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Shot Tower

Philadelphia County · dedicated 1997 · Carpenter & Front Sts., Philadelphia

First in the nation. Built 1808 by Thomas Sparks & John Bishop to make hunting shot, it symbolized a new U.S. industrial independence. Bishop, a Quaker, sold his share when ammunition was made here for the War of 1812. The Sparks family stayed in control until 1903.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Marker data: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission via data.pa.gov

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