Meneely bell foundries
The Meneely Bell Foundry was a bell foundry established in 1826 in West Troy (now Watervliet), New York, by Andrew Meneely.[citation needed] Two of Andrew's sons continued to operate the foundry after his death, while a third son, Clinton H. Meneely, opened a second foundry across the river with George H. Kimberly in Troy, New York in 1870. Initially named the Meneely Bell Company of Troy, this second foundry was reorganized in 1880 as the Clinton H. Meneely Company, then again as the Meneely Bell Company. Together, the two foundries produced about 65,000 bells before they closed in 1952.[1][2]
Bell locations
[edit]Selected bells from the Meneely Bell Foundry
[edit]Site | Image | Dates | Location | Country | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Boys' Camp, Camp Mini-Yo-We | Huntsville, Ontario | Canada | Originally cast for Mountainside Gospel Chapel in Mountainside, New Jersey. Later donated to Camp Mini-Yo-We upon amalgamation with Liquid Church. | ||
St. Lawrence Hall | 1849 cast | Toronto, Ontario | Canada | Unused and virtually inaccessible in the cupola | |
Wesley Knox United Church | Woodville, Nova Scotia | Canada | |||
Roddick Gates, McGill University | Montreal, Quebec | Canada | |||
Saint Anthony's Church (Svateho Antonina) | 1918 purchased | Strossmayerovo Namesti, Prague | Czech Republic | ||
Tunghai University | Taichung | Taiwan | |||
First Baptist Church | 1869 cast 1887 repaired 1963 moved | Huntsville, Alabama | United States | Donated by deacon James Hamilton to Enon Baptist Church downtown. Later moved to current site. | |
Church of the Nativity | Menlo Park, California | United States | |||
Saint Joseph Parish (Mountain View, California) | Mountain View, California | United States | Striker replaced in 2018. A-frames scheduled for replacement in 2024. | ||
San Jose State University | 1881 cast Rehung 1910 and 1960s | San Jose, California | United States | Cast to commemorate the California State Normal School. Weighs 3,000-pounds. Silenced after an earthquake in 1903. Re-installed in Tower Hall in 1910 and rung on special occasions. Later retired and relocated to ground level due to seismic concerns. | |
St. Mary Catholic Church | Bethel, Connecticut | United States | |||
Bulkley Memorial Carillon | Danbury, Connecticut | United States | |||
Lupton Hall Carillon, Oglethorpe University | Atlanta, Georgia | United States | |||
Faith Chapel | 1901 cast | Jekyll Island, Georgia | United States | Chapel built 1904 | |
Lovely Lane Chapel, Epworth By The Sea | 1881 cast | St. Simons Island, Georgia | United States | ||
Lacon Congregational Church | 1890 cast | Lacon, Illinois | United States | ||
St. Paul Lutheran Church | 1860s purchased | Pontiac, Illinois | United States | ||
Rock Island Arsenal Clock Tower | 1867 cast | Rock Island, Illinois | United States | Weighs 3,538 pounds | |
University of Northern Iowa[3] | 1926 dedicated | Cedar Falls, Iowa | United States | ||
Mattawamkeag Church of God | Mattawamkeag, Maine | United States | |||
Joseph Dill Baker Memorial Carillon | Frederick, Maryland | United States | Baker Park | ||
Plainville Historical Commission | 1905 cast | Plainville, Massachusetts | United States | ||
First Presbyterian Church of Adrian | 1846 cast | Adrian, Michigan | United States | Weighs 1601 pounds. After installation, rang in the New Year in 1847. | |
Laingsburg United Methodist Church | 1881 cast | Laingsburg, Michigan | United States | ||
Immanuel Lutheran Church | Madison, Nebraska | United States | |||
Thompson Hall (University of New Hampshire) | Durham, New Hampshire | United States | Original church was located on Greenwood Ave. Later relocated behind the "new" church on Dodgingtown Road. | ||
Columbia High School (New Jersey) | Maplewood, New Jersey | United States | Large bell chimes the hour | ||
St. Peter the Apostle Roman Catholic Church[4] | New Brunswick, New Jersey | United States | |||
Newton Presbyterian Church[5] | Newton, New Jersey | United States | |||
Friendship Fire Company #1 | 1875 cast | Woodbury, New Jersey | United States | Created for the Woodbury Fire Association | |
Reformed Dutch Church of Claverack | Claverack-Red Mills, New York | United States | |||
Saint Michael's Church (Rochester, New York) | 1847 cast | Rochester, New York | United States | 2 bells weighing 1,015 pounds and 525 pounds | |
St. Anthony's Church | Albany, New York | United States | |||
First Presbyterian Church | 1848 cast | Avon, New York | United States | 33", 700 pound bell | |
Carlisle Presbyterian Church | Carlisle, New York | United States | |||
Central United Methodist Church | Endicott, New York | United States | |||
Jamesville Community Museum | Jamesville, New York | United States | Created for the former 1878 Episcopal church | ||
St. Andrew's Catholic Church | Norwood, New York | United States | 3,100-pound bell of ingot copper and East India tin | ||
Church of the Ascension | 1873 cast 1888 resold | Rockville Centre, New York | United States | Cast for Christ Church, Poughkeepsie, New York. Sold back to the foundry and resold to Church of the Ascension. | |
Saugerties Lighthouse | Saugerties, New York | United States | |||
Phi Sigma Kappa, Gamma Tetarton Chapter (Troy, NY) | 1882 dedicated | Troy, New York | United States | The building was originally St. Francis DeSales Church. Dedicated by Rev. William A. Drum. | |
West Point Cadet Chapel[6] | West Point, New York | United States | |||
King Avenue United Methodist Church[7] | Columbus, Ohio | United States | |||
Mt. Zion Baptist Church | Portland, Oregon | United States | Formerly Deutsche Congregationale Zion Kirche (German Congregational Zion Church) | ||
St. Peter Cathedral (Erie, Pennsylvania) | Erie, Pennsylvania | United States | |||
Christ Episcopal Church (Reading, Pennsylvania) | 1874 cast | Reading, Pennsylvania | United States | Set of 10 bells | |
Trinity Church (Newport, Rhode Island) | Newport, Rhode Island | United States | |||
National Patriots Bell Tower carillon | Valley Forge National Park, Pennsylvania | United States | |||
St. Matthew's German Evangelical Lutheran Church | 1901 cast 3 bells added 1966 | Charleston, South Carolina | United States | Set of 10 bells. All bells refurbished in 2008 by Christop Paccard Bellfoundries. | |
Wofford College | Spartanburg, South Carolina | United States | |||
First United Methodist Church (Crockett, Texas) | 1859 cast 1901 moved | Crockett, Texas | United States | ||
Saint Stephen's Episcopal Church | Sherman, Texas | United States | |||
Cathedral Church of St. Mark | Salt Lake City, Utah | United States | |||
Saint Peter's Catholic Church | Rutland, Vermont | United States | |||
Wilder Center | Wilder, Vermont | United States | |||
Eastern State Hospital Medical Library, Building No. 3 | 1866 cast | Williamsburg, Virginia | United States | Signified curfews and special events at the nation's oldest psychiatric hospital |
Selected bells from the second Meneely bell foundry
[edit]- Church of the Sacred Heart, Waseca, Minnesota (Maneely & Kimberly, Founders, Troy, NY 1872)
- Davis County Courthouse (Maneely & Kimberly Bell Co., 1879) in Bloomfield, Iowa
- The Phelps School's "Victory Bell" in Malvern, Pennsylvania
- A Meneely & Kimberly bell remains in front of the Cortland Elementary School in Cortland, Ohio. The school was once named Cortland Union School as cast on the bell 1876.
- The Morehead-Patterson Bell Tower, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The twelve original bells were cast by the Meneely Bell Company [8] in the early 1930s, and supplemented by two bells from Petit & Fritsen, Belgium in 1998.
- Sainte-Marthe-De-Vaudreuil Catholic Church, Quebec, Canada.
- St. Andrew's United Church in Markham, Ontario[9]
- Bell in the name of Miss Elsie Priest, Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan.
- A Meneely & Kimberly bell is in daily service in the Parish Church of San Andres Xecul, Totonicapan, Guatemala.
- St. Ann & The Holy Trinity Church in Brooklyn, New York.
- Soldiers Chapel - Schofield Barracks; Wahiawa, Oahu, Hawaii. Church steeple built 1913. Bell dated 1911.
- Assumption Church - Staten Island, New York. Assumption - St. Paul Parish. Bells dedicated August 6, 1922.[10]
- St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Ogden, Kansas. Bell dated 1910
- Hume Memorial Church (A.F.C.C) Congregation. Ahmednagar, Maharashtra India. Bell is dated 1914. This Bell is still functioning and can be heard on every Sunday at 8.30 am
- First Baptist Church of Clinton, LA. Bell dated 1859.
- First Congregational United Church of Christ, Billings, Montana. Bell dated 1889.
- Wells College, Main Building (Aurora, NY) Nine bells cast in 1922.
- City of Poway Veterans Park, Poway California, The Liberty Bell was cast in 1874 and was installed at the Park in 2010.
- Cushing Academy, Ashburnham, MA, Cast by Clinton H. Meneely dated 1890.
Notable bells
[edit]Columbian Liberty Bell
[edit]The Columbian Liberty Bell was cast by Clinton H. Meneely's foundry for display at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. The bell disappeared while on tour in Europe.[11] [12]
Saint Anthony’s Church Bell, Prague, Czech Republic
[edit]The Meneely bell that hangs in St Anthony's Church in Prague was purchased by the Mid-European Union in October 1918 to commemorate the independence of Czechoslovakia after World War I and donated to the group's president, Thomas Masaryk, who became the head of the country's provisional government and, in 1920, the Czechoslovak president. The bell cost $2,000 and weighed 2,542 pounds (1,155 kg).
See also
[edit]- Benjamin Hanks (1755-1824), goldsmith and instrument maker[13]
- Campanology: Carillons (a concise chapter in the general article Campanology)
- Bell tower
References
[edit]- ^ Meneely Bell Online Museum
- ^ "Rensselaer County Historical Society. (RCHS says the financial records of these foundries are located at 1) Hudson-Mohawk Industrial Gateway, Foot of Polk St., Troy, NY 12180; and 2) Manuscripts & Special Collections, New York State Library, Cultural Education Center, Albany, NY 12230.)".
- ^ "Tower Instruments by State". allchimes.org.
- ^ "The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America".
- ^ "Newton, NJ - Churches". www.newtonnj.net.
- ^ "The Cadet Chapel [at West Point] • Chapter 3".
- ^ King Avenue United Methodist Church
- ^ CHAPEL HILL : USA - NC
- ^ "Home | Markham | St. Andrew's United Church". unitedchurchsite.
- ^ Assumption-St. Paul Church
- ^ "WONDERFUL LIBERTY BELL; IT IS TO CONTAIN HISTORICAL RELICS OF GREAT VALUE. It Will Be Cast at Troy Next Month and Will Weigh 13,000 Pounds -- It Will Con- tain Relics of Washington, Jefferson, and Other American Heroes -- Women Have Sent Their Wedding Rings -- Rare Coins Have Been Contributed -- School Children Have Had an Important Share". The New York Times. April 24, 1893 – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ "COLUMBIAN LIBERTY BELL CAST.; The Operation a Success, It Is Thought -- Mrs. Cleveland Had No Part in It". The New York Times. June 23, 1893 – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ Skinner, Charles. "Bell Casting in Troy". Meneeley Bell online Museum. Retrieved July 12, 2013.