On Monday workers from the Seymour Department of Public Works reinstalled the bell in front of Town Hall.
In May, the bell traveled to the McShane Bell Foundry in Baltimore, Maryland, the original company that cast the bell. It underwent a seven-step cleaning process that makes the bell shine like new.
The bell served a very important role in Seymour’s history, calling students to school for nearly 100 years, as the plaque in front of it now states.
The bell was ordered on April 18, 1885 by then-Fire Chief F.H. Beecher for the new Seymour High School. The first public high school was built at 100 Bank St., a large red brick building that still stands, which opened its doors to students in 1886.
In 1922, the high school was moved to a new building at 20 Pine St., and in 1961, the high school was re-located to its current location on Botsford Road.
Center School Annex, an elementary school, was opened around 1900 next door to the high school at 98 Bank St., the current home of the town’s Board of Education. In 1969, the Superintendent of Schools recommended that 100 Bank St. and 98 Bank St. be closed within two years. In 1976, the bell was moved to its current location at Town Hall.
The funding for this project was made possible by a grant from the Katharine Matthies Foundation for $2,440 in part due to the historical significance of the project. The cost covered total restoration as well as transport to and from McShane Bell Foundry.
The bell weighs 500 pounds, with a 26-pound ringer, for a total weight of 526 pounds. The original bell cost 17 cents per pound, which calculates to a total of $92.05!
