The Semaphore Tower in Gharghur was built by the British in 1848 as one of three towers of this type in Malta. They were used by the military to communicate quickly by means of three mechanical paddles on top of the building, that were visible from far away. The message would be transmitted by different positions of the paddles. The system allowed to encode the complete alphabet and the numerals from 0 to 9, and up to 15 letters per minute could be sent by experienced operators.
In Malta the military authorities opted for the construction of three new semaphore stations at Ħal Għaxaq, Ħal Għargħur, and Nadur in Gozo. In addition, three more stations were established on the Governor’s Palace in Valletta, Selmun castle and Ta’ Ġurdan Light House in Gozo.
Relatively soon the new electrical telegraph and the invention of the Morse alphabet made the towers obsolete. In 1883 the last station was shut down in Malta.
The towers were later used as observation points by the military.
The tower in Gharghur was finally taken over by the local council in 2004 and was restored in 2009. Sometime the tower is open for the public on special occasions.