Kingfisher Tower is a 60 feet (18.3 m) folly

Folly

In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but either suggesting by its appearance some other purpose, or merely so extravagant that it transcends the normal range of garden ornaments or other class of building to which it belongs...

 built by Edward Clark

Edward Clark (manufacturer)

Edward C. Clark or Edward S. Clark was a founder of the Singer Sewing Machine Company, along with his business partner of Isaac Merritt Singer...

 on the eastern shore of Otsego Lake

Otsego Lake

Otsego Lake is a small lake located in Otsego County, New York in the USA and is the source of the Susquehanna River. Cooperstown, New York is at the southern end. Glimmerglass State Park is located on the northeastern shore...

 at Point Judith near County Highway 31 near Cooperstown, New York

Cooperstown, New York

Cooperstown is a village in Otsego County, New York, USA. It is located in the Town of Otsego. The population was estimated to be 1,852 at the 2010 census.The Village of Cooperstown is the county seat of Otsego County, New York...

 in 1876.

It is a Gothic Revival structure built "to beautify the lake" and "to provide construction jobs during an economic turndown". Clark made his fortune investing in Isaac Singer

Isaac Singer

Isaac Merritt Singer was an inventor, actor, and entrepreneur. He made important improvements in the design of the sewing machine and was the founder of the Singer Sewing Machine Company...

's sewing machine

Sewing machine

A sewing machine is a textile machine used to stitch fabric, cards and other material together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies...

 company, and the structure belongs to his descendants. It is on private property and is usually approachable only from the lake. The structure was designed by architect Henry J. Hardenbergh.