Tower was previously known as Troutville likely named after the Speckled Trout Lode. In 1875, residents changed the name to Tower after Charlemagne Tower who was one of the financial backers from Michigan. Tower, Pardee, Nettleton, Ewing and others joined forces to create the North-West Company. The company purchased four mines in the area and erected a 10-stamp silver mill. Twenty cabins or so, a boarding house and a storehouse surrounded the mill. Tower was occasionally also known as Stumptown.

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     Other mines opened and operated until 1893 when the repeal of the Sherman Silver Act forced so many mines to close. Another boom hit during the World War One years when manganese was in high demand. After the war, manganese dioxide was used in dry-cell batteries. Mining continued until 1968. The population of Tower, possibly reaching hundreds at times, gradually declined.