Fog Bells of The Past

10/19/03 7:01 AM

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For many years, I have loved lighthouses with a passion and I know that there are many people who feel the same way. However, my feeling for these “bastions of the sea” has increased to a new peak because of a hobby I have had for many years. For those of you who share my desire to learn all you can about the mysteries of these lighthouses, I share with you some additional information I have found in my research that hopefully you will find as intriguing as I do.

This hobby I refer to is the Meneely Bell Foundry of West Troy, New York (now known as Watervliet, New York), my hometown!

For 124 years, from 1826 to 1950, the Meneely Bell Foundry cast over 75,000 bells, some of which I know were shipped to many lighthouses throughout the United States. I have been able to locate 23 bells thus far from Florida, to Maine, to Oregon and to the Great Lakes. Meneely even shipped a bell to Des Moines, Iowa in 1912 weighing 3,800 pounds. To my surprise, I often wondered the motivation of this shipment, is there water in Iowa?

These bells were cast from the finest Lake Superior copper and Strait Settlements tin forming one of the best bronze bells available in the United States. The bells weighed from 1,000 pounds to 4,000 pounds. I am confident that the toll of these bells in a dense fog saved many lives and ships over the years. For myself, the very concept of linking the sound of a wonderfully cast bell with the wonder of the bright light that comes from the lighthouses which are so strategically placed in areas of danger, is truly one of the greatest wonders of the world.

So, when you visit Portland Head, Cape Elizabeth, Burnt Coat Harbor in Maine, Point-no-Point in Maryland, St. Michael’s in Maryland, or Castle Hill in Rhode Island, you will now know that the bells so proudly resting in their peaks were from my hometown! These were just a portion of the bells all over the world that tolled in the worst of weather in an attempt to save the lives of the brave men who worked so hard to bring goods from foreign and domestic ports to the growing United States. Of course there is much to attribute to the growth and strength of America, however, because of these beacons and sounds of music, we were able to become the strongest and best country in the world!

If anyone reading this has any knowledge of Meneely Bells from West Troy, NY, the author would be happy to hear from you at: Eugene Burns, 72 - 7th AV, Troy, NY 12180, Phone (518) 235-6699 or by email at - epbbellman@aol.com

This story appeared in the November 2001 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.

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