Dedham Historical Society & Museum’s Paul Revere bell is continuing its journey as part of the traveling exhibition “Beyond Midnight: Paul Revere,” an exhibit that opened at the New-York Historical Society in Manhattan. It is currently at the Worcester Art Museum, the second venue. With the temporary closure of the art museum, the exhibit has been extended through September 2020; check WAM’s website for reopening details. The final leg of the journey, to Crystal Bridges Museum in Arkansas, has been cancelled becuase of COVID-19.
For details on the WAM exhibit visit https://www.worcesterart.org/exhibitions/paul-revere
WAM exhibition caption:
Paul Revere Foundry, Active 1792-1801
Courthouse bell, 1798
Cast bronze
In 1792 Revere made his first bell—and the first ever to be cast in Boston. During his time in the bell-casting trade, most bells consisted of copper alloys. The metals in the alloy, however, varied depending on each bell maker’s closely guarded formula. Revere seems to have subscribed to the superstition that adding a small amount of silver would produce a sweeter sounding bell. This courthouse bell, smaller than most church bells, was made for the Norfolk County Courthouse in Dedham, Mass., and was used to announce the opening of court sessions.
I’m confused. Is this bell the FIRST bell Revere made? Or just a bell made by him and incidentally, he made his first bell in Boston AND he made a bell for the Dedham courthouse.
Also, I’d correct that typo. It’s “first” not “fist.” Thank you.
Hello Deborah, Thank you for your query and edit. Revere’s first bell was made in 1792; this bell dates to 1798. His first bell was a larger bell and his records note that he wasn’t pleased with its ring tone. I can confirm that this bell is the smallest made by Revere as noted in his accounts. It weighs about 250 pounds (I don’t have my notes to verify exactly); his largest was nearly 3,000 pounds. There are only about twenty bells that survive from when his foundry was located in Boston, this being one of them. Many more survive from when the foundry was moved to Canton, where he also built a copper rolling mill, etc. The bell is documented in Dedham’s town records. It is included with other costs and so the $800 cannot all be attributed to the bell. Revere did record how much he charged per pound and I had calculated what the cost would have been but I’m not in the museum currently so cannot check my notes. The bell was made for the first court house, a wooden building that was later Temperance Hall. The belfry where the bell was placed was designed by Boston architect, Charles Bulfinch, who also worked on some private houses in Dedham, one of which is now the Dedham Community House. The “new” courthouse was built in 1827 and the bell was no longer used and after being stored, the county gave the bell to the Dedham Historical Society. I hope this answers your question. Please let me know if you have further queries. My best, Johanna McBrien, exec director