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03-13-08
Tours to view 250 year old church bell start April 25 at National Historic Site in Mount Vernon
     Celebrating the 250^th anniversary of one of the oldest church bells in the country, St. Paul’s Church National Historic Site, in Mt. Vernon, NY will begin a series of tours of the historic church tower on Friday, April 25, at 3 PM, it has been announced. Admission is free.
     Cast in 1758 at the same London foundry as Philadelphia’s famed Liberty Bell, the bronze bell is a tangible connection with an earlier time, and reflects the long and important history of the area, according to St. Paul’s site manager David Osborn. “The first people to hear it ring, summoning them to church or announcing a funeral, were colonists living in the realm of the British Empire,” he said. “The same bell visitors can hear peal today would have been rung on June the fourth in the 1760s, in celebration of the birthday of the King, George the third.”
     Visitors ascend 74 steps on a wooden staircase to reach the apex of the steeple and discover the bell, greeted by a panoramic view of the northern Bronx and southern Westchester. Artifacts and stories about the history of the church enrich the experience, according to Osborn.
     The bell was originally hung from rafters in the town’s small, wooden meetinghouse, which dated to 1700, and was located about 50 yards from the current stone and brick St. Paul’s Church, whose construction began in 1763. During the Revolutionary War, the bell was removed and hidden to prevent confiscation and use for military purposes. Fortunately it was not damaged, and when the dust from the War for American Independence had settled, the bell was raised atop the steeple of the stone and brick church -- where it still rests.
     The bell is inscribed with the names of craftsmen, Lester and Pack, who created it, or “Fecit,” which means made it in Latin. It also bears the name of the Rev. Thomas Standard, the colonial rector who purchased the bell as a gift for the parish.
     In the anniversary year, tours of the Bell Tower will be offered every other Friday at 3 PM, through early October -- April 25, May 9, May 23, June 13, June 27, July 11, July 25, August 8, August 22, Sept. 5, Sept. 19 and Oct. 3. Additionally, there will be a pair of weekend programs featuring bell tower climbs -- Saturday, June 14, from noon to 4 PM, and Saturday Oct. 11, from 11 AM to 4 PM. “In its 250^th year, the bell will also take center stage at the annual Independence Day celebration, on Friday, July 4, beginning at 10:30 AM,” Osborn explains.
     St. Paul’s Church National Historic Site is located at 897 S. Columbus Avenue, in Mt. Vernon, NY. It is easily accessible by the Hutchinson River Parkway (Exit 7, Boston Post Road) and Interstate 95 (Exit 13, Conner Street) from Westchester County, New York City, Connecticut and northern New Jersey. The site is also convenient to public transportation from New York City. For directions and information, call St. Paul’s Church N.H.S. at 914-667-4116, or visit us on line at, www.nps.gov/sapa.