The Revere Bell

By George Murray
April 2001

When the Westford Academy expansion and renovation was nearing completion, and the “Revere Bell” was placed in the lobby of the new Performing Arts Center, the mismatch between the Pine bell platform and the Maple trim in the bell lobby became apparent. I agreed to serve as a sub-committee of the School Building Committee to replace the bell platform, and prepare a suitable plaque for it. The new platform is complete, and the plaque has been ordered. What an interesting journey has resulted from a seemingly simple project! 

In taking measurements of the existing platform, I noticed that the name on the bell was “Henry N. Hooper, Boston – 1855.” How then could this be a Paul Revere bell, as has been reported for years? That began a library search that answered that question, and several others about the Academy bell. Here’s what I’ve been able to learn.  

As far as can be determined, Westford Academy is the oldest co-educational secondary school in Massachusetts. The April 30, 1792 town meeting passed an article, “To see if the town will permit an Academy to be in this town and vote to their representative to signifi the sens of this town to the Gneeral Cort on that respect and to youse his best to procure an Act of Incorporation for that purpose.”  

On August 3, 1792, the proprietors adopted rules including the provision “that the school should be free to any nation, age or sex, provided that no one should be admitted a member of the school unless able to read in the Bible readily without spelling.” In 1793, the school’s first year of operation, Miss Sally Carver, age 9, became the first female student at Westford Academy. 

The first Westford Academy bell was the fifth bell cast by Paul Revere in his foundry at Lynn and Foster Streets, in Boston’s North End. (The First Parish Church in Westford purchased his fourth bell.) Only bells cast while Paul Revere was personally active in the firm, from 1792-1811, are referred to as “Paul Revere” bells. Other bells, cast by the firm following his retirement up until 1828, are referred to as “Revere” bells. 

Revere’s start in bell casting is an early manifestation of the archetypal American capitalism success story. In 1792, the bell at Revere’s church, the Second Church in Boston, was cracked. Members, including Revere, subscribed to procure a new one. Bells were usually bought from England at the time. Revere instead offered to cast the bell himself, even though bell making was an art unrelated to his other foundry operations, and one he knew nothing about. The bell was used for many years, and can currently be seen in the auditorium of St. James Episcopal Church in North Cambridge. Joseph Revere, a partner in his father’s business from the beginning, went to England and Europe to study bell making, and the firm’s reputation improved steadily. Revere’s firm cast 959 bells, of which 134 Revere bells still known to exist, 23 cast by Paul Revere. 

Revere cast the Westford Academy bell in 1793, even before the original Westford Academy, now the museum, was built. Early records indicate that 

classes met in several private spaces before the Academy was finished. This speculation is supported by early Academy records indicating that the bell wasn’t actually received until July 5, 1796: “For a bell, 14.15.0; to bring said bell from Boston 0.6.0; paid for rope for the Academy bell 0.2.0; to Capt. Sheed for hanging the bell 0.9.0.” 

John Revere, Paul Revere’s son and the last of sixteen children, enrolled at Westford Academy in 1799 at age 12. Therefore, the legend that Paul Revere donated the bell in payment of his son’s tuition at Westford Academy is apparently a myth, especially since records of payment for the bell by the Trustees exist. It is more likely that his business with the Trustees made him aware of the Academy as an appropriate school for his son. 

It was not uncommon for bells to break, either from flaws in the casting, or overzealous and improper ringing. This was a concern of Revere and his sons. Joseph Revere wrote that bells made here and in England were intended to be rung by a wheel. Ringing it by swinging the tongue or striking the rim could easily break it. Joseph said, “With a yard of twine I would undertake to break every church bell in Boston.” His father was so concerned about bells being hung or struck improperly that his guarantee said: “This bell is warranted for twelve months, accidents and improper use excepted; and unless it shall be rung or struck before it is placed in the belfry, or tolled by pulling or forcing the tongue against the bell, by a string or otherwise.”  

Such was apparently the fate of the original Revere bell. The cracked bell was returned to the Revere foundry in 1809 and recast, increasing its weight from 120 pounds to 127 pounds. (In 1804, after a storm blew off the roof, the Revere foundry operations moved from Boston to Canton, and were combined with the first copper rolling mill in the country. In 1801, Revere had purchased an abandoned gunpowder factory. Using a combined government loan and order for financing, he built a copper rolling mill to produce sheathing for ship bottoms. The Boston Copper Company, later the Revere Copper and Brass Co., although changing ownership several times, has operated continuously since.) 

This second bell, from the Canton foundry, also cracked or broke, in 1855, and was sent to the Henry N. Hooper Foundry to be recast again. Hooper had been an agent for the Boston Copper Company, and purchased the foundry operations from Revere. In another interesting twist in Massachusetts patriotic history, Henry N. Hooper served as a Lt. Col. In the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, organized by Robert Gould Shaw in March 1863 at Camp Meigs in Readville, MA. The valor of the free black men serving under Gould was instrumental in changing Lincoln’s view about the acceptance of black enlistees in the Union Army. 

Early records indicate that Paul Revere, 3rd, grandson of the founder and a partner in the firm, produced bells with William Blake after selling his 1/6 share of the Revere foundry back to Joseph, Paul Revere’s son, in 1818. This company later became the William Blake and Co. foundry, makers of the 1879 bell at the Abbot Worsted Mill. 

Gordon B. Seavey, Westford’s unofficial historian for many years, wrote numerous articles for the Westford Eagle and Lowell Sun, providing the basis for most of our bell’s history. Only one of his articles mentioned in passing this second recasting of the bell. In the archives of the Fletcher Library, however, I was able to locate a copy of the receipt, both for the purchase and shipping of the old and new bell. The Trustees reimbursed John William Pitt Abbot on August 14th, 1855 the sum of $84.07 ($111.07 minus the trade-in of $27 for the old bell) for purchase of the new bell. The weight of this bell is 286 pounds plus eleven pounds for the tongue. The Stony Brook Railroad Corporation received $.34 for shipping the bell to Westford. 

This bell served the Academy until 1897, when the new Westford Academy (now Roudenbush Community Center) was built, and the Trustees desired a larger bell. Its inscription reads, “Presented to Westford Academy by John William Abbot, Aug. 2, 1897. Knowledge is Power.” The reverse side reads, “Meneely Bell Company, Troy, N.Y., U.S.A.” This third generation John Abbot was the son of John William Pitt Abbot, who procured the 1855 Hooper bell. He was the grandson of John Abbot Esquire, who was instrumental in founding Westford Academy and purchasing the first Revere bell in 1793. The Meneely bell at Roudenbush was removed when the steeple was damaged in a storm on Palm Sunday 1977. It is now located in a gazebo outside the Westford Museum.  

The original Westford Academy sat unused for a decade, until it was moved to its present location. In its neglected condition, adjacent to the estate of John C. Abbot, it probably became an eyesore. John (Jack) Abbot, great-grandson of John Abbot Esquire, purchased the land and building and arranged for its move, minus the bell. Henry “Tricky” Keyes was hired by John C. Abbot to move the old Academy building down Boston Road to its current location. The nickname “Tricky” stemmed from his being a “jack-of-all-trades,” rather than any judgment about his business ethics. In a 1983 interview, Austin Fletcher said, “Henry Keyes moved it with a pair of horses and a turntable. When it got in the middle of the road, so nobody could get by, it broke down. I think he did it on purpose. They had to go between my place and the church to get out onto Boston Road. The town never gave him any special time to move it, so he had the law with him.” 

The bell was taken to John C. Abbot’s formal garden, turned upside down, and used as a planter, until the owner’s death in 1934. Abbot’s son, Robert, took over the property upon his father’s death, and the bell was removed to his home in Littleton. If you’re keeping track, Robert Abbot represents the fifth generation of Abbots involved in our tale of the Westford Academy bell. 

Allister F. MacDougall, a friend of Robert Abbot’s, and a trustee of Westford Academy for over 50 years, discovered the bell, purchased it, and returned it to Westford. It was kept in storage in his barn until the third Westford Academy was built in 1955. MacDougall donated the bell to Westford Academy, and it was located there until the fourth Westford Academy, on Patton Road, was opened. In recognition of literally generations of support for education in Westford, the
school on Depot Street was renamed first the Abbot Middle School, and then shortened to the Abbot School when the building became an elementary building. 

The plaque for the new bell platform at the Academy reads:

 

WESTFORD ACADEMY
Oldest co educational secondary school in Massachusetts
Article 5, 30 April 1792 Town Meeting:

“To see if the town will permit an Academy to be in this town and vote to their representative to signifi the sens of this town to the Gneeral Cort on that respect and to youse his best to procure an Act of Incorporation for that purpose.” 

Sally Carver was the first young woman  enrolled at Westford Academy, at age 9 – 1793 John Revere, son of Paul Revere, enrolled at Westford Academy in 1799

THE WESTFORD ACADEMY BELL
The fifth bell cast by Paul Revere – 1793
Melted and recast by the Revere Foundry – 1809
Melted and recast by the Henry N. Hooper Foundry, successor to the Revere Foundry – 1855

During my research on the Westford Academy bell, I was assisted with research, remembrances, corrections, and delightful conversations with Lloyd Blanchard, Mickey Crocker, Marilyn Day, Ellen Harde, Bette Hook, and Arnold Wilder. I came to have a great appreciation for the staff at the J. V. Fletcher library, as well. I have borrowed freely from the earlier writings of Gordon Seavey, in both the Westford Eagle and the Lowell Sun, from “The Bells of Paul Revere, His Sons and Grandsons,” by Edward and Evelyn Stickney, and the Revere House website. Any errors are mine; I’d appreciate corrections or additional information readers may have.