Bell @ Portland Baptist Church - Portland, MO
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 38° 42.651 W 091° 43.064
15S E 611486 N 4285470
Where did the bell come from?
Waymark Code: WMT0MC
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 09/04/2016
Views: 3
County of bell: Callaway County
Location of bell: MO-94 & Market St., alongside Portland Baptist Church, Portland
No marks on the bell, where did it come from? First assumption is there use to be a tower, or belfry upon this church and it came from there.
Good guess, but I have another idea.
"A one-room schoolhouse was built around 1903. The last classes in it were in 1956, before it was consolidated with South Callaway at Mokane. The building is in excellent condition and is being used as the Portland Community Building." ~ Kingdom of Callaway Historical Society
"PORTLAND - Fire on Friday evening destroyed the 130 year old building that served as Portland's community center. A cleaning woman entered the building around 5 pm and saw smoke coming out of the air conditioning unit. Fire then crawled up the walls, and the center was engulfed by six.
The loss of the center devastated the community of Portland, a small town of 400 people in eastern Callaway county.
"The whole community came here," said former local Rebecca Elm. She came with her daughter to visit the community center she grew up with.
"My house burned down, and we actually stayed in the center," said Elm.
Paul Pealer, a 30 year Navy Veteran who is now retired in Portland, grew up there. Growing up, the center was the town school, where he attended.
"My mother went to school here, my grandmother, and my grandfather went to school there," said Pealer.
More than the historical loss, there is now a problem of necessity. The locals used the center for everything from weddings to Christmas dinners." ~ KOMU News, August 14, 2010
I was told by locals a bell, the school bell, was recovered from the fire. No one seems to know what happened to the school bell after the fire.
My guess is this is that school bell. Recovered and saved and installed next to the church
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