Chickasaw Capitol Bell - Tishomingo, OK
N 34° 14.292 W 096° 40.805
14S E 713660 N 3791002
The Chickasaw Capitol Bell stands near the southwest corner of the building at 411 W 9th St, Tishomingo, OK.
Waymark Code: WMY7P4
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 05/06/2018
Views: 0
There is nothing on the bell to indicate its manufacturer. It is elevated on a wooden post, but there's a rope that you can reach. Just because you can ring the bell, though, doesn't mean you should: Let the Chickasaw do the ringing. An Oklahoma Historical Marker in front of the bell provides some history.
Chikasha Tulli Ola
Chickasaw Capitol Bell
About 1859, the Chickasaw government purchased an iron bell to be hung in the first Chickasaw capitol building. It was used to summon tribal members to special meetings and to signal emergencies in the community. Depending on the type of ring made by the appointed toller, the community would know whether it was a meeting or a death. Chickasaw people within ear shot would stop their daily activities and travel to the capitol to hear vital information that affected their lives.
This bell, standing two feet and weighing approximately three hundred pounds, remained there until 1890. At that time it was removed and placed upon a stump of a large bois d'arc tree near the capitol building. After construction of the new capitol in 1898 the bell remained outside the building suspended from a tripod.
On November 16, 1909, the bell was sold at auction to Emma Willis, the daughter of R.M. Harris, who was the governor of the Chickasaws from 1896-1898. After the purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Willis moved the bell to Kingston, Oklahoma. The bell was placed on a stand in the courtyard of the First Methodist Church. It remained there until 1937 or 1938 when it was hung in the belfry of the church.
Helen (Willis) Lewis, the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Willis requested the church return the ball to the Chickasaw people. In 1974, this was finally accomplished.
The bell was placed back in front of the capitol building for the annual meeting on October 3, 1998 to celebrate the capitol centennial. The Chickasaw people once again -- and from now on -- will hear the sounds of the old bell calling them to a meeting in the Chickasaw Nation.
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