# Bancroft Tower

- **Country:** the United States
- **Coordinates:** 42.276500, -71.815800
- **Location Text:** Worcester, Massachusetts, a small-scale feudal castle built in 1900 in memory of George Bancroft. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Bancroft Tower is a distinctive 56-foot-high structure located in Salisbury Park in Worcester, Massachusetts. Completed in 1900, this architectural folly was designed by the local firm Earle and Fisher in the Romanesque style. Constructed from granite, boulders, and cobbles, the building resembles a miniature feudal castle with an asymmetrical plan featuring crenelated square towers at the corners and a taller, off-center circular tower. An arched gate provides access to the two-story stone edifice, which sits prominently on Bancroft Hill, one of the seven historic hills of Worcester.

The tower holds significant historical value as a memorial to George Bancroft, a renowned historian, statesman, and native of Worcester who served as Secretary of the Navy and founded the U.S. Naval Academy. It was commissioned and funded by Stephen Salisbury III, a childhood friend of Bancroft, at a cost of approximately $15,000. Originally one of three towers erected on high points throughout the city, Bancroft Tower is the sole survivor of this trio. Following Salisbury's death in 1907, the property was bequeathed to the Worcester Art Museum before being transferred to the Worcester Parks Department in 1912, where it remains under public stewardship today.

Recognized for its unique design and local importance, the tower was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 5, 1980. A plaque situated on the grounds details Bancroft's impressive political career and his connection to the site. Although two half-compasses embedded in the ground near the structure were intended to point toward the other six hills of Worcester, their alignment appears inaccurate when viewed from the summit. Despite this oddity, the tower stands as a well-preserved landmark and a testament to early twentieth-century commemorative architecture.

![Photo of Bancroft Tower](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/Bancroft_Tower%2C_2009.jpg)

**Source:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bancroft_Tower (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)