Troy Bells Created Ringing Tradition
Published Apr 15, 2007
The famous Centennial Bell – a replacement for the original Liberty Bell – was produced in Troy in 1876. It now hangs in the bell tower of Independence Hall, Philadelphia.
Hear ye, hear ye – Rensselaer County was once a major center for the production of large iron bells, especially during various periods between 1808 and 1952.
In fact, a 13,000-pound replacement for the cracked Liberty Bell was cast in Troy in 1876.
A total of four foundries that employed hundreds of people would manufacture and ship bells of all sizes all over the world, and Troy bells quickly gained a top reputation for their quality of sound and workmanship. Perhaps the most famous foundry was the Meneely Bell Co., whose bells are still ringing from hundreds of buildings throughout the country.
Those buildings include the outside of the 46th floor on the 50-story Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. Tower in New York City. The MetLife bells – at 700 feet above the ground – are the highest mounted bells in the world.
Troy and West Troy bell casters suffered a major slump in business from the early to mid 1900s, and the four foundries had all closed by 1952. However, bell chimes produced in those casting foundries still ring loud today in Rensselaer County, in churches such as St. Joseph’s Catholic and St. Patrick’s Catholic with 12 bells apiece, and St. John’s Episcopal with 11 chimes.
By the way, the 13,000-pound replacement for the Liberty Bell built by the Meneely company is called Centennial Bell, which hangs today in the belfry of Independence Hall in Philadelphia. The original cracked Liberty Bell is now on exhibit inside the Liberty Bell Pavilion, on the green space opposite Independence Hall.
Story by Kevin Litwin
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