Today, my kids and I stopped by the Shot Tower at the former Fort Hayes in Columbus. We've not stopped for a couple of years. It was a history refresher in more ways than one.
Fort Hayes' Shot Tower invokes a lot of history for the nation, Ohio, and Columbus. It's a source of family history for our family too.
It was begun as a military post in 1862. Though I can't find anything with certainty to say it happened here, shot towers are where lead shot was manufactured to help the Union win the war. Molten metal was dropped into a pool of water and the result was a ball used for ammunition.
It continued as a an Army facility.
Then, in 1905, my great grandfather Elmer Armstrong was, in his own words, "quartered in the shot tower" during his "first week of military service" which began 26 Jan 1905.
It wouldn't be his last time stationed at the shot tower.
The facility became an Army Reception Center, the first place recruits went to start their service to the war effort during World War II. Elmer Armstrong came out of retirement to command the Center at Fort Hayes.
So, he both started and ended his long career spanning five decades at the Fort Hayes shot tower.
Today, it's still standing and serves as a school. Lots of history.
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