An Industrial Age American castle finished in 1935 by the Cole family, Cole Watch Tower still stands today. Nestled among the quiet farm houses west of Omro, Wisconsin on State Road 21, a seven-story American castle stands defiant against the hands of time. You may have asked a friend about the history. Chances are you are still curious. There have been many stories told about Cole Watch Tower. So
me stories are true and others only myths repeated to the next generation. Truth is stranger than fiction; that story has yet to be told. The land out of which Cole Watch Tower grew was once Menominee Indian Territory. The first pioneers arrived in what is now known as Omro, as early as 1812, settling on the south side of the Fox River. As the early settlers went to work building cabins and taming the land on the south side of the river, the Native Americans honored the north side; walking the same well-worn paths their ancestors walked, performing their ceremonies, and burying their dead as they always had. In 1836, the Menominee Indians ceded all lands between the Wolf and Fox River to the United States Government. Having the threat of Indians removed, the north side of the Fox River was now opened for homesteading. Hosea Knapp received the first deed to the property in 1852 from the Unites States under the Military Bounty Land Act of 1850. It is unclear if he settled on the land. Knapp sold the land to Philip King in April 1870. In September of the same year, Philip King transferred the property to Charles Olcott King with the agreement that Charles would assume the mortgage to Knapp. Charles O. King was married to Vesta Ann Cornish in 1871 and the beautiful brick Italianate-style home was soon complete. The King Family farmed the land and brought up 5 children in the then four bedroom home. Husband and wife remained in the home until their death. Vesta Ann King passed away in 1912, and Charles King just a few years later in 1916. Both spent their final moments of life in the house they had built years before when their life together was only a newly budding flower. Florent Shepard and Adeline Carpenter Cole purchased the home in 1924 and soon started a silver fox farm while maintaining a dairy. A wooden tower was built to keep watch over the valuable fox. When the decision was made to build a new tower, architect and son in law Robert Wertsch designed the plans. The kitchen roof was removed and the seven-story steel and concrete tower was complete in 1935. Florent and Adeline raised three children; Nonah, Edward, and Bruce in the home. Adeline ran numerous businesses from the property after her husband passed away.
