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Missouri Wineries |
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Missouri Wineries |
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Welcome to
Views of Tower Rock
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Photos may be used if credit is given. See below. Click an image for larger view.
"A place dreaded by the savages, because they believe that a demon that devours travelers (is there)."
--Explorers Marquette & Joliet, 1673
"Rivermen who had never passed Grand Tower before were compelled to either furnish spirits to drink or be dunked." --Historian Jim Denny, summarizing Lewis & Clark writing of the rock, 1803.
"It's really too dangerous to mess with when the river's up," because of the whirlpool caused by the force of the water hitting the rock and shooting behind it. -- Towboat pilot.
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Top left - from slightly south of rock.
Top right - from the north. Grand Tower IL levee is on left.
Left - from the south, looking upriver
Right - rocks in river nearby, Grand Tower IL levee at top
The above photos taken by Fred Keller. They may be used with credit given to Tower Rock Winery.
Click an image for larger size. 57k version of Southeast Missourian-Fred Lynch photo.
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Images below were taken by area resident Fred Eggers, from the east and west sides, on Feb. 1, 2003, when the rock was accessible by foot. He has researched the rock's history and can be reached at eggersfred [at] aol.com.
He says, "I measured the height of the rock at 88' at the Southeast corner to the low water below. This compares to Captain Clark's measurement of 92' on November 25, 1803. I suspect the difference in the measurement is that Clark measured to the peak of the rock and I measured only to the edge where I dropped my cord."
The general rule of thumb for access to the rock by foot is 0.0' on the Chester IL gage or 7.0' on the Cape Girardeau MO gage. However, upstream water releases by the Corps of Engineers to maintain navigation depth can change the river level at the rock by several feet within a few hours.
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