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History · Tower Hill

Tower Hill’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Tower Hill. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

Tower Hill was originally surveyed by Elias Smith in June, 1857 and a post office was soon opened. A mill was built in 1863 and was the main source of income for the settlement's economy. Tower Hill was incorporated as a village in 1872.

The large railroad depot in the neighboring city of Shelbyville spurred an increase in population by the turn of the 20th-century.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Tower Hill’s history is told.

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By decade

Tower Hill, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
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National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Tower Hill is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Tower Hill has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Louis Jehle House in Pana, 6.2 miles away.

Tower Hill and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Tower Hill. Tap a dot.
Louis Jehle HouseKitchell ParkWestervelt Christian ChurchHorace M. Tallman HouseShelbyville Historic DistrictChautauqua Auditorium

Closest to Tower Hill

Louis Jehle HousePana · Building6.2miKitchell ParkPana · District6.4miWestervelt Christian ChurchRidge · Building8.4miHorace M. Tallman HouseShelbyville · Building8.5miShelbyville Historic DistrictShelbyville · District8.9mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Louis Jehle House’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Tower Hill?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Tower Hill’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Tower Hill📜 Rose📜 Cold Spring📜 Rural
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