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"James Joy, the
entrepreneur from Durham, brought the first bell to
Pittsfield about 1826. This small bell was placed on a
temporary structure, which stood in a vacant lot where
the Agents House on Factory Hill now stands. It was
used to call together the workmen who were then building
the woolen factory. This five story wooden structure
burned within a few months of its completion, probably
the result of arson, and the following year a brick
building was erected in its place. 
The bell was then removed from the vacant lot and placed
in the new factory. In 1827 it cracked and was replaced
with a much larger bell. It was then recast in 1864 by
Henry N. Hooper and Company of Boston, and put back into
the tower where it remained for another 84 years. At
the time of recasting it weighed 924 pounds. The bell
remained in the Cotton Mill Tower until 1949, when the
Exeter Manufacturing Company went out of business."
(Source:
Larry Berkson, Pittsfield's Bells and Whistles, pg 21).
The bell was removed and eventually came into the
possession of Kenneth Rohr. "In the fall of 2002,
through a series of coincidences, the Pittsfield
Historical Society learned of the bell's whereabouts.
Mr. and Mrs. Rohr were contacted and generously offered
to donate it to the Society. It was brought back to
Pittsfield on September 5, 2002. On July 12, 2003, it
was placed in front of the Agents House, the location of
the first bell in Pittsfield and adjacent to where it
resided in the cupola of the Cotton Mill for over 120
years." (Source:
Ibid, pg, 30)
In the fall of 2002, a
committee of 9 individuals under the Chairmanship of
Larry Berkson had its first meeting. Over the next ten
months, the bell was refurbished, a location was
selected for the placement of the Cotton Mill Bell, the
site was designed and graded and the circular brick base
of the bell erected. A brick walkway was built and a
memorial plaque installed.
The images below
chronicle the history of the bell:
Our First View of the
Bell
The Refurbished Bell
Jim Webber Digging a Hole
for the Base Where
the Bell Will Sit
Site Preparation
Ray Webber Laying Bricks
Finished
Dedication Plaque
Paul Provencal Preparing
for the Dedication
Dedication Ceremony
The Rohr Family at the
Dedication |
