Paulin Caperon, who called himself Peter Coutts, bought land in Mayfield in 1875 and built the two-story tower with crenels and Gothic windows, connected to tunnels that brought water to his farm and lake. In 1882 he left for France without telling his neighbours, and Stanford bought his land.
An 1896 guide described the lake, the tunnel and a brick bridge “which crosses nothing in particular and leads nowhere”. The tower is a California Point of Historical Interest.