Meneely bell foundries: Difference between revisions

The first Meneely bell foundry was established in 1826 in West Troy (now Watervliet), New York,^[1] by Andrew Meneely, a former apprentice in the foundry of Benjamin Hanks.^[2] Two of Andrew's sons continued to operate the foundry after his death, and it remained a family operation until its closure.

The second Meneely bell foundry was established in 1870 by a third son, Clinton H. Meneely, across the river in Troy, New York. Initially he was in partnership with George H. Kimberly, under the name Meneely & Kimberly; this second foundry was reorganized in 1879 as the Clinton H. Meneely Bell Company, then later as the Meneely Bell Company. Like its related competitor, it remained a family operation until its closure.

The two foundries competed vigorously (and sometimes bitterly) with each other, and their products cannot be confused. Together, they produced about 65,000 bells before they both closed in 1952.^[3][4]

List of known locations of Meneely foundries bells from the First Meneely Foundry (West Troy. est. 1826):

• Saint Michael's Church (Rochester, New York) has two bells, cast in 1847, the larger bell weighing 1,015 pounds, the small bell weighing 525 pounds.
• First Presbyterian Church of Avon, New York. Church built in 1812, 33", 700 pound Meneely Bell dated 1848.
• Bard College Bell Tower, Annandale On Hudson, N.Y. Bell Made by Meneely Bell Company, Troy, NY, 1860 Bronze Bell
• Saint Andrew's Catholic Church in Norwood, New York has a 3,100 lb bell of ingot copper and East India tin in a 70-foot (21 m) tower.^[5]
• Saint Anthony's Church in Albany, New York
• Ovid Federated Church, Ovid, NY (Meneely & Co, 1880)
• Albany City Hall in 1882 (relocated to Lincoln Park in 1927), Albany, New York
• Central United Methodist Church in Endicott, New York
• Former Centenary Methodist Church in New City, New York currently a private residence
• Jamesville Community Museum, former Episcopal church built in 1878 in Jamesville, New York^[6]
• Saugerties Lighthouse, Saugerties, NY^[7]
• Church of the Ascension, Rockville Centre, N.Y. (1873 bell) Cast for Christ Church, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Sold to Meneely and re-bought in 1888.
• Reformed Dutch Church of Claverack, N.Y.
• Carlisle Presbyterian Church, Carlisle, N.Y.
• Sherburne-Earlville Central School, Sherburne, N.Y. 13460 Dated 1834, A. Meneely West Troy, N.Y.
• Niskayuna Reformed Church, Niskayuna, N.Y. 12309
• Christ Church of Clarkson, NY has a single bell bearing a casting date of 1846. The church was established in 1816 and the building completed in 1825.

• First United Methodist Church of Westfield, New Jersey
• Columbia High School (New Jersey)
• Newton Presbyterian Church in Newton, New Jersey^[8]
• Blvd East, Weehawken N.J.
• Residence Inn by Marriott, West Orange, N.J. The bell is located outside of the hotel.
• St. Peter the Apostle Roman Catholic Church in New Brunswick, New Jersey^[9]

• St Peter's Episcopal Church, Tunkhannock, Pa.^[10]
• Saint Peter Cathedral in Erie, Pennsylvania
• Washington Memorial Chapel, Valley Forge, Pa. The National Patriots Bell Tower carillon at Valley Forge National Historical Park
• Washington Memorial Chapel. The permanent location of the "Justice Bell" (aka "Women's Liberty Bell"), forged in 1915 and dedicated to the women's suffrage movement.
• Scranton Lace Factory, Scranton, Pa.
• Trinity Reformed Church (now Trinity United Church of Christ), Holland, PA, first complete tuned carillon by Meneeley, Watervliet. A carillon of 25 bells 1930.

• Bulkley Memorial Carillon in Danbury, Connecticut
• Torrington Fire Department Headquarters, Torrington, Connecticut. Meneely & Co. 1900. Bell originally hung in the tower at the headquarters station built in 1900. The station still stands and is now private property. The bell was removed and placed in the lobby of the present headquarters station next door at 111 Water Street and is accessible for public viewing.
• 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)
• Bloomfield, Connecticut

• Trinity Church, Newport, Rhode Island
• Emanuel Lutheran Church, West Warwick, Rhode Island.

• Millbury Baptist Church, Millbury, Massachusetts. Bell made by Clinton H. Meneely Bell Company, Troy, N.Y. A.D. 1884 – Bronze Bell
• First Baptist Church of Arlington Massachusetts^[11] The bell was cast in 1903 and is 5' in diameter. The bell is manually struck on special occasions only.
• Memorial in Watertown, Massachusetts

• Mattawamkeag Church of God in Mattawamkeag, Maine (Dated 1900)^[12]

• Wilder Center, Wilder, Vermont^[13]
• Saint Peter's Catholic Church, Rutland, Vermont

• Thompson Hall, University of New Hampshire – Durham, New Hampshire

• Joseph Dill Baker Memorial Carillon in Baker Park, in Frederick, Maryland
• Saint Paul's Episcopal Church (now a retreat house), Hillsboro, Maryland^[14]

• Alexandria City Hall, Alexandria Va. The inscription cast on the bell reads "Steeple, clock and bell presented to the City of his nativity by an esteemed citizen. Alexandria, VA, A.D. 1872"
• Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia, Spotsylvania, Virginia^[15]
• 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

• Atlanta First United Methodist Church (Originally Wesley Chapel), Atlanta, Ga. Cast in 1850, it survived the civil war while most of Atlanta's other bells were melted down to make cannons. Rings every Sunday morning at start of worship
• Downtown Athens, Georgia (copy of original Liberty Bell)
• Lupton Hall Carillon at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia
• Lovely Lane Chapel at Epworth By The Sea on St. Simons Island, Georgia. Chapel built in 1880 and the bell was cast in 1881.

• St. Matthew's German Evangelical Lutheran Church, Charleston, South Carolina. Set of 10 bells cast in West Troy in 1901. Three bells added in 1966. All bells refurbished in 2008 by Christoph Paccard Bell Foundry
• Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina^[16]

• Prattville Male & Female Academy (Prattville, Alabama)
• First Baptist Church, Raleigh, North Carolina, 1886, replacing the original bell of about 1859
• Saint Paul's Episcopal Church, Federal Point, Florida Historical records indicate that the bell was purchased for $32 and was installed in the bell tower on April 22, 1883.

Ein Feste Burg on Meneely Bells

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God on the Meneely Bell Foundry (1901) bell set at St. Matthew's German Evangelical Lutheran Church in Charleston, South Carolina

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Problems playing this file? See media help.

• A 1919 Meneely bell located at Woodbury Elementary School, Shaker Heights, Ohio, 44120. The bell was cast in 1919 and weighs 2,000 lbs.^[17]
• King Avenue United Methodist Church in Columbus, Ohio^[18]

• Perry, Illinois Church of Christ: bell was cast in 1855 (date on bell), but was bought by the Perry Church of Christ congregation at a later date. Bell hung in church building dating to 1880 (placed on the National Register of Historic Places in recognition of 'Carpenter Gothic' architecture) until the building was destroyed by fire in 2014. The bell survived and is mounted in memorial park at the same site. The bell is about 29.5 inches in diameter.
• St. Paul Lutheran Church, Pontiac, Illinois ... purchased in the late 1860s.
• Second Congregational Church, Rockford, Illinois (cast in 1865; in 1891, moved to the church's current location)
• St. Paul Lutheran Church, Rockford, Illinois has three bells in the church building that was dedicated in 1906.
• Second Congregational Church, Westfield, Massachusetts (cast in 1867; in 1962, moved to the church's new building but mounted on the grounds outside)
• Lombard, Illinois, in the Maple Street Chapel (1870)
• Naperville, Illinois, on display at Naper Settlement
• Rock Island Arsenal Clock Tower in Rock Island, Illinois has a 3,538 lb bell stamped "1867 Meneelys' West Troy, N.Y."^[19]
• Lacon Congregational Church, Lacon, Ill. (bell cast in 1890)
• St.Patrick's Catholic Church, Camp Grove, Ill. Dated 1904. Church closed in 2013, bell now property of Peoria Catholic Diocese.
• DeKalb High School, Dekalb, Ill, dated 1912, originally installed along with clock in tower of 1903 (2nd) DeKalb High School. Now on ground display at 4th DeKalb High School as of June 2011. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/12775695/old_bell_ringing_at_new_dhs/

• A Meneeley & Co. bell dated 1891 sits in the Bell Chapel of the Christian Conference Center in Newton, Iowa. Originally installed in 1891 in the German Congregational Church of Muscatine, Iowa, the building became home to the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Muscatine in 1931. FCC Muscatine donated the bell in 1965 to the Christian Conference Center for the Center's Opening Dedication.
• University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa dedicated in 1926^[20]

• City of Grand Rapids 1878 Fire Bell, Grand Rapids Public Museum, Grand Rapids, Michigan. First hung in a temporary wooden fire tower at Ottawa and Pearl Sts, 1878–1888 until it is installed in the tower of City Hall (1888–1969). It now stands at the entrance of the Grand Rapids Public Museum since 1995.
• Laingsburg United Methodist Church, Laingsburg Mich. (1881 bell) www.laingsburgumc.org
• Saint Stephen's Episcopal Church, Sherman, Texas
• Salado Antique Mall, Salado, Texas. Currently on display. Manufacturers date of 1866. Meneely, West Troy, NY. No other inscription. Bell is intact and it has been placed on a stand for display purposes. [1] No information is available as to where the bell was first installed.
• Minneapolis City Hall, Minneapolis, contains 10 bells from 1896 and 4 more added in 1923. Bells chime every quarter-hour. Live performances are regularly held by the Tower Bell Foundation.^[21]
• Immanuel Lutheran Church in Madison, Nebraska

• First Presbyterian Church (Portland, Oregon);^[22] installed in 1864, transferred in 1889 to new building, where it remains in use today^[23]
• Mt. Zion Baptist Church, formerly Deutsche Congregationale Zion Kirche (German Congregational Zion Church) in Portland, Oregon
• San Jose State University in San Jose, California "Cast to commemorate the California State Normal School in 1881, this 3,000-pound bell was rung at 8 a.m each morning until the earthquake that stilled its voice in 1903. In 1910, the bell was re-installed in the main building of the newly constructed Tower Hall, where it was rung on special occasions. In the early 1960s, seismic concerns led to its retirement and relocation at ground level." Source credit: plaque on San Jose State campus.
• Church of the Nativity, Menlo Park, California
• Cathedral Church of St. Mark, Salt Lake City, Utah [2]

• St Lawrence Hall, Toronto, Ontario. (This bell, cast in 1849, is unused and virtually inaccessible in the cupola of St Lawrence Hall.
• Wesley Knox United Church. Woodville, Nova Scotia. Canada.
• Church of St. John the Evangelist, Montreal. Dated 1917. Still in daily use.
• Roddick Gate McGill University in Montreal
• Saint Thomas Anglican Church in Orrville, Ontario, inscription: "Meneely & Co West Troy NY – I was given by Friends in Depot Harbour in the Diocese of Algoma 1901 "When I do ring, God's praises sing" "When I do toll, Praise heart and soul"

• St. Helena Baptist Church, Jamestown Chapel, Jamestown, island of St. Helena, South Atlantic Ocean. Bell from West Troy cast in 1852. Unsure of weight, but approx. height and diameter at bottom 70 cm.^[24]
• Saint Anthony's Church (Svateho Antonina) in Strossmayerovo Namesti, Prague, Czech Republic (see below)

List of known locations of Meneely foundries bells from the Second Meneely Foundry (Troy, est. 1870):

• St. Paul the Apostle Church, Mechanicville, NY. The approximately 1900 lbs. bell was originally installed in the previous edifice in 1872, and moved to the present church building in 1919.
• Most Holy Trinity Church in Brooklyn, New York.
• Assumption Church - Staten Island, N.Y. Assumption - St. Paul Parish. Bells dedicated August 6, 1922.^[25]
• SS. Cyril and Methodius Russian Orthodox Church in Hartshorne, Oklahoma. Inscription on the bell - MENEELY BELL Co., TROY N.Y., 1909
• *Firemen's Memorial Lot, Charlotte, North Carolina; Bell stamped Meneely & Co., West Troy, N.Y. 1881 (bell is for display only)
• First United Methodist Church of Westfield, New Jersey. A single 2,048 lb bell stamped Clinton H. Meneely Bell Company, Troy NY and dated 1886. Controlled to ring hourly, by a clock mechanism made by the E. Howard & Co of Boston, MA from the same year. It was originally in an earlier wooden church steeple and in 1910 was moved to its current stone church steeple.
• Christs Church at Ballard Corners, Sparta, Michigan; Bell stamped Meneely's Troy, N.Y. 1869
• Van Norden Carriage House at the Jay Heritage Center Rye, New York; bell stamped "Meneely Bell Co. Troy, NY 1907"
• Holy Trinity Orthodox Church, Elmira Heights, N.Y. Inscription on the bell - Meneely Bell Co., Troy, N.Y., 1916.
• North Creek United Methodist Church, North Creek, N.Y. Inscription on bell: Clinton H. Meneely Bell Company, Troy New York, A.D. 1887.

• United Congregational Church, Bridgeport, Conn., 1926.

• First Presbyterian Church of York, Pennsylvania, 1861, purchased by Philip Albright Small and Samuel Small
• Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity, Irwin, Pa., one bell installed shortly after 1880.
• The Phelps School's "Victory Bell" in Malvern, Pennsylvania
• Church of the Good Shepherd in Boyertown, Pennsylvania, one bell marked "Meneely & Kimberly, Makers, Troy, N.Y." on one side, with the church name on the other side. Although in a church, this bell is part of what is also known as the Boyertown Town Clock, being restored in 2017.^[26]

• 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.
• A Meneely & Kimberly bell dated 1877 is located in and used at the First Presbyterian Church of Cadillac, Mich.
• Davis County Courthouse (Meneely & Kimberly Bell Co., 1879) in Bloomfield, Iowa
• St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Ogden, Kansas. Bell dated 1910
• St Joseph Catholic Church in Waite Park, Minn., cast in bell: Meneely Bell Co, Troy N.Y., 1918.
• St. Mark's Church, Geneva, Ill. Inscription: October 1, 1868 This bell was a gift to the parish given by Mr. and Mrs. John Hobart Warren of Troy, N.Y., as a token of respect and esteem for the rector The Reverend William S. Greene.
• Faith Lutheran Church, Pelican Rapids, Minn., has an 1886 Clinton H. Meneely Bell in its clock tower.

• St. Patrick Church, Lowell, Massachusetts. Bells dated 1905
• St. Johns Episcopal Church, Kula Hawaii (Maui) Bell dated 1909
• St. Saviour's Episcopal Church, Bar Harbor, Maine. Bells dated 1938
• Soldiers Chapel - Schofield Barracks; Wahiawa, Oahu, Hawaii. Church steeple built 1913. Bell dated 1911.
• West Virginia University at Parkersburg, Parkersburg, West Virginia. Bell cast in 1902
• The Morehead-Patterson Bell Tower, Chapel Hill, N.C. The twelve original bells were cast by the Meneely Bell Company^[27] in the early 1930s, and supplemented by two bells from Petit & Fritsen, Belgium in 1998.

• Christ Church Windermere, Ontario, Canada. Inscription on the bell- (one side) "In memory of Charles Henry Mockridge, Priest and Doctor, February 25th 1913". (other side) "Meneely Bell Company, Troy, NY, 1914"
• Sainte-Marthe-De-Vaudreuil Catholic Church, Quebec, Canada.
• St. Andrew's United Church in Markham, Ontario^[28]
• Tower Clock of the old Parliament building, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Meneely & Kimberly dated 1875. Damaged by fire of 1916.
• Saint Patrick's Catholic Church, Fallowfield, Ontario, Canada. (http://www.stpatricksfallowfield.com) Maneeley & Kimberly Bell cast in 1875. Still in daily use.
• Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church, Prospect, Nova Scotia, Canada. Meneely Bell Co., 1928.
• Halifax Explosion Memorial Sculpture, Fort Needham Park, Halifax. Nova Scotia. Still in daily use. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_Explosion_Memorial_Sculpture Formerly used at United Memorial Church, 5375 Kaye St, Halifax, NS B3K 1Z4, now in disuse and sold for development.

• Bell in the name of Miss Elsie Priest, Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan.
• Monastery of Annunciation, located in West Morava Canyon, Serbia, dated 1920
• A Meneely & Kimberly bell is in daily service in the Parish Church of San Andres Xecul, Totonicapan, Guatemala.

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.^{[29][30][31][32]}

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).

• 
  Saint Anthony's Church
• 
  The bell in the tower
• 
  View from the bell tower
• 
  New Liberty Bell

• Benjamin Hanks (1755-1824), goldsmith, instrument maker, and first maker of bronze cannons and church bells in America.^[33]
• Campanology: Carillons (a concise chapter in the general article Campanology)
• Bell tower

• Meneely Bell Online Museum
• "The Meneely Foundry in West Troy", Troy United Newsletter, December 1999
• Index to carillons and chimes by Meneely (Watervliet)^{[permanent dead link]} with additional historical notes on this foundry
• Index to carillons and chimes by Meneely (Troy)^{[permanent dead link]} with additional historical notes on this foundry
• The Meneely bell at Westfield's Second Congregational Church
• Works by Meneely bell foundries at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)