A large bronze bell hung from an oak yoke, the bell was originally a church bell in or near St. Ignatius and was salvaged by a collector of historic bells, later donated to the state.
The Centennial Bell was placed on the second floor of the capitol building in 1989. Every year since, it has been rung to honor the Montana elementary History Teacher of the Year. On November 8th of 2017 a ceremony will be held at the bell in which the 28th recipient of the honour will receive a commemorative plaque and $2,750 from the Montana Television Network, the Montana History Foundation and the Sons and Daughters of Montana Pioneers. The centennial bell will be rung by the recipient's class for 60 seconds at 10:40 a.m, the exact minute that Montana became the 41st state.
The text from the accompanying plaque explains the history of the bell.
This historic bell, celebrating
Montana's 100th birthday on Nov.
8, 1989 at 10:40 a.m., is from a
church in the St. Ignatius area. It
has been donated by the Brent
Bliss family of Great Falls and
Dutton in memory of Elmer B.
Bliss, Power area farmer, who
collected historic bells.