Historic Alabama Bells

by Thomas Kaufmann

Overview

After seven years of climbing into attics, domes, towers and steeples, Thomas Kaufmann emerges with a story of Alabama bells.

This story encapsulates the history of the state itself. These bells - some dormant, others pealing still - were forged by the Reveres in Boston. They called Alabamians to worship, celebrated weddings and tolled at funerals. They sounded the death knell for countless parishioners during the havoc of the Civil War, watched over the Freedom Riders and shook from the blast of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing. And while their clear tones have rung out in remembrance of so many of the state's solemn and sacred moments, many of these bells have fallen into neglect, their silence serving as its own reminder of the urgent need for preservation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467144957
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	11/04/2019
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Thomas Kaufmann is an architectural historian, preservationist and artist who studied architecture at Auburn University and the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art, where he serves as a Fellow Emeritus. He and his wife, Ann Marie, and their son, Tommy, live in a 1926 Craftsman bungalow in the historic Capitol Heights neighborhood of Montgomery, Alabama.

Table of Contents

Preface 7

Acknowledgements 9

Introduction 13

1 Early Bells of Alabama: Territory, Statehood, Frontier and Antebellum 21

2 Paul Revere: Revolutionary War Hero, Coppersmith and Bellmaker 40

3 Cast by Paul Revere and Son: The First United Methodist Church of Tuscaloosa Bell 44

4 Henry N. Hooper and Company, Boston: Successor to Paul Revere and Son, Boston 50

5 Cast by Henry N. Hooper and Company, Boston: A Striking Tower Clock and Two Steeple Bells 54

6 William Blake: Master Bell Caster for the Revere Bell Foundry 66

7 Cast by Blake Bell Foundry: A Gift from Northern Friends-a Second Steeple Bell 70

8 John Wilbank and the Liberty Bell: Bellmaker for Independence Hall and the Man Who Saved the Liberty Bell 74

9 Cast by J. Wilbank: The Greensboro Presbyterian Church Bell 81

10 The Liberty Bell in Alabama: The Genuine Article and the Replica 87

11 The Church of the Nativity: First Bell for the CSA and Second Bell Made of Steel 95

12 First Presbyterian Church of Wetumpka: Church Bell Offered to the CSA and Turned Down 97

13 Saint Paul's Episcopal Church: How a False Threat of Smallpox Saved the Town and the Bell 102

14 Old First Presbyterian Church: The Church of the Leaders of Secession 107

15 Ramer United Methodist Church: A Rare Pre-Civil War Bell 115

16 Maplesville Baptist Church: A Bell likely from Old Cahawba and a Civil War Survivor 120

17 Abbeville Methodist Church: Survived Union General Grierson's April 1865 Campaign to Eufaula 125

18 First Baptist Church, Ripley: The Bell that Watched Over the Freedom Riders 130

19 Mount Zion AME Zion Church: The Tower Bell Comes Home for Civil Rights History 137

20 Old Ship AME Zion Church: Pulling Hard on the Rope 141

21 Brown Chapel AME Church, Selma: The Bell that Began the March for Civil Rights 144

22 Sixteenth Street Baptist Church: Tolling for a National Tragedy 149

23 Ever Ringing the Bells of Freedom: A Bell for Every Historic Civil Rights Church 153

Bibliography 159

About the Author 160

Editorial Reviews

Kaufmann offers enough detailed background on how bells are made to show why they were so precious. He discusses the various makers, who were often from famous foundries which they had founded. Such a man was Paul Revere, and his work can also be found, in Alabama. Decatur Daily

From the Publisher