John Rowe Moyle, a Mormon convert, emigrated from England with a family of seven, crossed the plains in the first hand cart company of 1856, and constructed the tower in 1866 for protection from Indians. The property later belonged to Joseph, the youngest son of John Rowe and Phillipa Beer Moyle, a lifelong resident and late owner of the property. The children of Joseph Edward and Matilda C. Hanson Moyle gave it to Alpine City at the city's request for use as a park. The site was dedicated to the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the United States of America as a tribute to the self-sacrificing faithful pioneers of Alpine, and the tower stands today, perhaps the only fortification of its kind, as a monument to the industry of an early Utah pioneer.