The John Brown Bell
At one time it was at Harpers Ferry, but since 1892 the John Brown Bell has been in Marlborough, Massachusetts, and currently resides in a special tower built for the bell on Union Common in downtown Marlborough. (View the plaque on the tower.)
The fascinating story behind how this came to be was told by Marlborough Historical Society member Joan Abshire after months of exhaustive research in Massachusetts and West Virginia.
The presentation and the book
Joan presented her findings to the Society on February 26, 2008, and followed up by publishing this 29-page book:
The John Brown Bell--
The Journey of the Second-Most Important Bell in American History,
from Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, to Marlborough, Massachusetts
Since then Joan has presented to community groups and been quoted in articles about the John Brown Bell. (The Marlborough Historical Society has never taken an official position on where the bell should be housed, as explained in this letter to the editor in July 2008.)from Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, to Marlborough, Massachusetts
The book is available in two resolutions as a free download:
- Regular resolution (3.2 MB PDF)
- High resolution for high-quality printing (15.5 MB PDF)
Once downloaded, this document, which is a PDF, can be saved and read on your computer, or it can be printed out. Links to free PDF readers are here.
The John Brown Bell (inside)
Scheduling a special presentation
Joan has given her presentation to several community groups. If you're interested in having Joan deliver her presentation to your group, contact her here.