Sightseeing, finding
Tower Rock
in the Mississippi River
Perry County, MO
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Tower Rock is a majestic landmark. The less than one acre limestone rock towers more than 90 feet above the Mississippi River bed. Water is turbulent as it passes around the rock and returns to the main channel, especially when the river is high. This has prompted centuries of legends, respect and fear among rivermen. |
| Tower Rock at low water, Feb. 2003. Southeast Missourian (story) photo by Fred Lynch. More pics |
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General Ulysses Grant must have developed an affection for Tower Rock. He had passed it several times as he directed troops during the Civil War. Later as President, he refused to approve a river channel improvement that would have blasted the rock into oblivion. (1877 Sketch - click for larger) |
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Sightseers can walk on flat rocks near river level, or climb a bluff near Tower Rock, for better views. Tower Rock is accessible by foot only during extremely low water. Adjacent Missouri land features a 32-acre natural forest, including a 10-mile hiking trail.
The natural area and island are tourist attractions listed on the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places, since 1970. More information is available from the district forest office at Cape Girardeau, (573) 290-5730. In 1698, missionaries put three crosses on the island.
Grand Tower, IL, across the river, southwest of Carbondale and Murphysboro, gets its name from the rock. Visitors to Grand Tower's levee, boat dock and Devil's Backbone camping park can view the rock. The red and white tower in the left of the picture above is a support for the longest natural gas suspension pipeline crossing in the world.
To find Tower Rock (which is north of Cape Girardeau, and south of Perryville MO), find Uniontown on US 61, then go east on Route A through Frohna and Altenburg. The road winds down through a break in the hills. Five miles past Altenburg (three miles beyond Tower Rock Winery) and half a mile before the river, you'll see a small sign on the right, pointing to Tower Rock, a mile south by gravel road. How to find Altenburg
The railroad has frequent trains, and crossings have no lights or gates, so please stop, look and listen.
If you follow Route A to the Mississippi River without turning on the Tower Rock road, you'll arrive at what's left of Wittenberg. The U.S. Postal Service gave up on the post office after the 1993 flood. A woodcarver (a peace-loving fellow who wears his hair long) has a shop in the old post office (visitors welcome). It is generally open on weekends.
The map on the right shows the rock as a white dot and its relationship to Whittenberg, MO and Grand Tower, IL. Wittenberg is named after the German city where the Lutheran Reformation began, when Martin Luther parted ways with the Catholic church.
Growing up on a Wittenberg farm
The former post office has newspaper clippings of past floods and actual water marks. The 1993 flood mark is within six inches of the ceiling. By the beginning of the Civil War, Wittenburg had a railroad station, three-story hotel, and a flour mill. more Trains daily cross a turn-of-the-century iron railroad bridge.
Tower Rock Winery
Altenburg, MO
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