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The Star Spangled Banner National Peace Chime was built as a memorial to George Washington. The chime was dedicated on July 4, 1926 by Andrew E. Meneely and Melvin C. Corbett. Its fourteen bells were cast by the Meneely Bell Foundry in Watervliet, New York and were mounted in a temporary tower until a more permanent structure could be constructed.
Additional state bells were added starting in 1928 and sometime in early 1931 the 23rd ball was added to make it a carillon. The 49th (and final) bell from the original design was installed in 1949. An accurate list of bells and the dates they were added is not known to exist, but some can be discerned from newspaper accounts.
Construction began on the Robert Morris Thanksgiving Tower on October 1, 1942, but was suspended shortly thereafter due to a lack of funds and World War II. Construction resumed in 1950 and was completed in 1953. The tower and carillon were dedicated on April 18, 1953 with a recital given by Frank Pechin Law and the completed carillon was played for the first time and dedicated on November 22, 1953 with a recital given by Arthur L. Bigelow.
The carillon was enlarged to 56 bells in 1953 with new bells cast by Fils de Georges Paccard. Existing historical accounts are unclear as to the number of bells added and removed. An additional two Paccard bells were added in 1963, bringing the total to 58.
The Tower is 114 feet high and 24 feet wide at its base. Built of native stone, it contains a bell from each state; Washington, D.C.; Puerto Rico; Guam; American Samoa; the Virgin Islands; Midway and Wake Islands; and a National Birthday Bell.
References
1926 "Valley
Forge is Scene of Patriotic Display," Evening Star, July 5,
1926, Page 32.
National Peace Chime and Independence Birthday Bell Dedicated.
1928 "Ohio
State Bell is Presented Chapel at Valley Forge," The Times
Recorder, April 30, 1928, Page 5.
This is the first state bell to be given outside the Star Spangled
National Peace Chimes.
1929? Kentucky
1930 "Chapel
Given 17th Bell," The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 21, 1939,
Page 2.
Illinois
1931 "Will
Dedicate Bell," The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 18, 1931,
Page .
Michigan
1931 "To
Dedicate Bell," The Kentucky Post, April 19, 1931, Page 9.
Michigan 28th Bell
1932 Valley
Forge: what it is, where it is, and what to see there
Pages 51-53: National Peace Chime and Memorial Carillon
1932 The
Washington Memorial Chapel yearbook 1932
Pages 55-: The Star Spangled Banner National Peace Chimes
1933 "Prominent
Indianans to Participate in Carillon Rites at Valley Forge," The
Indianapolis Times, April 11, 1933, Page 6.
Indiana's bell in the Washington Memorial carillon at Valley Forge peals
on Easter Sunday.
1934 "Indiana
Bell," Evening Star, April 16, 1934, Page 5.
This bell was dedicated free of debt on April 16, 1933.
1938 "DAR
State President to Visit," Corpus Christi Times, June 9,
1938, Page 10.
Miss Mullins attending the 47th Continental Congress of the National
Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, held in Washington
D.C. in April. During the convention, she delivered a speech at
Valley Forge when the Texas bell of the National Peace Chimes was
dedicated.
1938 "Bell Given by Nevadans Is Hung at Valley Forge," The Sacramento Bee, June 16, 1928, Page 11.
1939 The
Washington Memorial Chapel,Valley Forge, 1939.
Pages 33-36: National Peace Chime and Memorial Carillon
1940 "D.A.R.'s
Return From Seattle Meeting," The Olympian, January 23,
1940, Page 5.
Of interest to citizens of Washington is the announcement of the
presentation of a bell for the carillon at the Washington memorial chapel
at Valley Forge from the Daughters of American Revolution of Washington.
The bell will be dedicated by Mrs Charles E. Head of Seattle, vice
president general and also a past state regent during the national
conference to be held in Washington D. C. April 15-19
1941 "Carillons
Dedicated at Valley Forge," The Montgomery Advertiser, April
11, 1941, Page 21.
National officers of the Daughters of the American Revolution dedicated
seven carillon bells In the Washington Memorial Chapel at this national
shrine today.
The bells, which increase to 37 the number now in the carillon, were given
by the States of Alabama, North Dakota, Arkansas, Minnesota, Mississippi,
Oregon and Tennessee.
1941 November? Iowa
1941 "Another
Bell for Chimes," Standard Speaker, November 17, 1941, Page
1.
43d Bell, West Virginia. Six more bells are needed to complete the
chimes.
1941 "Arizona Adds Bell at Valley Forge," Tucson Citizen, December 30, 1941, Page 3.
1942 "Washington
Memorial Carillon," The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 18,
1942, Page 14.
What bells have not yet been placed in the Washington Memorial National
Carillon at Valley Forge? When the Carillon is complete, how many bells
will there be? Where are they hanging at the present time? N. L.
There are seven bells yet to be placed in the Washington Memorial National
Carillon. Of this number the order has been given for the casting of the
four bells for New Mexico, Montana, Oregon and Vermont. The order for the
casting of the Idaho, Utah and South Dakota State bells will not be given
until the funds are entirely completed.
There will be 49 bells in the completed Carillon, one for every State in
the Union and the National Birthday Bell. At present the bells hang in a
temporary wood and steel structure to the immediate west of the Washington
Memorial Chapel at Valley Forge. It is planned to place them in a
permanent tower to be known as the Robert Morris Thanksgiving Tower. Work
on this tower was begun last fall and a campaign is under way to complete
the structure which is to be located at the end of the Porch of the Allies
to the east of the Chapel. It will be 95 feet in height.
1942 "D.A.R.
Read to Present Carillon Bell," The Philadelphia Inquirer,
October 30, 1942, Page 23.
Presentation of the 49th bell. New Mexico.
1942 "D.A.R.
To Dedicate Bells and Flags at Valley Forge," The Indianapolis
Star, October 31, 1941, Page 6.
New Mexico and Florida.
1942 "Will Raise Fund for Bell Tower," The Evening Sun, November 27, 1942, Page 1 | Part 2 |
1947 "Valley
Forge Finishes 49-bell Carillon," Naugatuck Daily News, June
16, 1947, Page 2.
Presentation of bells from Oklahoma and South Dakota completed the
national carillon of bells for Valley Forge's memorial bell tower.
1952 "At
Valley Force Session For Naming of Bell Tower," The Evening Sun,
March 12, 1952, Page 1.
Robert Morris Thanksgiving Tower.
1954 "Valley Forge," Bulletin
of the Guild of Carillonneurs of North America 8:43-44 (January
1954)
The completed carillon of 56 bells was inaugurated on Sunday, October 25,
1953, over a nation-wide hook-up on the ABC Network. Arthur Bigelow,
bellmaster at Princeton, played the following program:
This instrument, four and one-half octaves and fully chromatic, is the
third largest in the number of bells in the world. Because its history is
of special interest to the Guild, a later issue of the Bulletin will carry
a more
complete account.
1958 "The Carillon at the Washington Memorial Chapel, by Melvin C. Corbett," Bulletin of the Guild of Carillonneurs of North America 11(1):6-10 (April 1958)
1959 Washington Memorial Chapel and Valley Forge Historical Society. by John Robbins Hart
1976 "Quilting Project Financed Neb. Bell," Kearney Daily Star, February 9, 1976, Page 18.
2017 Washington Memorial Chapel’s Bell Tower & Carillon
© 2023 Morris A. Pierce