Nov. 24--The 125-year-old bell that used to call Constitution Park home has been renovated and now resides in front of Helena Fire Department Station Two.
The bell that once hung in Helena's historic fire tower has been moved at least six times previously, according to Capt. Sean Logan with the HFD.
Crews installed the 2,200-pound bell in its new home Wednesday morning.
Logan has refinished the bell and redone the gold-leaf painting of "Helena Queen of the Mountains" on the bell.
"It's part of our history. We need to make sure it is preserved," said Logan, who has spent a lot of time researching the history of the fire department and the bell itself over the past few years. "There's not that much stuff from Helena that is that old. The stuff we do have, let's hang onto it and take care of it."
Logan is thankful to the many city and county officials who made bell project possible.
"This is the product of quite a few hands," he said, while gazing at the bell on Wednesday afternoon.
The bronze bell hung in the historic fire tower from 1886, after it was shipped via rail from its maker in New York, until 1935, when a series of earthquakes struck Helena and it was feared the damaged tower could not safely hold the massive bell, Logan said.
When the fire tower was restored, the bell was returned to its original home. The fire tower was struck by lightning in 1951 and the bell was removed again. It was then placed in front of the Helena Civic Center. It was moved to Constitution Park in 2002.
"How the fire department let it go, I don't know," Logan said.
While at Constitution Park, the bell sustained quite a bit of damage. Logan said he was alerted by a friend from the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff's Office, who witnessed a young boy banging on the historic bell with a rock.
"It had taken quite a bit of abuse," Logan added.
At its new home, the bell will have firefighters nearby around the clock to protect it. But the public can visit the piece of history at the station located on North Hannaford Street between 11th and Prospect avenues.
"I think in the long run, it'll be better off," Logan said.
Reporter Angela Brandt: 447-4078 or [email protected]
