 Arnold wrote his will on 24 December 1677 , during his last full term as governor . A codicil to the will was written the following February , and the governor died in June while still in office . On 29 June Samuel Hubbard of Newport wrote a letter to Dr. Edward Stennett of London , saying " Our Governor died the 19th day of June , 1678 , buried 20th day , all this island was invited , many others was [ sic ] there , judged near a thousand people , brother <unk> spoke there excellently led forth , I praise God . " In his will Governor Arnold gave to his wife , for life , certain land with mansion house and " stone built wind mill . " While there are romantic legends of early <unk> men coming to Newport and building the stone structure that continues to stand in the city , the strongest evidence suggests that the structure was the base of Arnold 's windmill mentioned in his will . 
