Old_Belfry
Old Belfry
Belfry in Massachusetts, U.S.
The Old Belfry is a historic structure on Clarke Street in Lexington, Massachusetts, United States. It stands on Belfry Hill.[1]
The belfry was erected at its current location in 1762, but it was moved a few yards away to Lexington Common[2] in 1768, after Jonas Monroe, on whose land it originally stood, wanted the town to pay him taxes for keeping it there.[1] (Its former location on the Common is now marked by a boulder and a plaque.)[1] The bell that hung in it summoned locals to worship, reminded them at 9:00 pm to "rake up the fires and go to bed",[1] warned them of danger, tolled on their deaths, and rang out the initial alarm of what became the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775.[3] Today it rings in the beginning of Patriots' Day annually at 5:30 am.[1]
The third incarnation of the structure was built, this time with a steeple to house the bell, in 1794.[1] Three years later, the belfry was moved to the Parker Homestead in the southern part of town and used as a wheelwright's shop by the son of John Parker. In 1891, after it had fallen into a much-dilapidated state, it was refurbished and returned to its original location by the Lexington Historical Society after it was gifted to them by James S. Monroe.[1] It was destroyed in a gale on June 20, 1909,[1] and was rebuilt by March the following year.[2] It was moved from the back end of Belfry Hill to its present site in 1913, with an iron fence erected around it.[4]
In 1971, the Katharine Harrington House at the corner of Clarke Street and Massachusetts Avenue was torn down to make way for Belfry Hill Park.[4]