SHOT TOWER AND FOSTER FALLS

The weather forecast was iffy so we decided to explore some of the historical sites of this area.  We started out at Shot Tower about 20 miles north of Hillsville.

Shot Tower Historical State Park is perhaps one of the smallest state parks in any state, probably no bigger than an acre.  It took over five years to build the Jackson Ferry Shot Tower, being completed in 1807.  Shot was a small metal ball that was fired from a musket; a forerunner of a bullet.  

Workers would hoist the pieces of lead to the top of the tower using a pulley system with livestock pulling the lead to the top.  The lead was smelted and poured into giant sizing sieves to make the different sizes of shot needed.  The lead then free fell through the tower into a kettle of water at the bottom which acted as a cushion to prevent the shot from losing its round shape.

For over 30 years the Jackson Ferry Shot Tower manufactured ammunition for a growing nation.  Normally, shot towers were 150 in height, the height necessary to form a perfectly round ball.  By building this shot tower on a cliff, the tower only had to be 75 feet in height with the remainder of the necessary distance made up from the height of the cliff down towards the New River.  The workers would get to the base of the shaft through a tunnel into the side of the cliff.  Pretty ingenious design!

Just north of Shot Tower is what remains of the town of Foster Falls.  Foster Falls was once a bustling town in the late 1800's and into the early 1900's, known for its iron industry.  In 1895 the population was 296.  Below is a grist mill and corn crib.

The general store sold all the necessities the residents needed that they couldn't grow or raise for themselves.

The iron furnace was constructed in 1881 and stayed in operation until 1914.  The railroad came soon after the iron furnace was built to transport the iron to the major cities in the east and midwest.  You can see how tall this furnace is when you compare its height to Paul who is 6 ft. 1 inch.  This furnace produced 12 tons of pig iron per day.

Dozens of iron furnaces and forges dotted the New River Valley due to its high mineral content.  In 1887, the railroad built a dinky rail bridge across the river to the hematite ore mines located a 1/4 mile above the Foster Falls station.  This is all that remains of this bridge which was washed out by flooding in 1916.

Here is the railroad station as it looks today.  It serves as the New River State Park office and store at Foster Falls.

This very well preserved caboose sits next to the train station.

Across from the train station is this once stately hotel, built in 1895 to house railroad passengers.  It is being restored today into a bed and breakfast inn.

As we began our hike towards Shot Tower, there were sheer cliffs on both sides of the river.  These cliffs shown below are on the opposite side of the river from where the train tracks were.  

Sometimes the cliffs were right next to the train tracks.  You can see the hiking path where the train tracks were at the bottom of this photo.

When the railroad was built, the workers sometimes had to cut through the rocky hillside to lay the level track bed.  If you look closely you can see about a 8 ft. high rock on the left as the track was cut through with the sheer cliff on the right.  Historic rumors suggest that these passageways were cut through the rock by men using pick axes and very few explosive charges.  

Occasionally there was a tree which appeared to be growing right out of the rocky hillside.  Look just above the yellow arrow in the photo below.

We breathed in the strong sweet smell of honeysuckle as we passed many honeysuckle bushes all along our hike.

We arrived at the part of the trail below Shot Tower.  Here is a view looking upward. 

We continue to be amazed at many of the colorful flowers we see blooming during our hikes.  Most notable during our hike from Foster Falls to Shot Tower were 

Crown Vetch

Dense Blazing Star

Chicory

Morning glory

Almost more amazing were the colorful butterflies that would continue to flutter about all during this hike.  Ann was able to get this photo of a small blue butterfly after many attempts.  The butterflies just wouldn't stay still long enough for a good photo.  

While this hike was not strenuous on our bodies, it was enlightening to see the history that took place in this part of Virginia.  The early settlers definitely used great ingenuity to accomplish the tasks that needed to be done to not only build places to live but to be able to exist in sometimes difficult times due to harsh weather and other obstacles.