Murney Tower

Murney Tower
Map
Established1846
LocationMurney Point, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates44°13′20″N 76°29′25.5″W / 44.22222°N 76.490417°W / 44.22222; -76.490417
TypeMartello tower
Websitewww.kingstonhistoricalsociety.ca/the-murney-tower
Official nameMurney Tower, Kingston
Part ofRideau Canal
CriteriaCultural: (i)(iv)
Reference1221-006
Inscription2007 (31st Session)
Area0.17 ha (18,000 sq ft)
Buffer zone2.71 ha (292,000 sq ft)
Designated1930

Murney Tower is a Martello tower in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, whose construction dates to January 1846. The Tower was built in response to the Oregon Crisis, which was a tense dispute over the border between British North America and the United States in the 1840s.

The tower is one of five components of Kingston's fortifications that defended Kingston Harbour, the Naval Dockyard, military supply depot and the southern entrance of the Rideau Canal. Murney Tower complements the fortifications of Fort Henry, Ontario, Cathcart Tower on Cedar Island, Shoal Tower in the Confederation Basin and Fort Frederick on the grounds of the Royal Military College of Canada. In addition to protecting the harbour and approaches to Kingston, these fortifications were designed to concentrate fire on Gardiners Island; it being the only place to effectively land artillery at the time.