Norumbega Tower
The Norumbega Tower is a stone tower erected by Eben Norton Horsford in 1889 to mark the supposed location of Fort Norumbega, a Norse fort and city. It is located in Weston, Massachusetts at the confluence of Stony Brook and the Charles River. The tower is approximately 38 feet tall, composed of mortared field stones with a spiral stone staircase. Eben Norton Horsford, a Harvard Chemistry professor, notable as the co-founder of Rumford Chemical Works and the reformulation of baking powder, was convinced that the Algonquin word 'Norumbega', which has been taken to mean the general region that is now coastal New England, was derived from 'Norvega' meaning Norway. A prominent stone plaque on the tower relates to Norse explorers from the 'Icelandic Saga'. Horsford believed Norumbega to be Vinland. The construction of the tower was accomplished four years before Horsford's death; also coincidentally it was three years prior to the fourth centennial of Columbus' discovery of America.
References
- Eben Norton Horsford, "The Discovery of the Ancient City of Norumbega" (November, 1889) full text
Coordinates: 42°21′12.20″N 71°15′43.6″W / 42.3533889°N 71.262111°W