Cobb's Hill Signal Tower, also known as Butler's Signal Tower, stood 110 feet tall next to Fort Zabriskie and was used to communicate with troops along the James River and Appomattox River. In 1864, Confederates attempted to shell the tower with a rifled Whitworth gun located near Ruffin Mill, just west of here, firing over 90 rounds without hitting it. Abraham Lincoln visited the tower site in 1865.