The bell imaged below hung in the Congregational Church, North Square, Boston.
A fire damaged the church but the bell was saved and moved to the rebuilt Congregational Church.
In 1775, General Howe, newly appointed to head the British occupation force, ordered 100 wood structures torn down to barricade Boston and badly need firewood. Fourteen thousand Militiamen surrounded Boston after the Battle of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775.
The homeless congregation moved with the bell to the New Brick Meeting House, Paul Revere's church.
The bell sustained damage in 1792. There was no bell maker in the colonies.
The Congregational Church of North Square intended to return the bell to London for re-casting.
Adaptable, innovative, Paul Revere ventured to restore the bell. This launched the second of Paul’s fourteen careers.
Paul and his two sons produced 429 bells from 1792 to 1828. Paul’s son Joseph Warren, produced a final bell in 1843. Click here to read of its travels.
My thanks to the kind and resourceful people of the St. James Episcopal Church, 1991 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge for preserving this vital historical link to one of this nation’s unsung hero.
P.S. the recast bell needed tuning, metallurgically. Future bells by Paul Revere produced excellent sound either in the Key of C or G.
A fire damaged the church but the bell was saved and moved to the rebuilt Congregational Church.
In 1775, General Howe, newly appointed to head the British occupation force, ordered 100 wood structures torn down to barricade Boston and badly need firewood. Fourteen thousand Militiamen surrounded Boston after the Battle of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775.
The homeless congregation moved with the bell to the New Brick Meeting House, Paul Revere's church.
The bell sustained damage in 1792. There was no bell maker in the colonies.
The Congregational Church of North Square intended to return the bell to London for re-casting.
Adaptable, innovative, Paul Revere ventured to restore the bell. This launched the second of Paul’s fourteen careers.
Paul and his two sons produced 429 bells from 1792 to 1828. Paul’s son Joseph Warren, produced a final bell in 1843. Click here to read of its travels.
My thanks to the kind and resourceful people of the St. James Episcopal Church, 1991 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge for preserving this vital historical link to one of this nation’s unsung hero.
P.S. the recast bell needed tuning, metallurgically. Future bells by Paul Revere produced excellent sound either in the Key of C or G.
