Visiting Jackson's Shot Tower... almost

Before leaving Iowa, one of the sights I thought could be interesting was a shot tower. I'd never heard of one before but found it interesting reading a little about one. It appears that there are only a few still standing throughout the nation so it had added appeal. Even at that, it was only a notion as Linda and I headed down the highway. As we passed through the hills, Linda and I both noticed the impressive tower amongst the trees. We pulled off and got close... but renovations had fenced of a pretty good perimeter around the actual structure. We circled around across the river and got the view you see in the image. Just to my right when I took this shot was a Kentucky historic marker with the following text:

By 1770 Captain William Herbert had established a ferry across the nearby New River that became known as Jackson's ferry. Thomas Jackson erected the 75-foot shot tower in the early 1800s to manufacture shot for firearms. The Austinville mines supplied lead for this business. Molten lead was drpped through a sieve from the top of the tower, then fell through the structure and an additional 75-foot shaft beneath the building into a kettle of water. While falling, the lead cooled and developed into shot pellets; the water cushioned the fall. The shaft was connected to the riverbank by a tunnel through which the shot was carried and then loaded onto boats.