Mercury publisher J. J. Owen proposed lighting the whole town from one high tower. Raised by public subscription, it stood 207 feet to its lamp platform and 237 feet with its flagpole, and was dedicated on December 13, 1881. It lit the sky better than the streets, a farmer complained it confused his hens, and electric companies fought over who could light it.
Damaged in February 1915, it fell on December 3, 1915. A half-size replica stands in History Park, and in a 1989-90 mock trial the city accused the Eiffel Tower of copying it.