VA Manchester Healthcare System-Manchester's Smyth Tower

The tower was erected in 1888 by Frederick Smyth, Governor of New Hampshire from 1865-1867.  He conceived the idea of building the stone tower while traveling in England and Scotland.

The tower consists of an eight foot basement, a first, second, and third floor, and a parapet. It stands forty feet high, has an inside diameter of twenty-four feet, an outside diameter of twenty-eight feet, and walls that are two feet thick.

Following the Governor's death in 1899, the tower became prey to vandals.  In the years that followed, it reminded the passerby of the picture of a feudal castle in ruins.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) began repairing the tower in November of 1938 and completed it on June 15, 1939.  The City of Manchester accepted the tower as a gift from Governor Smyth's widow, Mrs. Marion C. Smyth.  In September of 1939, it was dedicated by the Manchester Radio Club, a group of amateur radio operators.  When World War II began, the tower was used by the Civil Defense System of Manchester.

When the War ended, the Smyth Estate and other parties donated the land to the U.S. Government for the construction of a veterans' hospital. Upon completion of the hospital, the plans called for demolition of the tower and the leveling of the ground around it for the construction of tennis courts.

The crane was in position to demolish the landmark when several prominent friends of Governor Smyth's widow, accompanied by her attorney, arrived on the scene to request the Engineer-In-Charge to spare the tower for sentimental reasons.  The Boston and Washington offices of the Veterans Administration were contacted immediately.  The decision was made to spare the tower, and it stands today as it did at the end of World War II.

On July 24, 1978, the Smyth Tower was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places.