The original tower was built by National’s most famous resident, Althea Sherman. Born in 1853 and moved to National in 1861, Miss Sherman was a college-educated woman in a time when few people went to school beyond the sixth grade, let alone college, especially women. Although she was formally educated as an art teacher, she became an expert in ornithology (the study of birds) when she moved back to her childhood home at National in 1895. She lived there until the time of her death at age 89 in 1943. During that time, she filled 60 notebooks with meticulous observations and wrote more than 40 papers for professional journals on the study of birds.
In 1915, at age 62, she designed and helped build the tower structure with the intent to study the habits of the chimney swift. This particular bird is known for building its nest in chimneys. The tower consisted of a central “chimney” section with window pane openings for viewing the birds surrounded by a staircase and platforms for taking notes and making drawings. The structure measured 9 feet square by 28 feet tall. The park includes a small picnic area. It is also adjacent to the National cemetery. Miss Sherman is buried less than 150 feet from the replica tower built in her honor.
During your visit, please also sign the guestbook at the informational billboard next to the the tower. Maybe mention the geocache in your log as it lets the "Friends of the Swift Tower" know that it is helping bring visitors to the site.
The cache: This cache container is a camouflaged plastic jar containing a logbook, pencil, and starts with a few nice trade items. Please sign the log, trade fairly, and return the container to its original location and state of concealment for others’ enjoyment.