[Illustration: The fire bell is shown when it served as a decoration
at the Main and Monument firehouse.]
[Illustration: The tower of the old firehouse at Fifth and Brown
where the bell was first used.]
[Illustration: The bell as it appears today.]
Once the pride of Dayton firemen, the large fire bell which today is
housed in Carillon Park alongside the steam fire engine is almost a
century old. It was cast in 1858 by the Meneely Bell Company, the same
concern which several generations later produced the bells used in Deeds
Carillon.
For more than a decade after its purchase, the $700 bell tolled out fire
alarms from the tower of the firehouse at Fifth and Brown Streets. It
was considered the loudest and finest fire bell in the Dayton area.
During an extended tolling, however, the bell suddenly cracked. Although
attempts were made to repair the fissure, the bell’s tonal qualities
were lost and it was subsequently replaced.
In 1914, the bell seemed headed for the junkyard until a group of
citizens learned of plans for its disposal. The city manager of that
period was advised that a committee opposed to destruction of the bell
would call on him to register their protest. When the committee arrived,
however, the city manager showed them the bell ... which had been
quickly converted into a giant flower urn at the Main and Monument
Firehouse. “Gentlemen, there is your bell,” he said. “You can see that
it is perfectly safe and sound.”
The committee’s fears were thus alleviated, although it is doubtful that
they expected the bell to remain in that location for more than forty
years. It was finally transferred to Carillon Park in 1955.
CARILLON PARK
DAYTON, OHIO
One of a series of Carillon Park booklets.
Price ten cents.
AS-8575
I15XX
PRINTED IN U.S.A.