For his son, see Charlemagne Tower, Jr.

Charlemagne Tower, Jr.

Charlemagne Tower, Jr. was an American businessman, scholar, and diplomat.-Biography:Charlemagne Tower was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on April 17, 1848 to Charlemagne Tower Sr. and Amelia Malvina Tower. He was the first of seven children.He spent his childhood in Orwigsburg and...

.

Charlemagne Tower, (April 18, 1809 – July 26, 1889) was an American lawyer, soldier, and businessman.

Early life and start of law career

Charlemagne Tower was born on April 18, 1809 in Paris

Paris, New York

Paris is a town in Oneida County, New York, USA. The town is in the southeast part of the county and is south of Utica. The population was 4,609 at the 2000 census. The town was named after an early benefactor, Colonel Isaac Paris.-History:...

, Oneida County

Oneida County, New York

Oneida County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 234,878. The county seat is Utica. The name is in honor of the Oneida, an Iroquoian tribe that formerly occupied the region....

, New York, the eldest of the eight children of Reuben Tower, a New York State Legislator, and Deborah Taylor Pierce. Tower took his early schooling at the Oxford Academy, and then at the Clinton and Utica Academies. In 1824, at the age of 14, Tower taught school in Oneida County. The next year, he was made an assistant teacher at the Utica Academy. Tower entered Harvard

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

 in 1827, and graduated in 1830.

In the interim, Reuben Tower relocated his family to Waterville

Waterville, New York

Waterville is a village in Oneida County, New York, United States. According to the 2000 census, its population was 1,721.-Geography:Waterville is located at ....

, NY, purchasing a property that still stands at the intersection of West Main St (Rt 12) and Tower St. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 in 1977 as the Tower Homestead and Masonic Temple

Tower Homestead and Masonic Temple

Tower Homestead and Masonic Temple, also known as Harding Residence and Masonic Temple, is a historic home and Masonic Temple located at Waterville in Oneida County, New York...

. Upon graduation, Tower apprenticed himself to Hermanus Bleeker of Albany

Albany, New York

Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...

. He returned to Waterville in 1832 upon the death of Reuben, who had removed himself to St Augustine

St. Augustine, Florida

St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...

, FL

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 for health reasons. After settling these affairs, he was employed with the Graham Law Office of New York City, where he was admitted to the bar in 1836. He began his own practice in a former small schoolhouse which is part of the Tower homestead in Waterville.

Activities in Pennsylvania

In 1846, Tower relocated to Orwigsburg

Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania

Orwigsburg is a borough in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. Named for its founder, Peter Orwig, from West Brunswick Township in 1823. The population was 3,106 at the 2000 census...

, Schuylkill County

Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania

-Notable people:*Boxing heavyweight great Muhammad Ali had his training camp in Deer Lake.*Charles Justin Bailey, commanding general of the 81st Division in World War I, was born in Tamaqua on June 21, 1859....

, PA

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, in order to work with the legal issues regarding land claims to large coal and mineral deposits in that area. While there, he married Amelia Malvina Bartle on June 14, 1847. They had seven children: Charlemagne Jr.

Charlemagne Tower, Jr.

Charlemagne Tower, Jr. was an American businessman, scholar, and diplomat.-Biography:Charlemagne Tower was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on April 17, 1848 to Charlemagne Tower Sr. and Amelia Malvina Tower. He was the first of seven children.He spent his childhood in Orwigsburg and...

 (Born April 17, 1848 in Philadelphia), Sara Louisa (Born August 6, 1849 in Orwigsburg), Deborah Taylor (Born February 4, 1851 in Orwigsburg), Emma (Born June 15, 1852 in Pottsville), Elizabeth (Born March 2, 1854 in Pottsville, and died a year and a half later), Henrietta (Born October 26, 1856 in Pottsville), and Grace Williams (Born May 15, 1859 in Pottsville). He re-established his Pennsylvania practice in Pottsville

Pottsville, Pennsylvania

Pottsville is the only city in and the county seat of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 15,549 at the 2000 census. The city lies along the west bank of the Schuylkill River, north-west of Philadelphia...

 in 1850, when it was made the Schuylkill County seat. The Towers made their home at the corner of South 4th Street and Mahantongo Street, one block from the location of the Yuengling Brewery

D. G. Yuengling & Son

D. G. Yuengling & Son is the oldest operating brewing company in the United States, established in 1829. It is one of the largest breweries by volume in the country, and is the second largest American-owned brewery after the Boston Beer Company, makers of Sam Adams beer...

. He served as counsel in many land-ownership disputes, which granted him not only a very high reputation in and around Schuylkill County, but an enormous amount of wealth as well. The most famous of these cases was the Munson-Williams affair, which would take nearly twenty five years to complete.

The Munson-Williams Case

Not long after Tower came to Pottsville, he began furiously purchasing and clearing liens to lands containing large anthracite deposits in and around Schuylkill County. This was part of an elaborate land grab scheme devised by Tower and his partner, Alfred Munson of Utica

Utica, New York

Utica is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 62,235 at the 2010 census, an increase of 2.6% from the 2000 census....

, NY.

The plan called for Tower to use his legal acumen to clear all the liens and opposing claims to the 8000 acres (32.4 km²) Munson-Williams claim, and to all the land around it. In short, the partners hoped to create a single landed estate, which would have measured 65 miles by 4½ miles (105 km by 7 km) at its widest point in southwest Schuylkill County. In return, Tower was to receive ownership and title to one half of all the land acquired once all the cost to Munson had been settled, or until Tower paid him half the value of the total land purchase.

At the time, the Schuylkill Valley was a hotly contested property, with constant conflicts over titles and rights. Had any of their competitors became aware of what Tower and Munson were up to, they may well have bought up the land the pair were after, and charged exorbitant prices for it. Or worse, refuse to sell it at all. Thus, they chose to operate in secret. Tower would make the purchases, and convey the titles to legal dummies to hide the actual ownership of the land.

By 1858 Tower and Munson were owners of eleven thousand acres (45 km²). By now, Munson and Tower's plan was well out of the bag, and anyone who had even a partial claim to any of the lands began to litigate. Only Tower's considerable skill as a lawyer kept the whole enterprise from falling apart.

In 1867, Tower decided to start selling the lands, wanting to realize his interest in them. Unfortunately, he could not find a buyer at the time due to the title issues. Deciding instead to establish collieries on the land, in March 1868 he leased 1,503 acres (6 km²) to two independent coal companies. It was a 15 year term, with a rental of $.30 for each ton of coal mined. The companies placed two collieries on the land, the Tower and the Brookside. Near the collieries, Tower began to develop a small town, which was named Tower City

Tower City, Pennsylvania

Tower City is a borough in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,396 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Tower City is located at ....

 when first surveyed. Tower laid out the town, and rented lots to settlers.

Around this time, Franklin Gowen, President of the Reading Railroad, had begun purchasing coal lands along the Railroad's right-of-way for the express purpose of building an anthracite coal

Anthracite coal

Anthracite is a hard, compact variety of mineral coal that has a high luster...

 monopoly. When Gowen had accumulated 70,000 acres (283 km²), Tower accepted his offer of purchase for his lands. Tower asked for and received $3 million from Gowen, for which Tower realized a profit of $1.5 million as per the original contract with the Munson family. (Alfred Munson died in May 1854.)

The Civil War

Within ten days of the outbreak of hostilities at Ft. Sumter

Battle of Fort Sumter

The Battle of Fort Sumter was the bombardment and surrender of Fort Sumter, near Charleston, South Carolina, that started the American Civil War. Following declarations of secession by seven Southern states, South Carolina demanded that the U.S. Army abandon its facilities in Charleston Harbor. On...

, SC

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

 on April 12, 1861, Tower recruited some 270 Schuylkill County men to enter the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 under a three month enlistment agreement. This unit was referred to as the "Tower Guards", and they were created as Company H of the 6th Pennsylvania Regiment, which in turn was attached to a brigade commanded by Major General Robert Patterson

Robert Patterson

Robert Patterson was a United States major general during the Mexican-American War and at the beginning of the American Civil War...

. Tower was installed as the unit captain, and he uniformed and armed his troops at his own expense.

This unit most notably served in the engagement

Battle of Hoke's Run

The Battle of Hoke's Run, also known as the Battle of Falling Waters or Hainesville, took place on July 2, 1861, in Berkeley County, Virginia as part of the Manassas Campaign of the American Civil War....

 at Falling Waters

Falling Waters, West Virginia

Falling Waters is an unincorporated census-designated place on the Potomac River in Berkeley County, West Virginia. It is located along Williamsport Pike north of Martinsburg. According to the 2010 census, Falling Waters has a population of 876....

 in July 1861. This battle is considered a Union victory, but the failure of Patterson to pursue Confederate

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 movements into the Shenandoah Valley

Shenandoah Valley

The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...

 allowed them to regroup and contributed to the later Union defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run

First Battle of Bull Run

First Battle of Bull Run, also known as First Manassas , was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, near the City of Manassas...

.

When the unit was mustered out of service later in July of that same year, the members of Tower's unit presented him with a ceremonial sword in "their respect for him as a man and soldier, and their esteem for him as a friend."

Post-Civil War activities

After Tower's active Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 service (yet still in the midst of settling the Munson-Williams case), he was named the U.S. Provost Marshal

Provost Marshal

The Provost Marshal is the officer in the armed forces who is in charge of the military police .There may be a Provost Marshal serving at many levels of the hierarchy and he may also be the public safety officer of a military installation, responsible for the provision of fire, gate security, and...

 for Pennsylvania's 10th Congressional District. He served from April, 1863 through May, 1864. He continued his Pottsville law practice until moving to Philadelphia in 1875. At this time, he engaged in several business ventures, such as proprietorship of the Honeybrook Coal Company, and membership of the board of directors of the Northern Pacific Railway

Northern Pacific Railway

The Northern Pacific Railway was a railway that operated in the west along the Canadian border of the United States. Construction began in 1870 and the main line opened all the way from the Great Lakes to the Pacific when former president Ulysses S. Grant drove in the final "golden spike" in...

. Financial difficulties in the early 1870s forced the Northern Pacific to sell off much of its lands in the upper Midwest, which brought Tower into possession of large tracts of land in Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

, North Dakota

North Dakota

North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....

, and Washington.

Tower City, North Dakota

In 1878, a man named George Ellsbury, a former artist for Harper's Weekly

Harper's Weekly

Harper's Weekly was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many subjects, and humor...

and Leslie's Illustrated Magazine

Frank Leslie's Weekly

Frank Leslie's Weekly, later often known in short as Leslie's Weekly, was an American illustrated literary and news magazine founded in 1852 and continuing publication well into the 20th century. As implied by its name, it was published weekly, on Tuesdays. Its first editor was John Y. Foster...

turned real estate agent, came to Tower's lands in Cass

Cass County, North Dakota

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 123,138 people, 51,315 households, and 29,814 families residing in the county. The population density was 70 people per square mile . There were 53,790 housing units at an average density of 30 per square mile...

 and Barnes

Barnes County, North Dakota

-National protected areas:*Hobart Lake National Wildlife Refuge*Stoney Slough National Wildlife Refuge*Tomahawk National Wildlife Refuge-Demographics:...

 Counties, ND. Convinced that the area then known as Spring Tank would be the ideal setting for a community, Ellsbury contacted Tower about purchasing the site. Tower then hired Ellsbury as his land agent for this area, offering him a 5% commission on all land sold to incoming farmers, and a pass for unlimited travel on the Northern Pacific. Ellisbury acquired Spring Tank by January 1879, and laid out the town that came to be known as Tower City

Tower City, North Dakota

As of the census of 2000, there were 252 people, 107 households, and 75 families residing in the city. The population density was 121.2 people per square mile . There were 113 housing units at an average density of 54.3 per square mile...

, after Ellsbury's benefactor. Tower had written Ellsbury requesting that he name the town after himself instead, but that request was turned down.

Tower University

After several failed schemes to increase the prominence of Tower City, such as having it named the capital of the Dakota Territory, or creating a new county with Tower City as the county seat, Ellsbury decided to open a new university, again named after Tower. Meeting with Baptist

Baptist

Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...

 leaders who were looking to establish a college in the Dakotas, Ellsbury promised them a $100,000 contribution from Charlemagne Tower if they settle in Tower City. They agreed, and construction began in 1884.

Tower elected after the fact to not contribute the promised amount, and construction immediately ceased. Instead, he donated $4,500 in cash and a 1,500 volume library. Another $5000 was raised by local residents, and classes began in a downtown hotel. Only 30 students registered the first year, 1886. The next year, enrollment dropped to 20, so the university was closed at the end of that school year.

The Vermillion Range

In 1865, a Minnesota state geologist discovered gold and silver bearing quartz

Quartz

Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...

 near Vermillion Lake in northern Minnesota. This touched off a short-lived gold rush to the area called the Vermillion Range, a stretch of land between Vermillion Lake and an area just to the east of Shagawa Lake. While miners prospecting for gold were striking out, others were discovering that the area was rich in iron ore. George C. Stone, a banker from Duluth

Duluth, Minnesota

Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...

, heard of large ore deposits in the Mesaba Range, which lies west of the Vermillion. He approached Charlemagne Tower in his Philadelphia office in 1873 to discuss the property.

Tower agreed to a prospecting party on the Mesaba, sending his son-in-law, R.H. Lee, and a Professor Chester of Hamilton College, along with Stone. None were satisfied with the results. In 1874, the party crossed into the Vermillion range, and discovered a large outcropping of iron ore. Satisfied that there was a large vein of ore available in that area, they reported back to Tower. At that time, Tower elected not to proceed with mining the area due to the enormous expense of prospecting, the logistical problems of mining the area and transporting the ore, and financial concerns over the recent Panic of 1873

Panic of 1873

The Panic of 1873 triggered a severe international economic depression in both Europe and the United States that lasted until 1879, and even longer in some countries. The depression was known as the Great Depression until the 1930s, but is now known as the Long Depression...

.

Tower ordered prospecting in the Vermillion resumed in 1880. Along with Stone and Lee, Tower sent his son, Charlemagne Tower Jr., to assist. A railroad was surveyed from the mines to the town of Two Harbors

Two Harbors, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,613 people, 1,636 households, and 953 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,120.7 people per square mile . There were 1,631 housing units at an average density of 505.9 per square mile...

, on Lake Superior

Lake Superior

Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...

, which was constructed in 1883.

By 1884, the mine had proved an extreme success, and the business incorporated under the name of Minnesota Iron Company. The ore was mined on site, then loaded to the railroad and delivered to Two Harbors, where it would be loaded on ships for iron and steel factories in the east. A settlement near the mines was named Tower

Tower, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there are 479 people in the city, organized into 233 households and 137 families. The population density is 176.8 people per square mile . There are 295 housing units at an average density of 108.9 per square mile...

 in Charlemagne's honor.

By 1887, iron ore was discovered in lands north of the town of Tower, which were purchased by a syndicate of East Coast financers. This syndicate, which included the likes of H.H. Porter of the Union Steel Works and the Rockefeller family, wished to purchase Tower's railroad in order to extend it to their lands. Tower initially refused. This syndicate responded with the implied threat that they would construct a second railroad that would parallel the line of Tower's railroad, destroying its value. Compounding this threat was the fact that Tower had no control over the shipping lines that carried his ore from Two Harbors to points east, and many of these companies were under the thrall of East Coast iron and steel magnates, many of which were involved in the syndicate. Faced with these challenges, Tower divided his properties into two parts, the mine and the railroad, and stated that any potential buyers must agree to purchase both. So, in late 1887, Tower sold his Minnesota Iron Company holdings to the syndicate, retaining only a small interest in the subsequent company, called the Minnesota Mining and Railroad Syndicate.

Death

After retirement, Tower returned to his country residence in Waterville, New York, where he died on July 26, 1889. His death was, as reported in his obituary, attributed to a "paralysis".

Legacy

Charlemagne Tower was a giant of his time, leaving an indelible footprint on the history of the United States. He is credited with creating the mining industry in Minnesota, as well as attracting settlers to the area. He was deeply involved in the mining industry in Pennsylvania, and was part of the ascension of the Reading Railroad. Towns in three states are named after him. He served on the board of overseers for Harvard University, and was involved in many business ventures, many of them successful.

Tower was also a collector of rare and valuable books. His particular interest was in American colonial laws. At the time of his death, he had the most complete collection of these books in the world. After his death, the Tower family bequeathed this collection to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Historical Society of Pennsylvania

The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a historical society founded in 1824 and based in Philadelphia. The Society's building, designed by Addison Hutton and listed on Philadelphia's Register of Historical Places, houses some 600,000 printed items and over 19 million manuscript and graphic items...

.

Tower had a deep interest in the genealogy of his family, going back to their Massachusetts Puritan roots. He amassed a large amount of information on the Tower family of Hingham, Massachusetts, and Hingham, England, and had it published. The resulting book, Tower Genealogy: An Account Of The Descendants Of John Tower Of Hingham, Mass., was released in 1891, after Tower's death.

Tower's son, Charlemagne Tower, Jr.

Charlemagne Tower, Jr.

Charlemagne Tower, Jr. was an American businessman, scholar, and diplomat.-Biography:Charlemagne Tower was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on April 17, 1848 to Charlemagne Tower Sr. and Amelia Malvina Tower. He was the first of seven children.He spent his childhood in Orwigsburg and...

, served as Minister to Austria-Hungary

United States Ambassador to Austria

This is a list of Ambassadors of the United States to Austria.The United States first established diplomatic relations with Austria in 1838 during the time of the Austrian Empire. Relations between the United States have been continuous since that time except for two interruptions during World War...

 for President William McKinley

William McKinley

William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...

 before being transferred to Russia as Ambassador.

Works

• Tower, Charlemagne. The Charlemagne Tower Collection of American Colonial Laws. Littleton, CO: F.B. Rothman, 1990, 1890.

Further reading

• Bridges, Hal. Iron Millionaire: Life of the Charlemagne Tower. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1952.

Footnotes