Newport Tower Museum — Attraction in Newport

The owner Jim Egan is a wonderful and energetic guide, he showed us around the tower and went through the unique characteristics and history of the place, he points out all the architectural details of the tower that are very intriguing. He knows it all right off the top of his head, you can tell he’s been immersed in this stuff for decades. His museum tour is fascinating, he covers John Dee and the history of Rhode Island and takes you through the concepts behind the construction of the tower, it’s astrological function as a calendar and clock, it’s all really great and interesting, Jim knows his stuff. I feel like I could sit through a few hours of this as a lecture class would still only begin to scratch the surface. If you’re interested in renaissance theology and math, hermeticism, pre colonial history of the Americas, Elizabethan history, optics, etc. this place has a little bit of everything for everyone, whether you’re more interested in the scientific or religious aspect of the era that the tower is steeped in. Super cool place, right in the heart of Newport, can’t believe this museum doesn’t get...

Jim Egan's museum, his research and books are fascinating and historically accurate vs anything I have found in newspapers or travel guides about Benedict Arnold's "old stone mill." HIs detective-like work builds on manuy original sources and scientific work of others to convincingly show the tower is not and never was a mill. For folks who have an interest in navigation, photography/optics, and the history of America colonization and religious freedom in Rhode Island buy his books "John Dee's America " and "Elizabethan America The John Dee Tower of 1583" . The Tower should be on the National Register of Historic Places for the sake of perpetual preservation of the history of 1582 Elizabethan colonization of the Dee River...

The Newport Tower is an enigma lost to time, but Jim Egan has brought it back to life. Fascinating opportunity to take a tour with Jim as he explains his research and history of Elizabethan America, aka John Dee. One of the most engaging, thought-provoking conversations I’ve had. The story plays out like National Treasure with just the right ingredients to be true. Thank you Jim for your time, research and generosity. When in Newport, visit the Newport Tower. It’s riddle is out there waiting...