Cornell receives grant for King Chapel bells

Cornell College is one step closer to hearing the sound of the historic King Chapel bells ringing out on campus, thanks to a grant from Linn County.

The college was recently awarded $5,000 from the Linn County Historic Preservation Grant Program to restore the 1882 Meneely bells.

“We are grateful to receive this grant and look forward to the day when the bells will ring again,” said Cornell College Grant Writer Julie Barnes. “Based on our records, we believe they haven’t been used since around 1950. The bells added a special beauty and charm to campus and to the city that have been missing for nearly 70 years.”

Since the bells aren’t functioning, the carillon, which also plays tunes on special occasions, chimes to mark time each day.

The King Chapel tower currently holds three of the four original bells needed to play a distinctive tune. The clock was designed to trigger the bells by striking the hour on the largest of the bells–the 2,000-pound bell–and chiming the quarter hours on three smaller bells. One of the bells was removed years ago and placed atop College Hall. In 2012, however, that bell was destroyed by a lightning strike.

The college will continue raising funds and searching for grants to pay for the remainder of the estimated $20,000 project, which includes purchasing one new bell, lifting it into position, restoring the bell hammers, and rebuilding mechanisms such as the bell springs and pulley system that operate the bells. 

Work is underway to structurally reinforce the tower which houses the bells and restore the historic Seth Thomas clock. It’s all thanks to a variety of grants and a lead gift from Cornell College Trustee Linda Webb Koehn ’66 and her husband, honorary alumnus Thomas K. Koehn.