Townsend Bell -- Old Rip Plaza, Eastland TX
N 32° 24.112 W 098° 49.209
14S E 516913 N 3584995
The Townsend Bell, brought to Eastland County in 1869, is today on display in Old Rip Plaza downtown
Waymark Code: WMPV12
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 10/21/2015
Views: 4
The historic Townsend Bell, which came to Eastland County in a covered wagon in 1869, called ranch hands to dinner and later the faithful tr prayer, now recalls Eastland County's heritage in Old Rip Plaza downtown.
The Townsend Bell stands on a beautiful brick pedestal with an embedded granite plaque that reads as follows:
"The Townsend Bell
In 1869, John T. Townsend brought this bell and all his family’s possessions to Eastland County from Bowling Green, Kentucky, in a covered wagon. The 640 pound, 36-inch diameter bell -- cast in 1850 by the L.M. Rumsey Co. of St. Louis, Missouri -- was a fixture on the Townsend ranch until 1900, when the family donated it to the First Baptist Church of Eastland. The members of First Baptist gave the bell to Eastland's First Church Of God in 1923 for use in their new building. In 1977, the Eastland and Cisco congregations joined to form the Inspiration Church of God. The church moved the Townsend Bell to Camp Inspiration, west of Eastland. In 1981. The Church of God sold the camp to the Eastland Economic Development Corporation in 2004 and donated the Bell for display in “Old Rip Park.”"
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