The Newport Tower: Colonial Windmill or Norse Relic?
In a small park in Newport, Rhode Island, stands a round tower of rough stone, raised on eight columns and arches, open to the weather and to two centuries of argument. To generations of romantics it has been a relic of someone who reached America long before the Mayflower — Norse voyagers, wandering Templars, Portuguese or Chinese explorers, builders of a medieval church or watchtower. To archaeologists who have dug around it and dated its mortar, it is something far more ordinary and almost as interesting: a colonist's windmill, built in the 1600s, that refuses to be left alone.
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What the Newport Tower is, in a paragraph.
The Newport Tower — also called the Old Stone Mill or Touro Tower — is a circular stone structure standing in Touro Park in Newport, Rhode Island. It is a roughly cylindrical tower built of rough fieldstone and mortar, notable for being raised on eight round columns connected by arches, giving it an open arcade at the base. It has no roof or floors surviving and bears features (window openings, a fireplace/flue) that have been variously interpreted. The tower's origin has been fiercely debated since the 19th century. The mainstream historical and archaeological view is that it is a 17th-century colonial windmill: it appears in the will of Newport's early governor Benedict Arnold (1677) as “my stone built windmill,” its proportions and arcaded design closely resemble a known English post-mill at Chesterton, Warwickshire (which Arnold may have known), and archaeological excavation and radiocarbon dating of the mortar (notably work in the 1990s by a Scandinavian-led team) returned dates consistent with the mid-to-late 17th century, with associated colonial-period artifacts and no medieval material. Against this, a long tradition of alternative theories holds that the tower predates English colonization and was built by earlier visitors: Norse/Viking explorers (a popular 19th-century romantic idea, echoed in Longfellow's poem “The Skeleton in Armor”), the Knights Templar or a related order, Portuguese explorers (e.g., a Miguel Corte-Real theory), or even a pre-Columbian Chinese expedition, with proponents pointing to claimed astronomical alignments, architectural parallels to round medieval churches, and units of measurement. The physical evidence does not support these claims: the radiocarbon dates, the documentary record, the colonial artifacts, and the absence of any pre-colonial material all point to a 17th-century construction, and the supposed astronomical and metrological “evidence” is regarded by mainstream scholars as unpersuasive or post-hoc. The Newport Tower is therefore best understood as a case where the scholarly question is effectively settled — a colonial windmill — while the popular debate continues, sustained by the tower's genuinely unusual appearance, its early date for an American structure, and the enduring appeal of “who really discovered America” narratives. Its significance is partly as an artifact and partly as a case study in how a real, datable historical structure can become a magnet for pre-Columbian-contact mythology.
The documented record.
The structure
The tower is real and distinctive. Verified The Newport Tower is a round fieldstone-and-mortar structure on eight arched columns in Touro Park, Newport, Rhode Island, of unusual arcaded design [1][2].
The documentary link to Benedict Arnold
It appears in a 1677 colonial will. Verified Newport governor Benedict Arnold's 1677 will refers to his “stone built windmill,” widely identified with the tower, and its design resembles the Chesterton windmill in England [1][3].
The radiocarbon dating
Mortar dates to the colonial period. Verified Excavation and radiocarbon dating of the tower's mortar (1990s) returned mid-to-late 17th-century dates, with associated colonial artifacts and no medieval material [2][3].
The alternative theories
Pre-colonial claims persist. Disputed Norse, Templar, Portuguese, and other pre-Columbian origin theories remain popular but are not supported by the physical or documentary evidence [4].
The competing positions.
The alternative camp holds that the tower predates English settlement — a Norse, Templar, or other European/Asian monument — citing its arcaded form, alleged astronomical alignments, and architectural parallels to medieval round churches. Claimed These theories are a staple of pre-Columbian-contact literature [4].
The mainstream position is that the tower is a 17th-century colonial windmill, supported by the radiocarbon dates, the Arnold will, the Chesterton parallel, and the colonial artifact record — with the alternative theories unsupported by physical evidence. Disputed This archive treats the colonial-windmill explanation as the well-evidenced and mainstream conclusion, regards the pre-Columbian theories as folklore unsupported by the dating, and notes that the genuine residual interest is architectural and historiographical, not a mystery of origin [2][3].
The unanswered questions.
Exact construction details
Some specifics remain open. Unverified The precise builder, date, and whether the structure was solely a windmill or also served other uses are not pinned down to the year, even within the colonial framework [1][3].
Why the unusual design
The arcaded form invites questions. Claimed Why a colonial builder chose this distinctive arcaded, round form — and how closely it copied Chesterton — is a matter of architectural interpretation [3].
Why the myths endure
The legend outlives the evidence. Disputed Why pre-Columbian origin theories persist despite the dating is a question of cultural appeal rather than open archaeology [4].
Primary material.
The accessible record on the Newport Tower is held principally in these sources:
- The tower itself and its architectural survey.
- Benedict Arnold's 1677 will and Newport colonial records.
- The 1990s excavation and radiocarbon-dating study of the mortar (the Scandinavian-led project).
- Comparative material on the Chesterton windmill and English post-mills.
- The literature of the Norse/Templar/Portuguese alternative theories (for documentation, not endorsement).
Critical individual sources include: the radiocarbon study; the Arnold will; and the architectural comparison.
The sequence.
- Mid-17th c. The tower is most likely built as a windmill in colonial Newport.
- 1677 Governor Benedict Arnold's will refers to his “stone built windmill.”
- 19th c. Romantic Norse-origin theories spread (e.g., Longfellow's “The Skeleton in Armor”).
- 1990s Excavation and radiocarbon dating of the mortar return 17th-century results with colonial artifacts.
- Present The colonial-windmill view is mainstream; pre-Columbian theories persist in popular culture.
Cases on this archive that connect.
America's Stonehenge (File 273) — another New England site claimed as ancient but likely colonial-era.
The Norse Vinland Colonies — the real, confirmed extent of Norse presence in North America.
The Bimini Road (File 274) — another natural/ordinary feature read as an ancient monument.
The Piri Reis Map — another genuine object inflated by pre-Columbian “impossible knowledge” claims.
More related files coming as the archive grows. Planned: pre-Columbian-contact claims and the archaeology of colonial New England.
Full bibliography.
- Archaeological excavation and radiocarbon-dating studies of the Newport Tower mortar (1990s project).
- Benedict Arnold's 1677 will and Newport colonial records.
- Architectural comparisons with the Chesterton windmill and English post-mills.
- Surveys of the Norse/Templar/Portuguese alternative theories and their critiques.