Meneely bell foundry
Encyclopedia
The Meneely Bell Foundry was a bell
foundry
established in 1826 in West Troy (now Watervliet
), New York
, by Andrew Meneely. 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.
Below is a sample of locations where bells from the second Meneely bell foundry can be seen and heard:
in Chicago
in 1893. The bell disappeared while on tour in Europe.
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).
Bell (instrument)
A bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually a hollow, cup-shaped object, which resonates upon being struck...
foundry
Foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...
established in 1826 in West Troy (now Watervliet
Watervliet, New York
Watervliet is a city in Albany County in the US state of New York. The population was 10,254 as of the 2010 census. Watervliet is north of Albany, the capital of the state, and is bordered on the north, west, and south by the town of Colonie. The city is also known as "the Arsenal City".- History...
), New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, by Andrew Meneely. 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
Troy, New York
Troy is a city in the US State of New York and the seat of Rensselaer County. Troy is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany and Schenectady, forming a region popularly called the Capital...
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.
Bell locations
Below is a sample of locations where Meneely Bell Foundry bells can be seen and heard:- St. Matthew's German Evangelical Lutheran ChurchSt. Matthew's German Evangelical Lutheran ChurchThe German Evangelical Lutheran Church of Charleston, South Carolina was incorporated on December 3, 1840. Through usage and custom the Church is now known as St. Matthew's German Evangelical Lutheran Church or St...
Set of 10 bells cast in West Troy in 1901. Three bells added in 1966. All bells refurbished in 2008 by Christop Paccard Bellfoundries, Johns Island, SC. - Thompson Hall, University of New Hampshire - Durham, New Hampshire
- Columbia High School (New Jersey)Columbia High School (New Jersey)Columbia High School is a four-year comprehensive regional public high school located at 17 Parker Avenue in Maplewood, New Jersey, which serves students in grades nine through twelve within the South Orange-Maplewood School District, which includes Maplewood and South Orange Townships...
- large bell chimes the hour - Bulkley Memorial Carillon in Danbury, ConnecticutDanbury, ConnecticutDanbury is a city in northern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It had population at the 2010 census of 80,893. Danbury is the fourth largest city in Fairfield County and is the seventh largest city in Connecticut....
- St. Mary Catholic Church, Bethel, Connecticut (this bell was in the original church, located on Greenwood Ave. in Bethel but was taken out of the steeple and placed on display behind the "new" church on Dodgingtown Road)
- Central United Methodist Church in Endicott, New YorkEndicott, New YorkEndicott is a village in Broome County, New York, United States. The population was 13,038 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Binghamton Metropolitan Statistical Area. The village is named after Henry B...
- Immanuel Lutheran Church in Madison, NebraskaMadison, NebraskaMadison is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Norfolk, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,367 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
- Jamesville Community Museum, former Episcopal church built in 1878 in Jamesville, New YorkJamesville, New YorkJamesville is a hamlet in De Witt, Onondaga County, New York, United States, part of the greater Syracuse area.The history of the community is documented in the book Water, Wheels and Stone: Heritage of the Little Village by the Creek, Jamesville, New York, written by Jean Schutz Keough, and...
- Joseph Dill Baker Memorial Carillon in Baker Park, in Frederick, MarylandFrederick, MarylandFrederick is a city in north-central Maryland. It is the county seat of Frederick County, the largest county by area in the state of Maryland. Frederick is an outlying community of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of a greater...
- King Avenue United Methodist Church in Columbus, OhioColumbus, OhioColumbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
- Lovely Lane Chapel at Epworth By The Sea on St. Simons Island, Georgia. Chapel built in 1880 and the bell was cast in 1881.
- Lupton Hall Carillon at Oglethorpe UniversityOglethorpe UniversityOglethorpe University is a private liberal arts college in Brookhaven, Georgia, an inner suburb of Atlanta. It was chartered in 1835 and named after James Edward Oglethorpe, the state's founder.-History:...
in Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in... - Mt. Zion Baptist Church, formerly Deutsche Congregationale Zion Kirche (German Congregational Zion Church) in Portland, OregonPortland, OregonPortland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
- Newton Presbyterian Church in Newton, New JerseyNewton, New JerseyNewton is a town in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the town population was 8,244. It is the county seat of Sussex County....
- Reformed Dutch Church of ClaverackReformed Dutch Church of ClaverackThe Reformed Dutch Church of Claverack is located on New York State Route 9H at the north end of the hamlet of Claverack, New York, United States. It is a brick church built in the mid-18th century and renovated and expanded twice in the 19th, reaching its present form in 1879. The congregation was...
, NY - Rock Island ArsenalRock Island ArsenalThe Rock Island Arsenal comprises , located on Arsenal Island, originally known as Rock Island, on the Mississippi River between the cities of Davenport, Iowa, and Rock Island, Illinois. It lies within the state of Illinois. The island was originally established as a government site in 1816, with...
Clock Tower in Rock Island, IllinoisRock Island, IllinoisRock Island is the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The population was 40,884 at the 2010 census. Located on the Mississippi River, it is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring Moline, East Moline, and the Iowa cities of Davenport and Bettendorf. The Quad Cities...
has a 3,538 lb bell stamped “1867 Meneelys’ West Troy, N.Y.” - Saint Andrew's Catholic Church in Norwood, New YorkNorwood, New YorkNorwood is a village located in St. Lawrence County, New York. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 1,685.The Village of Norwood is on the town line of two towns so that it is partly in the Town of Potsdam and partly in the Town of Norfolk.The village is north of Potsdam.-...
has a 3,100 lb bell of ingot copperCopperCopper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
and East IndiaIndiesThe Indies is a term that has been used to describe the lands of South and Southeast Asia, occupying all of the present India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and also Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Brunei, Singapore, the Philippines, East Timor, Malaysia and...
tin in a 70 feet (21.3 m) tower. - Saint Anthony's Church in Albany, New YorkAlbany, New YorkAlbany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
- Saint Anthony's Church (Svateho Antonina) in Strossmayerovo Namesti, Prague, Czech Republic (see below)
- Saint Peter CathedralSt. Peter Cathedral, ErieSt. Peter Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church located in at 230 West 10th Street in Erie, Pennsylvania.-History:Plans for the building of St. Peter Cathedral were initiated in 1873 by Bishop Tobias Mullen of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Erie. The cornerstone was laid in a formal ceremony held on...
in Erie, PennsylvaniaErie, PennsylvaniaErie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000... - St. Peter the Apostle Roman Catholic Church in New Brunswick, New JerseyNew Brunswick, New JerseyNew Brunswick is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, USA. It is the county seat and the home of Rutgers University. The city is located on the Northeast Corridor rail line, southwest of Manhattan, on the southern bank of the Raritan River. At the 2010 United States Census, the population of...
- Wesley Knox United Church. Woodville, Nova Scotia. Canada.
- Saint Stephen's Episcopal Church, Sherman, Texas
- Trinity Church, Newport, Rhode Island
- University of Northern IowaUniversity of Northern IowaThe University of Northern Iowa is a college located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, United States. UNI offers more than 120 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities and Fine Arts, Natural Sciences, and Social and Behavioral sciences, and graduate college.UNI has...
in Cedar Falls, IowaCedar Falls, IowaCedar Falls is a city in Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States, and it is home to one of Iowa's three public universities, the University of Northern Iowa. The population was 39,260 in the 2010 census, an increase from the 36,145 population in the 2000 census...
dedicated in 1926 - Washington Memorial ChapelWashington Memorial ChapelLocated in Valley Forge National Historical Park in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, the Washington Memorial Chapel is both an active Episcopal Parish and a tribute to General George Washington. Designed by Milton B. Medary, the Chapel resulted from a sermon preached by founder, the Rev. Dr. W...
has a carillonCarillonA carillon is a musical instrument that is typically housed in a free-standing bell tower, or the belfry of a church or other municipal building. The instrument consists of at least 23 cast bronze, cup-shaped bells, which are played serially to play a melody, or sounded together to play a chord...
in the National Patriots Bell Tower at Valley Forge National Historical ParkValley Forge National Historical ParkValley Forge National Historical Park is the site where the Continental Army spent the winter of 1777–1778 near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, during the American Revolutionary War. The National Historical Park preserves the site and interprets the history of the Valley Forge encampment. ... - Wofford CollegeWofford CollegeEstablished in 1854 and related to the United Methodist Church, Wofford College is an independent, Phi Beta Kappa liberal arts college of 1,525 students located in downtown Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States. The historic campus is recognized as a national arboretum and features “The...
in Spartanburg, South CarolinaSpartanburg, South CarolinathgSpartanburg is the largest city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest city of the three primary cities in the Upstate region of South Carolina, and is located northwest of Columbia, west of Charlotte, and about northeast of... - Eastern State Hospital Medical Library, Building No. 3, Williamsburg, Virginia is the location of a Meneely Bell carrying the manufacturer's date of 1886. It was originally utilized to signify curfews and special events at the nation's oldest psychiatric hospital, established in 1773. You may visit the Eastern State Hospital website at www.esh.dbhds.virginia.gov
- Mattawamkeag Church of God in Mattawamkeag, Maine (Dated 1900)www.mattawamkeagcog.com
- Carlisle Presbyterian Church, Carlisle, New York
- Roddick Gate McGill UniversityMcGill UniversityMohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
in MontrealMontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America... - Church of the Nativity, Menlo Park, California
- Cathedral Church of St. Mark, Salt Lake City, Utah http://www.stmarkscathedral-ut.org
- St Lawrence Hall, Toronto, Ontario. (This bell, cast in 1849, is unused and virtually inaccessible in the cupola of St Lawrence Hall.
Below is a sample of locations where bells from the second Meneely bell foundry can be seen and heard:
- Davis County Courthouse (Maneely & Kimberly Bell Co., 1879) in Bloomfield, IowaBloomfield, IowaBloomfield is a city in Davis County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,601 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Davis County.-Geography:Bloomfield is located in the southeastern part of Iowa near the Missouri border....
- The Phelps School's "Victory Bell" in Malvern, PennsylvaniaMalvern, PennsylvaniaMalvern is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,998 at the 2010 census. The main road through the borough is King Street, although the borough is also bordered by Paoli Pike on the south, and is near US 30 on the north. The primary cross street is Warren...
- 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. This bell will soon be relocated to the Cortland High School.
- The Morehead-Patterson Bell Tower, Chapel Hill, NC. The twelve original bells were cast by the Meneely Bell Company 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, OntarioMarkham, OntarioMarkham is a town in the Regional Municipality of York, located within the Greater Toronto Area of Southern Ontario, Canada. The population was 261,573 at the 2006 Canadian census...
- Bell in the name of Miss Elsie Priest, Tunghai UniversityTunghai UniversityTunghai University was founded by Methodist missionaries in 1955 as a comprehensive university. It is a top-ranked private school and a leading institution in Taiwan. Moreover, Tunghai University was founded as the first private university making it the second oldest university in Taiwan, which...
, Taichung, Taiwan. - A Meneely & Kimberly bell is in daily service in the Parish Church of San Andres Xecul, Totonicapan, Guatemala.
- Most 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, NY. Assumption - St. PaulAssumption - St. PaulAssumption - St. Paul is a Roman Catholic parish in New Brighton, Staten Island, New York, United States, formed by the merger in 2007 of Assumption Church and St. Paul Church....
Parish. Bells dedicated August 6, 1922.
Columbian Liberty Bell
The Columbian Liberty Bell was cast by Clinton H. Meneely's foundry for display at the World's Columbian ExpositionWorld's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in 1893. The bell disappeared while on tour in Europe.
Saint Anthony’s Church Bell, Prague, Czech Republic
The Meneely bell that hangs in St Anthony's Church in PraguePrague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
was purchased by the Mid-European Union
Mid-European Union
The Mid-European Union was a post-World War I political association established in the United States of America on 16 September 1918 "to negotiate territorial disputes between the emerging nations" of Central Europe "and to work towards some form of federal union or economic alliance." On 26...
in October 1918 to commemorate the independence of Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
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
- Campanology: Carillons (a concise chapter in the general article Campanology)
- Bell towerBell towerA bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...