Shot Tower Historic State Park

the shot tower was constructed in the early 1800's near the lead mines at Austinville
Source: ESRI, ArcGIS Online

The shot tower was constructed by 1815 to convert lead mined at Austinville into the round pellets fired by muzzleloading guns:¹

Lead from the nearby Austinville Mines was melted in a kettle atop the 75-foot tower and poured through a sieve, falling through the tower and an additional 75-foot shaft beneath the tower into a kettle of water.

Mining at Austinville

State Parks in Virginia

Links

• Virginia State Parks
• Shot Tower State Park

References