As the renovation project of the National Pilgrim Memorial Meetinghouse continues, part of the effort involves the restoration of a series of bells located in the tower of the building. A chime consisting of ten cast bronze bells, forged by the Meneely Company of Troy, New York, has been contracted to refurbish these ten bells under the talents of the Verdin Company of Cincinnati, Ohio. But here is a little backstory on the company that forged these bells.
In 1826, Andrew Meneely built a foundry in West Troy (now known as Watervliet), New York, in the Hudson Valley. Meneely was a silversmith by trade and used his knowledge of alchemy to mix copper, tin and molten heat to produce bells of exceptional beauty and sound. Meneely had apprenticed at age 15 under Julius Hanks, whose father worked with Paul Revere, and Nancy Hanks (who later became mother to Abraham Lincoln). Meneely went into business with Julius Hanks’ son Horatio, where they operated a foundry that sold equipment to the builders of the Erie Canal. After the canal was completed, Meneely returned to West Troy and managed one of the Hanks’ family’s foundries, which manufactured bells, clocks and engineering instruments. In 1836, Meneely purchased the building and put his name on the business. It became one of the largest and most celebrated foundries in the land, earning an international reputation for quality. Meneely tinkered with the sound quality of his bells, always looking for improvements. Meneely’s two eldest sons, Edwin and George, carried on with the family business, and it continued as a family run company until 1951.. When a third son, Clinton Hanks Meneely, returned from the Civil War, he was not invited to join the company, so he started a rival forge instead).
The Meneely Company was so renowned that their bells can be found on every continent on Earth, except for Antarctica. They are located in churches, on college campuses, and in private businesses—even in the Metropolitan Life Insurance Tower in New York City. In 1876, the Meneely Company cast a replacement for the original Liberty Bell that hangs in Philadelphia. It was made much larger than the original, weighing in at 13,000 lbs.—a thousand pounds for each of the original thirteen colonies.
The bells for the Mayflower Meetinghouse were forged and installed in 1921. The Verdin Company, which will be doing the restoration work on these chimes, was started in 1842, founded by two brothers who emigrated from Alsace, France. Verdin is a six-generation family- owned business that is known as the industry leader in bell restoration. The Verdin Company has created over 55,000 bell installations across the United States. It is the only company in the world with a traveling bell foundry, and it has a stellar reputation for innovation in bell repair.
Verdin’s repair team will travel to Plymouth and begin an extensive process to refurbish, repair and restore the bells, the wood frame, the hardware, the bell pads, and all of the various parts (metal, wood and leather) that constitute the chimes. When completed, the action and playability of the chimes will be dramatically improved. Hardware that has been exposed to rust and corrosion due to its proximity to the ocean breezes will be replaced, and springs will be restored. Some of the chimes will be brought back to Cincinnati to be worked on, and then brought back to Plymouth to be reinstalled. The project should take approximately six months to complete.
The Mayflower Society is excited to have the Verdin Company oversee this project.
If you would like to donate to contribute to the cost of the bell restoration, please email: development@themayflowersociety.org. The Governor General’s 1620 Club funds will be earmarked as part of this project as well. People who want to join the 1620 Club can go to: https://themayflowersociety.org/support/donate/governor-generals-1620-club/