Photo byNyttend, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

The historic Caruthersville Water Tower is located at West 3rd Street in Caruthersville, Missouri (Pemiscot County). It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 9, 1982. The tower is owned by the City of Caruthersville.

The historic name of this structure is The Lighthouse. It was constructed in 1903, over a century ago. This tower is 115 feet high, 13 feet in diameter and 41 feet in circumference. It supported a steel-plated 40,000-gallon tank.

The tower

Since the water tower's completion, it has continued to serve as a landmark. It can be seen from Missouri Highway 84 and the Mississippi River. The tower was designed by Chicago civil engineer40,000-gallon, George C. Morgan, who had established his business of building standardized water systems in the Midwest.

This tower has an elevated stand-pipe design which was common to water towers constructed in the latter part of the 1800s and early 1900s. It’s supported by a brick masonry tower. The walls are 24 inches thick.

The exterior of the tower has a one-fourth inch thick stucco finish. The interior bricks are exposed. In the tower is a switchback wooden staircase. In the past, there was access to an observation platform about 50 feet above the ground.

After the water tower was closed in 1950, the lower section of the staircase was removed. Entrance into the base of the tower is through a wooden door. The water tank is made of eight steel riveted bands. A straight steel ladder is attached to the outside of the tank and access into the tank was through an iron-hinged panel at the top of the tower.

Going into the 1900s, a lot of municipalities were building standpipe towers. Caruthersville went with Morgan’s design. Bonds were issued in 1901 for the building of the water tower. Morgan was hired to act as engineer and superintendent of the construction of the tower.

The tower was also a place to gather and people would climb the tower to catch a glimpse of Tennessee while looking across the Mississippi River. As Caruthersville grew, a water distribution system became necessary. The historic water tower used to be the tallest structure in Pemiscot County. While the use of the tower was discontinued, it still serves as a landmark in the community.

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