Jones - Troy Bell Foundry

---

The Troy Bell Foundry, later known as the Jones Bell foundry was a major bell foundry in America in the mid-19thcentury. The bell foundry traces its roots back to 1852 when James Hitchcock left the Meneely Bell Foundry of West Troy, NY. to start his own. 

James Harvey Hitchcock was born September 9, 1816 in Watervliet, NY and was the Brother-in-Law of the famous bell founder Andrew Meneely. James began working with Andrew in his bell foundry after Meneely had taken over the bell foundry of Julius Hanks in 1826. James would later become the foreman of that foundry, being put in charge of all work output. When Andrew died in 1851, James Hitchcock left the foundry to begin his own. The legend says that after Andrew died, his oldest son, the nephew of Hitchcock took over the operations of the foundry and Hitchcock was unwilling to work for his much younger nephew. 

In 1852 James Harvey Hitchcock formed a partnership with Eber Jones and started Jones & Hitchcock Bell Foundry just across the Hutson River in Troy, NY. The original foundry location was at the corner of First and Adams Streets in the Peck Building but they later moved to across the street in 1854 as the foundry expanded.

Not much is known about James Harvey Hitchcock other than his relationship with the Meneely’s. Eber Jones, who had been born is 1807 was only 45 when they started the foundry. He had been born in Troy and had been there his whole life. 

The foundry’s first major milestone was in 1853 when they cast and installed a chime of (9) bells at St. Stephan’s Church in Philadelphia, PA. That chime had a large bell that rang the note D1 and weighed 2,838 Lbs. The total weight of that chime was 12,798 Lbs. Unfortunately this chime no longer exists. That same year they cast and installed another slightly smaller chime of (8) bells, this time at The Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity in Lancaster, PA. The large bell on that chime rang an F1 and weighed 2,020 Lbs. This chime too no longer exists as it was deemed “bad bells” and recast in 1860 by an English bell foundry. 

That same year in 1853 the foundry won an award at the Fair of the Mechanics Metropolitan Institute in Washington, DC for the most perfect castings, clearest tone and longest vibration of any bell of the same weight. At Saratoga Springs that same year they were awarded the highest award and at the State Fair in Watertown, CT. for a superior tone and at the Fair of the American Institute in Castle Garden, NY they were awarded a gold medal for superior bells. 

The following year in 1854, when the foundry had only been open a few years, they received another medal for superior tone and finish on their bells at the World’s Fair at the Crystal Palace.

In 1855 the foundry cast a large three bell swinging peal for a church in Montreal, CN. With the large bell weighing nearly 3,000 Lbs. They also cast several other smaller peals that year and many single bells. 

1857 was a big year for them, they would cast their largest chime so far, and one of the largest chimes that had ever been attempted in the country, in number of bells as well as have one of the founding members of the company retire. 

The chime they cast next would be an (11) bell chime that would be installed in Lowell, MA. at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church. This chime was very large for those days with the large bell weighing 2,271 Lbs. and ringing the note D#1. All of the bells combined on this chime weighed just a little under 10,000 Lbs.

Also that same year James Harvey Hitchcock retired from the business and Eber Jones was forced to bring on another partner to help him continue the business. This new partnership was with a gentleman by the name of H.J. King. At the time that King started the name of the business was changed to Jones & Company Troy Bell Foundry. Under the foundry management of Jones and King, they would produce (3) more chimes over the next several years.

H.J. King left the company in 1865 for unknown reasons and was replaced by Sylvanous Birch as well as Eber’s youngest Son Octavious Jones who had started working with his Father at the foundry in about 1860 when he was only 15 years old. 

Eber Jones became sick just a few years later in 1867 and died suddenly at age 59 from bilious colic, leaving the 17 year old Octavious and Mr. Birch to run the foundry. Upon Eber’s death, the name of the company was changed again, this time to Jones & Company, The Troy Bell Foundry. It was about this time that Octavious brought on one of his older brothers, Marcus Jones, who was only two years older than him, to help him manage the company. It was at this point in the foundries history that they became one of the biggest foundries, as far as bell output, in America.

The foundry released an advertising booklet that told all about the foundry, their capabilities as well as drawings of their products. Inside this booklet they bragged that they could cast bells up to 20,000 Lbs. and had recently cast the largest bell that had ever been cast in America, which was in use in New York City. In the booklet also is a letter written from an Alfred Carlson, Chief Engineer New York Fire Department that says that it is the nicest bell in the city, and that it weighs 10,000 Lbs. They went on to explain that they had cast another very large bell for San Francisco but don’t give a size.

From 1868 through 1873 the foundry produced 13 more chimes. Unfortunately many of these historic chimes no longer exist. 

Along with casting chimes of bells, the foundry was casting a lot of peals consisting of 3, 4 and 5 bells as well as many very large bells that would be used as Alarm Bells. 

In 1873 Marcus left his brother for unknown reasons and moved his family to Baltimore, MD. Were he would be employed at a competing bell foundry, The Henry McShane Bell Foundry. 

The Troy Bell Foundry would cast another 6 chimes through 1884. Comparing the bell foundry to competing bell foundries in the 1870’s, they cast more bells and chimes than any of them. For instance, Jones cast (17) chimes of bells in the 1870’s whereas Meneely in West Troy, the largest foundry in America at the time cast (16). 

The 1880’s slowed for the foundry, likely because of competition. Another Meneely bell foundry opened, this one by Andrew Meneely’ s youngest son Clinton, in the same city as Jones and probably because of the name recognition was able to take much of the business that Jones was likely getting just 10 years before. 

The last known bell that survives from this foundry is a 2,121 Lb. Fire Bell that was cast in 1886 for a fire tower in Helena, MT. The bell was purchased from the foundry for $535.00. This bell sits on display in from the Civic Center in Helena still today. 

Although the foundry only existed for 32 years, it competed well with the other major bell foundries in America. Thousands or bells were cast as well as over 100 peals. The foundry produced 27 chimes, with many of them still existing today.