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Farrel Bell is now in place at Webster Memorial Park.
The city recaptured a piece of its history today by finding a new home for an 1877 fire sounding bell that for 87 years adorned the top of Farrel Foundry on Main Street.
The bell, which had been in storage at Public Works for the past three years, was professionally restored at no cost to the city by Tracy’s Garage, and the bell’s foundation poured compliments of Frank Pepe Construction, both of Derby.
The bell was delivered today and moved to its new home at Webster Hose Memorial Park on Central Street, the site of Webster Hose’s original location that housed horses for the horse drawn fire carriage back in 1907.
An inscription on the bell reads it was originally dedicated in 1877 to the memory of Almon Farrel, founder of Farrel Foundry.
Farrel Pomini donated the bell in 2017 to the city when they left their downtown location to move into their state-of-the-art new facility at Fountain Lake Industrial park on the City’s west side.
In 1964, the bell was removed from the roof of Farrel Corp. and moved across the street to a small park adjacent Eagle Hose Fire Station.
A formal dedication ceremony will be announced shortly. The bell still rings and wow is it loud!
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According to Webster historian Gene Sharkey:
The Farrel Bell was cast in 1877 at the Meneely & Kimberly Foundry in Troy, N.Y. in memory of Almon Farrel, founder of the Farrel Co.
It was installed on the factory roof later that year and was sounded every day to signal the beginning and end of each shift. It was connected to the Ansonia Fire Alarm System in May of 1889 and sounded its first alarm on July 22, 1889. It was removed from the company bell tower on Nov. 14, 1964 and installed nearby as a memorial to Ansonia firefighters. It now has a permanent location in the Webster Hose H & L Co. #3 Park on Central Street.
Next time you’re in the area, take a minute to admire yet another bit of Ansonia history!
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Workers move the Farrel Bell to Webster Memorial Park.
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*Information and photos shared from the City of Ansonia Facebook page.
