.^[1]