History of Tower Rock

Mar
20
6:00 pm
Where

Perryville Higher Education Center, 108 S. Progress Dr., Perryville

Bill Eddleman, coordinator of the Cape Girardeau Research Center, will be presenting a talk on the history of Tower Rock, the landmark stone that rises from the Mississippi River adjacent to Perry County. Eddleman's presentation will be part of the Perry County Historical Society meeting on March 20 and is free and open to the public. 

For centuries, travelers on the Mississippi have noticed the large outcrop. Tower Rock has been called The Narrows, The Rock, Tower Rock, Castle Rock. La Roche de la Croix (rock of the cross), and Cap St. Antoine. Though accessible by foot when the river is extremely low, most times the swift current of the Mississippi produces dangerous currents, causing whirlpools and calamities for river travelers. Native Americans feared the dangerous crossings. Marquette and Joliet were said to have visited here, as well as naturalist and painter, James J. Audubon.