Courthouse bell to ring at 10 a.m. Monday

[November 27, 2011]  On Monday at 10 a.m., Lincoln residents will again hear the deep resonance of the bell atop the Logan County Courthouse as it tolls on the hour. There will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce that morning to celebrate the first tolling of the bell in this century.

The bell quit ringing decades ago when disrepair of the bell stand made it too unsafe to ring the massive bell. The Logan County Board received a Richard H. Driehaus County Courthouse Grant from Landmarks Illinois to help pay for repairs to allow the bell to again ring.

In addition to repairing the bell stand, the strike mechanism for the bell has been repaired. The four Seth Thomas clocks on the courthouse dome, which trigger the bell, also have been restored. The clocks have received new hands on the dials and new brass counterbalance rods and bronze counterbalance weights.

The majestic county courthouse anchors downtown Lincoln's 14-block Courthouse Square Historic District. Constructed of Cleveland sandstone, the building is 125 feet from the ground to the top of the dome. The cast-iron bell and clocks were installed when the courthouse was built in 1905. 

Note: The ribbon-cutting will actually begin about 9:45 a.m. Monday, so the remarks can be completed in time to hear the bell ring on the hour at 10 a.m. as the ribbon is cut.

[Text from file received from Jan Schumacher, Logan County Board]