Once the pride of Dayton firemen, the large fire bell which today is housed in Carillon Park alongside the steam fire engine is almost a century old. It was cast in 1858 by the Meneely Bell Company, the same concern which several generations later produced the bells used in Deeds Carillon. For more than a decade after its purchase, the $700 bell tolled out fire alarms from the tower of the firehouse at Fifth and Brown Streets. It was considered the loudest and finest fire bell in the Dayton area. During an extended tolling, however, the bell suddenly cracked. Although attempts were made to repair the fissure, the bell’s tonal qualities were lost and it was subsequently replaced. In 1914, the bell seemed headed for the junkyard until a group of citizens learned of plans for its disposal. The city manager of that period was advised that a committee opposed to destruction of the bell would call on him to register their protest. When the committee arrived, however, the city manager showed them the bell ... which had been quickly converted into a giant flower urn at the Main and Monument Firehouse. “Gentlemen, there is your bell,” he said. “You can see that it is perfectly safe and sound.” The committee’s fears were thus alleviated, although it is doubtful that they expected the bell to remain in that location for more than forty years. It was finally transferred to Carillon Park in 1955. CARILLON PARK DAYTON, OHIO One of a series of Carillon Park booklets. Price ten cents. AS-8575 I15XX PRINTED IN U.S.A. Transcriber’s Notes —Silently corrected a few typos. —Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook is public-domain in the country of publication. —In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by _underscores_.