Meneely Bell Company
The History
After serving in the Civil War, Colonel Clinton Hanks Meneely, the youngest son of Andrew Meneely returned home to find that there was no place for him in his father's foundry that his older brother now ran. Clinton had knowledge of bells and foundry work just from growing up near his father’s foundry. In 1870 when his older brothers would not allow him to work with them, he decided to start new bell company just across the Hudson River in Troy, NY. He found help with his brother-in-law, George Hazard Kimberly and together they began casting bells under the named The Meneely & Kimberly Bell Company. The foundry cast their very first bell sometime early in 1871.
Clinton must have not only been a good foundrymen, but he also must have been a great salesmen. When looking at the output of the foundry, it is constant in volume, in single bells, peals and even chimes within a few years of opening when compared to his brothers much older foundry.
The foundry produced their first chime of bells in 1875, which was a large 11 bell chime that was installed in St. Peter’s Church in Albany, NY. In fact, they cast 2 chimes in 1875, the other being a 14 bell chime that was installed in St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Darien, CT.
Probably one of the greatest milestones in the foundry history happened the next year when they cast “The Centennial Bell”, a 13,000 Lb. bell for Independence Hall to celebrate the 100th birthday of the US.
Over the next 4 years the foundry produced 5 more chimes and in 1879 Clinton purchased the shares of George Kimberly and renamed the foundry Clinton H. Meneely Bell Company.
Clinton had 3 sons that worked in the foundry with him. Wadsworth, born in 1864, William Roof, born in 1869 and Chester Roof born in 1876.
In 1902 the foundry name changed again, for the final time. The business was renamed The Meneely Bell Company and it would be named this until its closing in 1952.
The foundry passed to Clinton’s youngest son Chester Roof Meneely and continued casting single bells, peals and chimes. It was under the leadership of Chester that the foundry accomplished a milestone that was never beat before or after by any other American bell foundry. In the decade between 1920 and 1929 the foundry produced a staggering 53 chimes, with the best single year being 1921 when they cast and shipped 9 full chimes of bells.
Chester had 2 sons that were involved in the foundry, the oldest was Henry Tucker, born in 1905 and the youngest Clinton Meneely born in 1908.
In 1942 the foundry cast its first and only set of bells that could be classified as a carillon, although the bells were not harmonically tuned. This was a 23 bell carillon that was installed in the Deeds Memorial Tower in Carillon Park, in Dayton, Ohio.
The foundry closed in 1952 but left a legacy of the second largest bell foundry to ever exist in America. The foundry produced over 160 chimes of bells and 1 carillon. They also produced countless peals and tens of thousands of bells.
