John Brown Bell Tower - Marlborough, MA
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 42° 20.845 W 071° 32.729
19T E 290333 N 4691489
The John Brown Bell Tower on Main and Bolton Streets in Marlborough, MA was erected in tribute to Company I of the 13th Massachusetts Volunteers.
Waymark Code: WMMY4V
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 11/22/2014
Views: 4
After the start of the Civil War the Marlboro militia company was formed in May 1861. They became Company I of the 13th Massachusetts Volunteers and were dispatched to the Potomac River at Harper's Ferry. Their mission was to seize anything of value to the U.S. Government at the Harper's Ferry Arsenal. While there they search for a souvenir to take along. In an engine house where John Brown and his followers were killed or captured on October 18, 1859, they found a bell, now known as the John Brown Bell. Since their Hook & Ladder Co. in Marlboro, MA did not have a bell, they managed to secure the bell and, despite all odds and after many adventures, the bell was brought to Marlboro.
On November 23, 1892, the surviving members of Co. I, 13th Regiment, transferred ownership of the bell to the The John A. Rawlins Post #43 of the Grand Army of the Republic. The post has the bell on display outside the G.A.R building, In 1968 the present bell tower was erected, under the direction of the Akroyd Houde Post 132 of the American Legion, on Union Common to house the bell. The 30' tall by 5' square, slightly tapered, field stone tower has a brick cupola which houses the John Brown Bell.
A plaque on the front of the bell tower is inscribed:
SYMBOL OF A NATION'S EFFORTS
TO OBTAIN FREEDOM AND
EQUALITY FOR IT'S PEOPLE
THE
JOHN BROWN
BELL
OWNED, AND PLACED HERE, JOHN A. RAWLINS BUILDING ASSOCIATION, ACTING IN BEHALF OF AKROYD HOUDE POST 132, THE AMERICAN LEGION, WITH THE CO-OPERATION AND ASSISTANCE OF THE MARLBORO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, IN TRIBUTE TO THE MEN OF CO. I, 13TH MASSACHUSETTS VOLUNTEER MILITIA. MAY THEIR IDEALS, AND ACHIEVEMENTS SERVE TO REMIND US THAT FREEDOM WITH EQUALITY IS THE PROMISE TO ALL MEN, EVERYWHERE FULFILLED. ONLY WHEN A NATION STANDS UNITED THOUGH THE MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING, RESPECT, AND DETERMINATION OF ALL IT'S PEOPLE.
{G.A.R. Emblem} DEDICATED SEPTEMBER 2, 1968 {American Legion Emblem}
A book about the John Brown Bell by Joan Abshire is available for free download from the Marlborough Historical Association.