The Bell of Thomas Chapel
History Taskforce and the bell at Thomas Chapel As part of the History Taskforce's restoration of Historic Thomas Chapel in Willis, the bell in the bell tower of the Victorian Gothic style building also needs to be repaired. The bell inside the top of the tower was purchased in 1901, two years after the building was finished. The bell cost $60 at the time, which was a lot of money for this congregation made up of people one generation out of slavery who were trying to provide for their own families. When they had saved up the money, they purchased the bell for the C. S. Bell Foundry in Hillsboro, Ohio, the premier bell maker in the U.S. at the time. It was listed in the catalog as item #30 and weighed 500 pounds. Today the bell itself is in fine condition. It sits in an iron cradle and is rung by pulling on a rope that comes through the ceiling in the vestibule of the church just inside the front door. However, the wooden supports that hold the cradle in place have rotted and some of the floor that holds it upright high in the tower needs to be replaced. In order to do that work, the exterior siding on the front of the tower will need to be remove to get access to the rotted wood. We are hoping to soon replace all the exterior siding on the front of the church because a leaking roof has caused it to rot. We will be able to replace the siding and repair the bell when we have raised $16,000 to pay for the work. While the siding is being replaced, the bell will be exposed so that we can fix it with the same lift equipment needed to put up the new lumber on the front of the building.
In the days before cell phones and texting, the bell was rung to notify the community of emergencies, fires, deaths, the need for a midwife during childbirth, or to gather people to give out important information. But its most common use was to call the faithful to church services. The last time that we can confirm that the bell was used to call the community to worship was 1951, seventy-two years ago. If we are successful in raising the money we need for repairs, we hope it will soon be able to call people to church once again.
In the days before cell phones and texting, the bell was rung to notify the community of emergencies, fires, deaths, the need for a midwife during childbirth, or to gather people to give out important information. But its most common use was to call the faithful to church services. The last time that we can confirm that the bell was used to call the community to worship was 1951, seventy-two years ago. If we are successful in raising the money we need for repairs, we hope it will soon be able to call people to church once again.
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