Frenchman's Tower is a two-story red brick structure located in
Santa Clara County, California
Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259, as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring Sa ...
, that resembles a
medieval fortification
Medieval fortification refers to medieval military methods that cover the development of fortification construction and use in Europe, roughly from the fall of the Western Roman Empire to the Renaissance. During this millennium, fortifications ...
. Built in 1875, the structure was listed as a California Point of Historical Interest in 1969.
The structure was built under the direction of land owner Paulin Caperon, a native of France who had assumed the name Peter Coutts when he moved to
Mayfield, California, in 1875. Coutts returned to France in 1882 without letting his California neighbors know what happened to him and ordered a bank to liquidate his Mayfield property.
Since then
trespassers
In the law of tort, property, and criminal law a trespasser is a person who commits the act of trespassing on a property, that is, without the permission of the owner. Being present on land as a trespasser thereto creates liability in the tr ...
have carved names or initials into almost every brick of the tower within their reach.
Some dates go back over 100 years.
In 1970, the landowner bricked in the windows to protect the structure from vandals.
Frenchman's Tower stands on Old Page Mill Road, midway between Foothill Expressway and Interstate 280, in
Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259, as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring Sa ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, within a strip of land within the borders of
Palo Alto
Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto.
The city was estab ...
on land now owned by
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
.
Architecture
![CrenelsIMG 0480](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/CrenelsIMG_0480.JPG)
Frenchman's Tower was built in 1875 and has miniature
crenels along the top and Gothic windows,
giving it a style similar to
Medieval fortification
Medieval fortification refers to medieval military methods that cover the development of fortification construction and use in Europe, roughly from the fall of the Western Roman Empire to the Renaissance. During this millennium, fortifications ...
s built hundreds of years earlier, not unlike
Chindia Tower
The Chindia Tower ( ro, Turnul Chindiei) is a tower in the Târgoviște Princely Court, Curtea Domnească monuments ensemble in Târgoviște, Romania, built in the 15th century. The tower was begun during the second reign of List of Wallachian rul ...
built between the 15th and 19th century. In the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, crenels were used to
shield archers defending the structure.
The second floor held a water tank, while the first floor was used as a library. The original owner, Paulin Caperon, spent many hours in his library reading and studying. The building never had any doors, requiring entry through a window
The tower, situated near
Matadero Creek
Matadero Creek is a stream originating in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The creek flows in a northeasterly direction for until it enters the Palo Alto Flood Basin, where it joins Ado ...
, was originally connected to one of six tunnels used to provide subterranean water to his farm and to his lake. Workers had to remove tons of earth before reaching a sufficient underground water source.
Bricks for the tower were made by Albert Bowman and Company from a clay deposit discovered in
Mountain View in the same year that the tower was constructed.
Public interest and notability
Over the years, many different ideas and stories regarding Paulin Caperon's tower and tunnels have been told. Caperon, who also went by the alias Peter Coutts, is said to have "enjoyed mystifying his neighbors" and often helped perpetuate these stories by neither denying nor confirming the fanciful tales. These include the construction of tunnels and a fortified tower to "withstand a siege by his enemies" and harboring the French Empress, neither of which were true.
Recognition
*Registered as
California Point of Historical Interest
California Points of Historical Interest are sites, buildings, features, or events that are of local (city or county) significance and have anthropological, cultural, military, political, architectural, economic, scientific or technical, religious, ...
November 3, 1969.
*Listed on the Santa Clara County ''Heritage Resource Inventory''.
*The
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
archives contain photos of Frenchman's Tower taken during August and September 1975.
*A 1910-1930 photo shown on the right is in the
San Jose Public Library
The San José Public Library ( es, Biblioteca Pública de San José) is the public library system of San Jose, California, made up of 23 branch libraries spread across the city.
Organization
Its central library, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Librar ...
.
Popular news media
Popular news media of today sometimes casts the tower as an unsolved mystery.
*In a March 2011, ''CBS news'' reporter Ken Bastida interviewed local historian Steve Staiger. Staiger said he did not believe the structure was constructed as a water tower as the builder alleged because the tower was too far away from water or the rest of his property. Staiger offers a reward to anyone who solves the mystery. The TV report shows an entry-hole vandals chopped through the bricks on the back side of the tower.
Historical articles
*''Peninsula Life Magazine'' published a 1948 article describing how Frenchman's Tower "standing stark and alone" on the banks of Matadero Creek is one of the Peninsula's most famous landmarks. The article goes on to tell the story of Paulin Caperon through interviews with family members.
*The
California Historical Society
The California Historical Society (CHS) is the official historical society of California. It was founded in 1871, by a group of prominent Californian intellectuals at Santa Clara University. It was officially designated as the Californian state hi ...
began a 1954 article with the sentence, "No tale in California history has had stranger diversities than the one about the man who sold to
Leland Stanford
Amasa Leland Stanford (March 9, 1824June 21, 1893) was an American industrialist and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 8th governor of California from 1862 to 1863 and represented California in the United States Se ...
the land on which he built his university." The article continues with information based upon interviews with surviving members of Coutts's family and household,
explaining the reason for Peter Coutts's strange behavior.
*Although not referencing sources, the Stanford Historical Society published a 1981 article, "Coutts was no eccentric, history study shows", detailing the life of Paulin Caperon.
The article provides explanations for many of his seemingly strange actions.
Public curiosity
Some articles show the writer's curiosity about the tower.
* In a 2010 article, ''Examiner'' reporter William Baeck described how he climbed over a wire fence and crawled past poison oak. Then he held his camera inside the tower and began photographing.
*In 2006 photographer Eric Chan took photos of the tower, including photos documenting his presence both outside and inside the tower. He described how he climbed through a small hole in the back and found it "pretty scary inside". The photo on the right, showing the inside of the structure, is one of many he posted on
Flickr
Flickr ( ; ) is an American image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was a popular way for amateur and professional ...
.
Official concerns
![CarvingsIMG 0478](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/CarvingsIMG_0478.JPG)
*A 2004
environmental impact report on trail alignment expressed concerns that proposed trail segment AD05 would attract more visitors, possibly leading to the tower being further vandalized. The report also stated that more bike and foot traffic might make the tower more visible, possibly protecting the tower. To mitigate the risk, the landowner agreed to inspect the tower every six months and to take action upon discovery of further damage.
Paulin Caperon
Jean-Baptiste Paulin Caperon was born of wealthy parents near
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...
France in 1822 and died in Bordeaux, France, in September 1889 at the age of
sixty-seven.
Paulin Caperon was the son of one of Napoleon's officers. He lost both parents when he was only 26 years old. He "openly criticized
Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
policies and opposed the Franco-Prussian War.
" He founded a private bank, which he sold in 1873. Because of problems in France, he left France for Brussels, Belgium,
and then went to New Orleans using identity papers of his deceased cousin Peter Coutts. He traveled to San Francisco and then to the township of Mayfield.
Paulin Caperon continued using the name Peter Coutts when he arrived in Mayfield (present day
Palo Alto
Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto.
The city was estab ...
).
In 1875 he bought 1,400 acres (4.7 km2) of
Rancho Rincon de San Francisquito
Rancho Rincon de San Francisquito was a Mexican land grant in present-day Santa Clara County, California given in 1841 by Governor Juan Alvarado to José Peña. The name means "corner or bend of the San Francisquito" referring to San Francisqui ...
from Jeremiah Clarke for $90,000.
Caperon had a heart ailment, and his wife was an invalid. He felt concerned that he and his wife might both die, and his children might have difficulty
inheriting his estate, so he took title to the land in the name of his children's
governess Eugene Cloyensen.
Caperon developed the land into a thriving
stock farm
and eventually directed the construction of a tower to distribute water.
He seemed friendly but would not discuss his past.
When local residents discovered that Peter Coutts (Paulin Caperon) had actually purchased the land in the name of his children's governess,
the townspeople grew suspicious,
made speculations, and spread rumors about the intended purpose of the
tower.
In 1882, only eight years after his arrival, Paulin Caperon suddenly
returned to his native France
and sold the land
for the sum of $140,000 to
Leland Stanford
Amasa Leland Stanford (March 9, 1824June 21, 1893) was an American industrialist and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 8th governor of California from 1862 to 1863 and represented California in the United States Se ...
, who founded
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
in 1891.
Paulin Caperon eventually reacquired legal title to valuable property
he had owned in France. "Using his true identity, Caperon and his family returned to Paris in May 1883,
"
and he spent the rest of his life in France.
See also
*
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto (; Spanish language, Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree kno ...
*
Leland Stanford
Amasa Leland Stanford (March 9, 1824June 21, 1893) was an American industrialist and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 8th governor of California from 1862 to 1863 and represented California in the United States Se ...
*
Battlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...
*
Rancho Rincon de San Francisquito
Rancho Rincon de San Francisquito was a Mexican land grant in present-day Santa Clara County, California given in 1841 by Governor Juan Alvarado to José Peña. The name means "corner or bend of the San Francisquito" referring to San Francisqui ...
*
Franco-Prussian War
References
Further reading
''The Legend of Frenchman's Tower''a 1951 article from the ''Union Democrat'' by Evalyn Slack Gist.
''Guide to the Peter Coutts Collection''at Stanford University Libraries, California 94304-6064, includes paper letters from Caperon's granddaughter.
*Unpublished papers includin
: Geoffrey Bilson, "Peter Coutts - 'The Frenchman'"
External links
{{Commons category
Photos at Palo Alto Historical Society*
ttps://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/09.18.97/cover/best-peninsula2-9738.html ''The best of Santa Clara Valley 1997''at ''
Metroactive
''Metro'' is a free weekly newspaper published by the San Jose, California, based Metro Newspapers. Also known as ''Metro Silicon Valley'', as well as ''Metroactive'' online, the paper serves the greater Silicon Valley area. In addition to print ...
''.
''The mysterious Peter Coutts'' in a 1998 ''Palo Alto Online'' articleA panorama of graffiti painted on the inside of the towerAn Enduring Heritage: Historic Buildings of the San Francisco Peninsula By Dorothy F. Regnery, Page 72
History of Santa Clara County, California
Buildings and structures in Palo Alto, California
Tourist attractions in Santa Clara County, California
Rancho Rincon de San Francisquito
Rancho Rincon de San Francisquito was a Mexican land grant in present-day Santa Clara County, California given in 1841 by Governor Juan Alvarado to José Peña. The name means "corner or bend of the San Francisquito" referring to San Francisqui ...
Towers completed in 1895
1895 establishments in California
Stanford University buildings and structures