Old Belfry | |
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![]() The Old Belfry, pictured in the first half of the 20th century | |
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General information | |
Type | Belfry |
Architectural style | Colonial |
Location | Lexington, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Coordinates | 42°26′54″N 71°13′51″W / 42.44822°N 71.23085°W |
Completed | 1762 |
The Old Belfry is a historic structure on Clarke Street in Lexington, Massachusetts, United States. It stands on Belfry Hill. [1]
The belfry was erected at its current location in 1762, but it was moved a few yards away to Lexington Common [2] in 1768, after Jonas Monroe, on whose land it originally stood, wanted the town to pay him taxes for keeping it there. [1] (Its former location on the Common is now marked by a boulder and a plaque.) [1] The bell that hung in it summoned locals to worship, reminded them at 9:00 pm to "rake up the fires and go to bed", [1] warned them of danger, tolled on their deaths, and rang out the initial alarm of what became the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775. [3] Today it rings in the beginning of Patriots' Day annually at 5:30 am. [1]
The third incarnation of the structure was built, this time with a steeple to house the bell, in 1794. [1] Three years later, the belfry was moved to the Parker Homestead in the southern part of town and used as a wheelwright's shop by the son of John Parker. In 1891, after it had fallen into a much-dilapidated state, it was refurbished and returned to its original location by the Lexington Historical Society after it was gifted to them by James S. Monroe. [1] It was destroyed in a gale on June 20, 1909, [1] and was rebuilt by March the following year. [2] It was moved from the back end of Belfry Hill to its present site in 1913, with an iron fence erected around it. [4]
In 1971, the Katharine Harrington House at the corner of Clarke Street and Massachusetts Avenue was torn down to make way for Belfry Hill Park. [4]
Isaac Stone donated a new bell to the town of Lexington in 1761. It weighed 463 pounds. At a town meeting on June 15 of that year, it was decided to "hang ye Bell on ye top of ye Hill upon ye North side of Liet Jonas Munroes house." [1]
Between 1:00 am and 2:00 am on April 19, 1775, the bell summoned the local militia to Lexington Common, just after Paul Revere and William Dawes had passed through. [1] After a scout arrived to tell Captain John Parker that the British Regulars were just over a mile away, the bell was rung for a second time, summoning the 77 Minutemen. [1]
Today's bell was made in the 19th century, but the original bell tongue is now stored at the Hancock–Clarke House. [1] The bell was replaced again in March 1964, a donation by William Maloney and which formerly hung in Wilmington Methodist Church. [4]
Old Belfry | |
---|---|
![]() The Old Belfry, pictured in the first half of the 20th century | |
| |
General information | |
Type | Belfry |
Architectural style | Colonial |
Location | Lexington, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Coordinates | 42°26′54″N 71°13′51″W / 42.44822°N 71.23085°W |
Completed | 1762 |
The Old Belfry is a historic structure on Clarke Street in Lexington, Massachusetts, United States. It stands on Belfry Hill. [1]
The belfry was erected at its current location in 1762, but it was moved a few yards away to Lexington Common [2] in 1768, after Jonas Monroe, on whose land it originally stood, wanted the town to pay him taxes for keeping it there. [1] (Its former location on the Common is now marked by a boulder and a plaque.) [1] The bell that hung in it summoned locals to worship, reminded them at 9:00 pm to "rake up the fires and go to bed", [1] warned them of danger, tolled on their deaths, and rang out the initial alarm of what became the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775. [3] Today it rings in the beginning of Patriots' Day annually at 5:30 am. [1]
The third incarnation of the structure was built, this time with a steeple to house the bell, in 1794. [1] Three years later, the belfry was moved to the Parker Homestead in the southern part of town and used as a wheelwright's shop by the son of John Parker. In 1891, after it had fallen into a much-dilapidated state, it was refurbished and returned to its original location by the Lexington Historical Society after it was gifted to them by James S. Monroe. [1] It was destroyed in a gale on June 20, 1909, [1] and was rebuilt by March the following year. [2] It was moved from the back end of Belfry Hill to its present site in 1913, with an iron fence erected around it. [4]
In 1971, the Katharine Harrington House at the corner of Clarke Street and Massachusetts Avenue was torn down to make way for Belfry Hill Park. [4]
Isaac Stone donated a new bell to the town of Lexington in 1761. It weighed 463 pounds. At a town meeting on June 15 of that year, it was decided to "hang ye Bell on ye top of ye Hill upon ye North side of Liet Jonas Munroes house." [1]
Between 1:00 am and 2:00 am on April 19, 1775, the bell summoned the local militia to Lexington Common, just after Paul Revere and William Dawes had passed through. [1] After a scout arrived to tell Captain John Parker that the British Regulars were just over a mile away, the bell was rung for a second time, summoning the 77 Minutemen. [1]
Today's bell was made in the 19th century, but the original bell tongue is now stored at the Hancock–Clarke House. [1] The bell was replaced again in March 1964, a donation by William Maloney and which formerly hung in Wilmington Methodist Church. [4]