Revere Bell In Belchertown or Enfield MA
Revere Bell in Belchertown/enfield 1814
work ongoing 6/7/2025
Hi, Mitch. Well, you have certainly given us a great mystery -- two of them, actually -- and stimulated some deep research, which is ongoing. First mystery is the 1814 bell commissioned by Joseph Keith of Belchertown -- but NOT for the Belchertown Congregational Church. It went to the Enfield, Mass. Congregational Church (now under the Quabbin Reservoir) and later given to New Salem. I have attached the story as we found it in our correspondence files. Helen Lister was once the curator of the Stone House Museum. Her sleuthing back in 1987 seems to have provided the answer to the first mystery. The second mystery is still a puzzle. Remember the passage I quoted earlier? "Three different bells have hung in the belfry. The original bell [from 1792] was cracked during an extremely cold spell in the winter of 1844. This was shortly replaced by a bell weighing 1500 lbs., guaranteed for one year. However, this broke in about 13 months. Although the time of the guarantee had expired, the company replaced the bell with one weighing 1800 lbs., charging the church for the difference in weight only. This bell continues to summon people to public worship...[in 1930]." Well, that narrative is repeated often in our Congregational Church histories. However, in researching your first mystery, we uncovered the attached letter in among our church documents. Addressed to "Justus Forward, Esq." (our esteemed pastor's son), it appears to allude to the recasting of a church bell in 1836 by Holbrook. Could this be a mis-dated reference to the bell above, cracked in 1844? Or, was the bell cracked in 1836 and it took until 1844 (8 years) to have it replaced? Or is this an entirely different bell -- a fourth one, not accounted for in the church histories? We do not have an answer for you, yet. However, there is another possibility. In 1832, a faction of the Belchertown Congregational Church, broke away over the anti-Masonic movement that had taken over the church, and this faction formed a new church -- the Brainerd Church -- and built a church building right next to the old church. After a few years of separation, the churches re-joined and they occupied the original church building. They sold the Brainerd church building to the Baptists, I believe. The Brainerd Church might be the destination of the bell in the 1836 letter, however, there is a problem with this scenario. The letter is addressed to Justus Forward, Esq. who never joined the breakaway church. So, we continue to look for answers. We do have some of the Brainerd Church records, but I could find no reference to the purchase of the bell. Any help on this that you might offer would be appreciated. Yours in history,
Cliff McCarthy, archivist On 6/4/2025 8:53 AM, WalkBoston History wrote:
Hi Cliff, thank you for the research forwarded to me.
I have some follow up questions and I have attached the Revere listing of church bells that has a 883 pound bell going to Belchertown in June 17, 1814.
You mentioned three bells that hung in the bellfrey. Can you determine who made the bells?
The bell that cracked in 1844 was replace? or recast? If it was recast by Holbrook it likely was a Revere bell. I am looking for a 1,500 pound bell so any pointers whould be appreciated.
Warmest regards,
Mitch Lapin, Principal
781-591-2955
https://www.walkbostonhistory.com/'
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On Tue, Jun 3, 2025 at 7:00 PM Cliff McCarthy <camcca@charter.net> wrote:
Hello, Mitch. Thank you for contacting the Stone House Museum regarding a Revere bell at the Congregational Church here. I hate to disappoint you but I think your information might be incorrect. By 1814, the Congregational Church was only in it's third pastor: Rev. Edward Billing, Rev. Justus Forward (for almost 60 years), and Rev. Experience Porter, who took the reins in 1812. I am not familiar with any Rev. Keith, though the surname is not uncommon, here. (Maybe he was born in Belchertown but pastored somewhere else?) Anyway, in investigating the church bells, I came across this in a history of the church building in 1930: "Three different bells have hung in the belfry. The original bell [from 1792] was cracked during an extremely cold spell in the winter of 1844. This was shortly replaced by a bell weighing 1500 lbs., guaranteed for one year. However, this broke in about 13 months. Although the time of the guarantee had expired, the company replaced the bell with one weighing 1800 lbs., charging the church for the difference in weight only. This bell continues to summon people to public worship...[in 1930]." So, I'm pretty sure your info isn't correct. Still, I wish you the best in your project. Cliff McCarthy, archivist
Stone House Museum
Belchertown
On 6/2/2025 8:28 AM, Mary Knight wrote:
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: WordPress <info@stonehousemuseum.org>
Date: Mon, Jun 2, 2025 at 8:19 AM
Subject: web inquiry
To: <mary.knight.atwork@gmail.com>
From: Mitch Lapin <Walkbostonhistory@gmail.com>
Subject: Revere Bell of May 17, 184 for J. Keith
Message Body:
Hello, I am updating a list of Revere Family bells. Their Bell list shows a 883 pound bell sold to J. Keith (Belchertown). Reverend Keith began his association with the Congregational Church the same year.
I could not find a reference to a Revere Bell at the UUC Church.
IO wonder if know of its present location or its end of life?
Here is my website in progress. https://www.walkbostonhistory.com/revere-bells-index.html
I'd appreciate any updates, images or recordings of the bell.
Warmest regards,
Mitch Lapin 508-397-2518
Below is the response from AI.
In Summary: Rev. Joel Keith was the minister of the First Congregational Church in Belchertown, Massachusetts around 1814. He played a role in the religious life of the town during that period.
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