Bradford Matthew Chaloner Durfee High School


Durfee High School in 1886	2014-2018 Bell Tower	B.M.C. Durfee High School

Links to Carillon Inventories
GCNA	Tower Bells	Bok Tower Gardens

Mary D. Durfee, the mother of Bradford Matthew Chaloner Durfee, donated the high school building after his death in 1872. Her gift included a 10-bell Meneely (Watervliet) chime that was installed in 1887.

These bells were removed in 1978 when a new school was built. After sitting in storage for several years, the bells (minus one that had been stolen) were retuned and installed in a new bell tower in 2014 along with five new Meeks, Watson and Company bells.

The bells were removed once again in 2018 when the 1978 building was torn down to make room for a larger new building, which included a bell tower. The B.A. Sunderlin Bellfoundry was engaged to install the 14 existing bells along with nine new ones.

The new carillon was dedicated along with the new high school on August 24, 2022. This is the only public high school in the country with a carillon.

References
1872 Bradford Matthew Chaloner Durfee (15 Jun 1843 - 13 Sep 1872) grave

1887 "A Chime of Bells," Fall River Daily Evening News, April 14, 1887, Page 2.
Latest Gift With the New High School

2008 Saved from the scrap heap, bells will toll once more, by Grant Welker

2021 "Carillon Profile: B. M. C. Durfee High School, Fall River, Massachusetts," The Diapason 112(12):24 (December 2021)