Newport Tower (Newport, Rhode Island)

 tower, archaeological site, interesting place, draw only border

5 Touro Park Street West
Newport, RI 02840
(401) 845-5800
newporttowermuseum.com/index.html
www.thenewporttower.com/

Newport Tower is a partially ruined stone tower that stands in Newport, Rhode Island's Touro Park. Its origins are disputed. Most authorities believe it was a 17th century windmill, while others argue for a pre-Columbian explanation.

The Old Stone Mill has been the subject of much study and controversy over the decades. Theories abound as to its provenance. It has been proposed that it was built by:

• Benedict Arnold, the first colonial governor of Rhode Island (not to be confused with his great-grandson, General Benedict Arnold of the American Revolutionary War), as a windmill (Arnold’s mansion once stood nearby on the site)
• George Lawton, a colonist from England and a local mill-builder
• pre-colonial Norse explorers
• 15th century Chinese sailors, as an observatory
• the Corte-Real brothers (Portuguese navigators), as a watchtower
• medieval Scottish Templars

Refer to the information station for more historical facts regarding the Old Stone Mill.