Bancroft Tower, is a 56 foot high natural stone and granite tower, which looks like a miniature feudal castle. It is located in Salisbury Park, in the city of Worcester, Massachusetts

Worcester, Massachusetts

Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....

. It was errected in 1900, in memory of George Bancroft

George Bancroft

George Bancroft was an American historian and statesman who was prominent in promoting secondary education both in his home state and at the national level. During his tenure as U.S. Secretary of the Navy, he established the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1845...

. The tower was designed by Earle

Stephen C. Earle

Stephen Carpenter Earle was an architect who designed a number buildings in Massachusetts and Connecticut that were built in the late 19th century, with many in Worcester, Massachusetts. For a time he worked with architect James E. Fuller, under the firm "Earle & Fuller", and later with Clellan W...

 and Fischer, . The cost of construction was roughly $15,000. Bancroft Tower is listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

History

This tower was erected by Stephen Salisbury III in honor of George Bancroft. When Salisbury died, the tower was donated to the Worcester Art Museum

Worcester Art Museum

The Worcester Art Museum, also known by its acronym WAM, houses over 35,000 works of art dating from antiquity to the present day, representing cultures from all over the world. The WAM opened in 1898 in Worcester, Massachusetts, and is the second largest art museum in New England...

, which in turn donated it to the Worcester Parks Department in 1912. The Bancroft tower was officially certified in National Register of Historical Places on March 5, 1980.

Plaque

A plaque set into the ground in front of it explains its purpose:

BANCROFT TOWER

THIS TOWER WAS BUILT IN 1900

TO HONOR THE MEMORY OF



GEORGE BANCROFT

1800-1891



BORN AT THE FOOT OF THIS HILL

HE ROSE TO THE POSTS OF

SECRETARY OF THE NAVY

FOUNDER OF THE U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY

ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND

U.S. MINISTER TO GREAT BRITAIN

AND GERMANY



THIS MEMORIAL WAS BUILT BY HIS

FRIEND AND ADMIRER

STEPHEN SALISBURY III

Also notable about the small park in which the tower stands are the two half-compasses set into the ground in front of and behind the tower itself. They are marked as if they pointed to the other six of the Seven Hills of Worcester (Bancroft Hill itself being one of the seven), but it doesn't appear, from the top of the hill, that they really do.