Shot tower
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A shot tower is a tower designed for the production of shot balls, which were used for projectiles in firearms. In a shot tower lead is heated until molten, then dropped through a sieve high inside the tower. The liquid lead condenses as it falls and forms tiny balls. These are caught at the floor of the tower in a water-filled basin.
The tallest shot tower ever built still stands in the Melbourne, Australia suburb of Clifton Hill. This brick structure was built in 1882 and is 80 metres or 263 feet high to the top of the small chimney.
A contrasting shot tower is the Wythe County, Virginia tower, whose construction began around 1800 in a very rural area. It was constructed of stone with walls 2.5 feet thick, as it was not practical to use brick in that region for such a large structure. It was built at the edge of a cliff and utilized a subterranean tunnel to double the overall height the lead would drop.
Other shot towers can be found at:
- Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Drochtersen, Germany
- Dubuque, Iowa, USA
- Coops (Melbourne Central) Shot Tower, Melbourne,Australia
- Clifton Hill Shot Tower, Melbourne, Australia
- Wythe County, Virginia, USA
- Southern Tasmania, Australia
None of these are still in use, although some are open to the public. The Wythe County Shot Tower is part of a state park and is open to the public during tourist season.