Jackson Ferry Shot Tower Linocut

The Jackson Ferry Shot Tower is located in Shot Tower Historical Park in Wythe County, VA. In 1969, it became listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The tower is one of the last of its kind to remain intact in the United States and it contains many unique features.

In 1806, an English immigrant named Thomas Jackson bought the land upon which the shot tower now sits for $19,000. He oversaw the construction of the tower, which was completed in 1812. Contrary to local lore, the lead shot it produced was used commercially instead of for the War of 1812. Such commercial production was in demand after President Thomas Jefferson imposed the Embargo Act of 1808. Although Thomas Jackson died in 1824, his nephew Robert Raper took over the tower's operations and continued lead shot production until 1839.

Several construction and design features of the Jackson Ferry Shot Tower make it unique. Although brick is the standard tower building material, the Jackson Ferry Shot Tower's walls consist of limestone mined in a quarry less than a mile away; these walls are approximately 2.5 ft thick. Additionally, the tower is built on a cliff, with half of the required shaft length of 150ft built above ground and the other half dug below. The subterranean half of the shaft was hand-dug to save construction costs; seven bodies of slaves as work fatalities are located in a nearby cemetery. In the tower's lead shot production, the water used to cool the dropped lead came from the nearby New River and the lead itself came from local Austinville lead mines.

A year before the linocut's creation, the tower was presented by a descent of Robert Raper to the daughters of the American Revolution. However, the tower was later given to the Lead Mines Ruritan Club in 1952. Restoration began in 1964, when the tower was given to the Virginia Division of State Parks for perpetual care.

"Shot Tower Historical State Park." DCR. Department of Conservation and Recreation Virginia State Parks, 9 Feb. 2010. Web. 30 June 2010. http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/shottowr.shtml