Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
SHOT TOWER
SHOT TOWER. The process of producing lead SHOT with a tower for military or individual ammunition was patented by William Watts on September 28, 1782. (1) Lead was heated until molten and then dropped through a copper sieve high in the tower. The liquid lead solidified as it fell and by surface tension formed tiny spheres. The partially cooled balls were caught at the floor of the tower in a water-filled basin. The fully cooled balls were checked for roundness and sorted by size; those that are "out of round" were remelted. A slightly inclined table was used for checking roundness. To make larger shot sizes, a copper sieve with larger holes was used. The maximum size was limited by the height of the tower; larger shot sizes must fall farther to cool. (2)
The shot tower of George W. Rogers & Co. stood on an extension of Seventh street. Rising to a height of about 150 feet — 142 feet of stone and 42 of brick, the tower's base was 18 feet 10 inches. At the base walls were three feet thick and twenty inches at the top. The cost of construction by 1856 was $7000.00 and would rise eventually to $10,000. When completed, the tower could be used to produce from six to eight tons of shot. (3.)
As soon as it was built and operating, the tower threatened the monopoly over shot production enjoyed by Chadbourne and Foster of St. Louis, Missouri. The St. Louis company began by cutting their prices and then actually selling below cost. (4) This drove Rogers and Company out of business. The tower was leased to Peleg TALLMAN and William Hyde CLARK for three months before they too quit. (5) For the rest of 1859, the tower was operated by Peter Cook and William Langworthy, two directors of the DUBUQUE HARBOR IMPROVEMENT COMPANY. The George W. Rogers Company is said to have become Cook, Rogers & Company and later Cook and Langworthy between 1858 and 1859. (6)
The tower and the land on which it stood was sold to Gilbert Woodruff of Rockford, Illinois for $1,653 at public auction on March 14, 1860. The following day, he sold the parcel to Julius K. GRAVES, for only $1,200 suggesting a partnership of some sort had been arranged. (7) Graves retaliated against Chadbourne and Foster by encouraging buyers to purchase their shot from the St. Louis firm. (8) Since they were selling below their cost of production, this placed a huge financial burden on the St. Louis company. His fellow shareholders, however, were not making the profits they expected and were tired of battling the St. Louis company. Graves began buying up their stock for five cents on the dollar. (9)
In 1860 on the verge of the CIVIL WAR, representatives of Chadbourne and Foster came to Dubuque to buy out their competition. After negotiating with them, Graves was able to sell all his shares for fifty cents on the dollars making him a small fortune. (10) Part of the agreement stipulated that Graves could not make shot from a tower again in the area.
Producing shot in mines had been done since 1831 in Wisconsin. (11) Graves was undoubtedly aware of the practice and repeated it north of Dubuque. Chadbourne and Foster sued claiming Graves had violated his contract. He responded that he had not used a tower and won the case. Defeated, the company of Chadbourne and Foster left Dubuque without destroying the competition or the tower as they had suggested. (12)
A statue of Andrew Jackson was placed on the tower by John Deery in 1874 and was not removed until 1881. The STANDARD LUMBER COMPANY used the tower, with a glass-enclosed shelter on the top, to safeguard up to seven blocks of lumber. (13)
Disastrous fires set by arsonists in 1911 ruined the company and destroyed the inner wooden framework of the tower. (14) The city acquired title to the structure in 1921. (15)
In 1930 the park board rejected the idea of turning the shot tower into a monument. (16) The idea had been proposed to use the tower to memorialize William Boyd ALLISON and David B. HENDERSON. Among the reasons given were that the tower was on low ground and that it was associated with a "shady" past in Dubuque history. This undoubtedly related to the history of the contract signed when the tower was sold.
Abandoned to the elements, the tower deteriorated. In 1959 concerned citizens rallied behind an S.O.S. (Save Our Shot Tower) campaign. Canisters were placed in restaurants and stores for donations. (17) Famed radio personality Paul Harvey announced the campaign to the 470 stations carrying his news program over the American Broadcasting Network. (18) When the drive ended in February 1960, $6,700 had been contributed including $25 from U. S. Grant III, the grandson of the CIVIL WAR general. The Dubuque City Council allocated $5,000 for repairs, but the DUBUQUE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY claimed another $7,000 would be needed for proper restoration. (19) The resulting restoration included tuck-pointing the interior and exterior, repairing the windows, replacing deteriorating brick, and placing a trapdoor on the roof. (20)
In 1961 the Daughters of the American Revolution placed a plaque on the tower reading:
The Dubuque Shot Tower was built in 1856, used for making lead
shot and bullets in use commercially for 3 years. Later used
as a watch tower by a lumber company to guard against fire.
The interior woodwork and the top were destroyed by fire in
1911. Restored in 1961 by citizens of Dubuque. Marked by
Dubuque Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution,
1961. (21)
In 1987 the Shot Tower rose between Pillsbury Company gain terminal and the raised tracks of the Chicago, Central and Pacific Railroad. There was a proposal to move the tower. The City Council had removed tuck-pointing the structure, a cost of $27,000, from the capital improvements budget. The Jaycees were considering it for a spruce-up project. (22)
A railroad car jumped the tracks in 1992 and hit the tower. Between $5,000 to $10,000 was done to the base which was billed to the Chicago, Central and Pacific. Following the accident, an editorial in the Telegraph Herald called for efforts to make the area around the tower more attractive and convenient for visitors. The possibilities of needing a public-private partnership similar to the clock tower project or the effort in 1959 were suggested. (23)
In 1996 officials again suggested that the tower should be moved. (24) For the safety of visitors, a consultant suggested disassembling the tower and rebuilding it just south of the DUBUQUE STAR BREWING COMPANY as part of the proposed riverwalk project. In addition to the unknown cost of moving the tower, concerns were raised as to whether the relocation would cause the tower to lose its listing on the NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES. (25)
Restoration of the Shot Tower became feasible in 2003. The City of Dubuque Planning Services Department received a $100,000 Historic Sites Preservation Grant for Phase I of the project from the State Historical Society of Iowa. (26) The Dubuque City Council had budgeted $200,000 for rehabilitation as part of the Vision Iowa application. (27). The entire project was estimated to cost $500.000. (28) Phase I would stabilize the deterioration of the building at an estimated cost of $225,000. Phase II would include the construction of a non-combustible stairway to an observation platform at a project cost of $275,000. (29)
In 2004 the City of Dubuque received a Save America's Treasures grant of $295,000 from the federal government for restoration of the tower. (30) The grant would be used to correct structural problems of the tower and provide an opportunity for interpretation. (31) The City of Dubuque and the State Historical Society would provide matching funds. (32)
Source:
1. Minchinton, Walter. "Lead Shot Towers Around the World," History Today, November 5, 2013. Online: http://www.historytoday.com/walter-minchinton/lead-shot-towers-around-world
2. "Shot Tower Lead-Melting Bowl," Wisconsin Historical Society. Online: http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/museum/artifacts/archives/003290.asp
3. Oldt, Franklin T. History of Dubuque County. http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/franklin-t-oldt/history-of-dubuque-county-iowa-being-a-general-survey-of-dubuque-county-histor-tdl/page-13-history-of-dubuque-county-iowa-being-a-general-survey-of-dubuque-county-histor-tdl.shtml
4. "Old Shot Tower, Now In Ruins, on Standard Lumber Company's Grounds, and Its Unique History, Telegraph Herald, April 5, 1914, p. 13. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=j3FiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=AncNAAAAIBAJ&pg=4259,7228461&dq=shot+manufacturing+dubuque&hl=en
5. National Register of Historic Places," Online: http://weblink.cityofdubuque.org/WebLink8/1/doc/16333/Page54.aspx,
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. "Old Shot Tower..."
9. Ibid.
10. Ibid.
11. "Shot Tower Lead-Melting Bowl."
12. "The Old Shot Tower," Telegraph Herald, April 5, 1914, p. 7. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=j3FiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=AncNAAAAIBAJ&pg=4259,7228461&dq=shot+manufacturing+dubuque&hl=en
13. "Old Shot Tower, Now in Ruins..."
14. Ibid.
15. Kirchen, Rich. "Shot Tower Holds Its Lonely Ground," Telegraph Herald, March 23, 1987, p. 2. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MJVSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8ssMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3400,4115806&dq=shot+tower+dubuque&hl=en
16. "Historic Shot Tower is Put Up for Sale," Milwaukee Sentinel, Jan. 26, 1930, p. 18, Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wl5QAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2w4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6847,4577331&dq=shot+manufacturing+dubuque&hl=en
17. "S O S 'Push' Planned," Telegraph Herald, November 20, 1959, p. 22. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8oRFAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ybwMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3135,2575933&dq=sos+campaign+dubuque&hl=en
18. Ibid.
19. Kirchen, Rich.
20. Ibid.
21. Kruse, Len. My Old Dubuque, Dubuque, Iowa: Center For Dubuque History, Loras College, 2000. p. 23
22. " 'S O S Fund at $6,000," Telegraph Herald, Jan. 1, 1960, p. 12. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gItFAAAAIBAJ&sjid=57wMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3060,139664&dq=sos+campaign+dubuque&hl=en
23. "Shot Tower--Time to Tap Its Tourism Potential," (editorial), Telegraph Herald, APril 10, 1992, p. 4. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=E2NFAAAAIBAJ&sjid=K7wMAAAAIBAJ&pg=6427,2159846&dq=shot+tower+dubuque&hl=en
24. McDermott, Brad. "Shot Spot," Telegraph Herald, August 22, 1996, p. 1. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IvBQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ursMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5295,4046499&dq=shot+manufacturing+dubuque&hl=en
25. Ibid.
26. "Shot Tower Project Receives Grant," Telegraph Herald, December 11, 2003, p. 3. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_JNdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=llwNAAAAIBAJ&pg=3839,1983895&dq=shot+tower+dubuque&hl=en
27. Ibid.
28. Ibid.
29. Ibid.
30. Szeszycki, Emily. "Grant to Aid Shot Tower," Telegraph Herald, Oct. 22, 2004, p. 1. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RJ1dAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0VwNAAAAIBAJ&pg=2280,4588394&dq=shot+tower+dubuque&hl=en
31. Ibid.
32. Ibid.
