Newport Tower

In Touro Park, Newport, stands a round stone tower on eight columns, about 28 feet tall, that has argued with its visitors for two centuries. The mainstream identification is settled enough: Benedict Arnold, the first colonial governor of Rhode Island, called it "my stone built Wind Mill" in his 1677 will, radiocarbon dating of its mortar centers around 1680, and a 1948-1951 professional excavation found only 17th-century artifacts. Its design parallels the Chesterton Windmill in England and surviving 17th-century stone tower mills in Quebec.

The other story is why it is famous. Since 1837 the tower has been claimed for Norse explorers, medieval Templars, Portuguese voyagers and a Chinese fleet, and an astronomer reported solstice and lunar alignments through its windows that could be accidental. The tower is a colonial-era structure, not an indigenous site, and this entry reports the alternative-history tradition as the folklore it is, without endorsing it or mocking the people who love it. It remains one of America's favorite historical puzzles.

Visiting

The tower stands in Touro Park, free and open year round, viewable from the grounds; the small Newport Tower Museum nearby covers the debates.

Photo: [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2021_Old_Stone_Mill%2C_Tuoro_Park%2C_Newport.jpg), CC BY-SA 4.0, Beyond My Ken.