The Newport Tower, often called The Old Mill, isn’t an old mill. Many theories exist as to who built the Newport Tower, when and for what purpose. The establishment position is that it was built by Benedict Arnold, grandfather of the revolutionary traitor, as a windmill in about 1675. There is no documentation of this, only a statement in  Arnold’s will referring to, “my stone built windmill.” It is not the purpose of this website to evaluate any theories other than the colonial theory, or to solve the mystery of The Newport Tower. Rather, these  pages exist to aid the open-minded reader in judging whether or not the colonial build theory is viable. Either the tower was built by colonials, or it is older.

We invite you to explore the links below,  form your own conclusion and consider its implications. We recommend you begin your explanation with the Dispute History page. Each page has a  link at the bottom to the next page in the series. Feel free to email with any comments. We also encourage you to read other sources on the Newport Tower, but keep in mind that many promote silly fringe theories such as the tower was once a fish processing plant, or that it points to a 14th century runestone in Minnesota hidden by Templar Knights.

The image at the right is from the painting done by Gilbert Stuart in 1775. Stuart was a known realist who painted the best known portrait of George Washington. Only 100 years after it was supposedly built as a windmill, there is no evidence in the picture of any ruins of a windmill, not even a road leading to it. It looks ancient, as it surely  is.