Bell Tower Park

General Location:

Located on the corner of Jefferson and Tyler Street in uptown.

General Description:

Historic Bell Tower Park offers vistas of Admiralty Inlet and Port Townsend Bay.

History:

Port Townsend's Fire Bell Tower is a 75-foot wooden structure built in 1890 to hold a 1,500-pound brass bell and the City's new $900 fire engine. The ringing bell rallied the community to fight fires, providing a coded signal as to the location and severity of the blaze. In October of 1889, the American Telegraph Company began erecting poles and stringing wires—the poles to be equipped with boxes containing signaling devices for the transmission of fire alarms. Gamewell Company “Excelsior” model fire alarm boxes were installed at strategic locations throughout the city. By 1933, 21 were in service. The archives of the Jefferson County Historical Society (JCHS) show that construction of the 75-foot tower began in 1890. The cast inscription on the bell reads "Vanduzun & Tift" on one side and "Buckeye Bell Foundry 1891 Cincinnati" on the other. Since 1890, the Wooden Tower has weathered countless storms. Every decade or so, the community comes together for yet another round of fundraising for its restoration. In March 2004, the Washington State Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (OAHP) named Port Townsend's Fire Bell Tower, restored by the Jefferson County Historical Society and the City of Port Townsend in 2003, as the recipient of the 2004 State Historic Preservation Officer's Award for Resource Stewardship.

Total Acreage:

.07 acres