Product Description
The Old Stone Mill Sketch by Joseph Matose 9" x 12"
The Old Stone Mill is an iconic structure in Newport, Rhode Island. Located in Touro Park, Newport RI, the Old Stone Mill has been a subject of controversy for decades.
According to the Newport Historical Society,
Most notably, scholars and enthusiasts have purported that the Mill is evidence of Pre-Columbian voyages to the Americas by the Norse, the Chinese, the lost tribes of Israel, Crusaders of the 12th and 13th centuries, the Knights Templar, early Irish explorers such as St. Brendon, the Phoenicians, and the Portuguese. Some claim Masonic ties, others believe that the Mill’s walls bear Runic inscriptions and that there is archaeoastronomical significance to its design. A handful of scholars, including representatives of the Newport Historical Society, believe that the Mill was built by early Colonists in Newport, and offer Nicholas Easton, a builder who is known to have created other circular stone structures in the area, as its architect. Connections have also been drawn between similar mills in Chesterton, England and Barbados, where relatives of Benedict Arnold are believed to have lived. The supposed uses for the mill are equally dizzying in their array, and range from Catholic church, mill, watchtower, fortress and lighthouse to refuge from wild animals, temple of pagan worship, and even an early prototype of Newport’s summer cottages.
