Tower Hill Video – My Wisconsin Space

Tower Hill State Park is a 77 acre park located on the banks of the Wisconsin River near Spring Green, WI. It’s main feature is a 120 ft. shot tower and 90 ft. tunnel where lead was dropped to create symmetrical shot balls using the “Watts Method.” In 1782, William Watts of Bristol, England, patented a method to produce shot that was round and free of imperfections by dropping molten lead from a great height. Watts’ invention was inspired by observing falling raindrops. Shot towers were first built in America after President Thomas Jefferson imposed the Embargo Act in 1808. Tower Hill, relatively close to the lead mining regions of Wisconsin, used a crude 120 ft shaft and 90 ft tunnel dug into a sandstone cliff to produce shot from 1833-1861. The lead shot was shipped by barge down the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers to St. Louis. The park has 15 campsites and provides canoe and kayak access to the Wisconsin River. The bluff trails give visitors excellent views of the river valley. Nearby is Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin. Slideshow and photographs copyright 2008, Creative Juice LLC.