Bradford Academy Bell at Little Brown Church - Nashua, IA
N 42° 57.724 W 092° 30.478
15T E 540129 N 4756719
Due to its historical significance, this bell was given to the Little Brown Church in the Vale.
Waymark Code: WMAB4K
Location: Iowa, United States
Date Posted: 12/17/2010
Views: 7
In 1857, William S. Pitts traveled to Iowa to see his future wife, Miss Warren. During a stagecoach stop, he walked down Cedar to a nearby area and seeing beauty within the landscape he was inspired to write a song. He wrote the lyrics and upon returning to his home in the East, put it to music. The title of the song was, “The Church in the Wildwood.” The song was about a little brown church. After completing the song, he placed it in his desk drawer and forgot about it.
Meanwhile, back in Iowa, The First Congregational Church, organized in 1855, was meeting in various locations. In 1859, a young pastor came to lead the group. He inspired them to build a church. Land was given by one of the members and other members quarried limestone for the foundation. Logs were donated and sawed into lumber for the church. A bell was donated (the only bell in Chickasaw County at that time.) Construction was discontinued in 1862 due to the hard times of the Civil War. In 1864, the church was completed. Due to lack of funds, the only paint, and cheapest, that could be afforded was brown.
Mr. Pitt had married Miss Warren in 1858. They moved to Wisconsin to teach at a country school. In 1862, his wife’s parents became ill, they moved to Fredericksburg, Iowa to be near her parents. In the fall ,1863, He got a job teaching at the Bradford Academy. As he once again went down Cedar Street he discovered that a brown church had been built in the spot that had inspired him to write the song. He sang the song to its first audience in the church in the spring of 1865.
When the Bradford Academy closed its doors, this bell was hung in the Bradford Public School. In 1950, the school burned and the fire damaged the bell. The bell was then given to the church.
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