It's an unusual monument in an unusual place. The Soldiers' Memorial Tower is located in Brockport, New York although if you wish to visit it, you really need to know where it is. It's not where you might expect a monument to be, and there is no signage to guide you to it. Honestly, there isn't a lot of reason to visit except to A) See the memorial and B) Pay homage to the honored Civil War dead from the Township of Sweden.
It was built in 1894 to honor the Civil War dead from the township of Sweden, in which Brockport is located. 845 men from the Brockport area served the Union Army. After the war ended, the land on which the tower sits was supposed to be a cemetery for the free internment of local veterans. There is no cemetery. With the opening of other cemeteries in the area, most of the remains that were here were moved, although at least two graves visible are extant on the grounds and there may be more.
The tower was designed by Brooklyn architect Clarence Birdsall in the Gothic Revival style. Medina sandstone was shipped to Brockport via the Erie Canal.
Originally, the tower stood 52 feet in height. At one time, there was an iron spiral staircase and a viewing platform at the top. At some time, a grass fire swept through the cemetery that destroyed a chapel and caretaker's cottage that had been on the grounds. The staircase and iron bars on the windows were lost to time. Meanwhile, passing time, erosion, and damage has shortened the tower from its original height.
In 1995, after the tower had been placed on the National Register of Historic Places, students in the ROTC program at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Brockport were given credit for performing community service on behalf of the tower. The students researched the names on the tower, members of the 140th New York Infantry Regiment. The program only lasted two years.
Fundraising efforts continue, however, they have not been successful. The cemetery association transferred the land to the Town of Sweden which built a volunteer firehouse on the land. The town made some effort to stabilize the tower, gravel surrounds the tower and a fence was constructed around the base. As of this writing, there doesn't seem to be enough funding to restore the tower.
An interpretive marker was placed at the site to commemorate the tower's placement on the NRHP. On July 12, 2019, a dedication ceremony included Civil War re-enactors firing memorial volleys over the tower and over the graves.
To visit the tower, find the fire station on Owens Road. Access to the tower is to the left and behind the station, about a quarter of a mile into the woods. About halfway to the tower, look for two graves to your left, and pay your respects. (The text is very difficult to read on the stones.)
(Sidebar: There is a similar, but unnamed, tower in the Mt. Albion Cemetery a few minutes west of here. That tower is intact and open for climbing.)
If you do visit, keep in mind, the memorial is sacred ground. You will be paying silent homage to those local soldiers who gave their lives in the Civil War. read more