Standing in the semicircle formed by Arbor Place, directly across Sharon Road from Town Hall, stands a tower of stone. As I have driven past it, at least a thousand times, I have often wondered what it's there for and why it was built there in the first place. I don't know about you, but I cannot recall ever having seen anything like it before. So, what is it, or what was it originally? We'll get back to that in a minute.

As the plaque mounted on the tower states, all park landscaping is a memorial to Ralph Frederic Rogan (1875-1955) and Bessie Ewing Rogan (1877-1953)...

Devoted and Loyal Citizens of Our Village
Glendale
1955

The lovely little park surrounding the tower is also home to Glendale's War Memorial, which faces Town Hall on Sharon Road.

Now...back to the tower. Actually, what you see there now is only the base of what used to stand there. The stone tower is the base of Glendale's original water tower, which burst in 1928. It was replaced in that year with a new tower, which stood next to the Service Department at 528 East Sharon Road. This tower served Glendale until 1995, when the current tower was built along Route 4 across from the golf course. And now you know... the rest of the story.

Location of the Stone Tower