Dubuque, Iowa: Dubuque Shot Tower

The Shot Tower is on the other side of the tracks, literally. Also there is construction going on around it, but it is still intact, with the same fence around it. Looking at it, one wonders how many men were maimed or killed by the shot produced by this tower during the Civil War.

The Shot Tower stands 120.5 feet high. There is strong evidence that some of the originally exposed column base is now buried, as is an estimated 15-20 feet of stone foundation. The load-bearing masonry walls are progressively reduced from a base width of three feet to just one foot at the top of the tower. Lead was melted at the base of the tower, hoisted to the top, poured through screens of different gauges, tumbling smoothly round as it fell into the water vats below. The shot was then sorted and packed. When completed, the tower could produce between 6 to 8 tons daily, but it was rarely operated at full capacity due to being bought by competitor Chadburne and Forster in 1862.

Dubuque's Shot Tower was constructed in 1856 for C.H. Rogers & Co. in order to provide lead shot to the military. The tower stands 120 feet tall at Commercial Street and the Mississippi River. It was added to the National Register of Historic Place in 1976.