Anyone familiar with this blog probably has noted I have an interest in church bells. In the past, I have written about bells at First General Baptist Church, Saint Francis Hospital and St. Mary’s Cathedral.

Some of those remain in their original locations, while others have wandered a bit.

The bell I’m writing about this week started out as a Methodist bell and ended up a Christian bell.

The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, congregation built a brick church at the northeast corner of Sprigg and Themis streets in 1893 under the leadership of W.D. Vandiver. The congregation went on to build a new church, Centenary, at Bellevue and Ellis in 1906-08.

The Methodists sold the old church to the Christian Church congregation for $2,500 in 1907. But when they moved, the Centenarians didn’t take their bell with them. It remained at Sprigg and Themis, sometimes in a scaffold behind the church and other times sitting in the grassy parkway in front.

A note in the Missourian library says the bell, manufactured in Hillsboro, Ohio, was removed to its odd outdoor location when the building was enlarged in 1908. A contradictory entry says it was removed in 1919, because it was “deemed a menace to the structure of the belfry.” In any event, it became a signboard for the church, with the words “First Christian Church” and “Welcome” painted on it.

It remained at that spot until 1924, when it was given to the Illmo Christian Church.

Here’s what this newspaper wrote about the bell’s move to Illmo, now Scott City, 100 years ago.

Published Aug. 30, 1924, in the Southeast Missourian:

Cape gives bell to Illmo church

The large brass bell that has ornamented the front lawn of the First Christian Church for several years has been removed to Illmo, where it will from now on lead a life of service rather than ornamentation. The bell has been donated by the local congregation to the church at Illmo to be installed in their building there. A formal presentation ceremony will take place at the Illmo house of worship Sunday afternoon, when the Rev. Charles H. Swift will make the address of presentation and the Rev. G.A. Hoffman the speech of acceptance. There will be special music and short talks.

The bell was installed in the building at Themis and Sprigg streets when it was erected by the Methodist congregation. Until the spring of 1919 it tolled the hour of worship regularly. In that year it was deemed a menace to the structure of the belfry and was removed to the ground where it has served as a visual, rather than an oral, advertisement.

Published Sept. 1, 1924, in he Southeast Missourian:

Bell is presented to Illmo church by Cape congregation

The old bell, which until a few years ago tolled the hour of worship at First Christian Church every Sunday, was officially presented to the Illmo Christian Church Sunday afternoon, the Rev. Horace Siberell, veteran minister, making the presentation speech. The Rev. (G.A.) Hoffman accepted it for the Illmo church.

The Rev. Siberell explained that the bell was being given to the Illmo church that it might again be placed in service and made more useful. He explained that it had been used here for several years as an advertisement, that it had adorned a place on the lot in front of the church. Now, he said, “we hope it will be installed immediately in a belfry and will toll out a welcome every Sunday to attend services in this church.”

The Rev. Hoffman, in accepting the bell, said it would mean much to the Illmo church and to him it would be the sweetest music of all. The peals of a church bell on Sunday morning means more than music to my ears, it is the dearest thing in all the world, he said.

The Rev. C.H. Swift was called upon for an address and he spoke briefly, telling some of the history of the bell and suggested that the Cape Girardeau and Illmo congregations get together immediately when the bell is installed and have an official ringing.

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Because this blog touched on the history of Methodism in Cape Girardeau, I reached out to Judge Stephen Limbaugh Jr., my source for all things Methodist, to clarify some points. He was able to provide me with a copy of "The First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Cape Girardeau, Missouri: A Centennial History 1890-1990". As he pointed out, the volume has "a ton of good stuff" about the bell under the heading "The Hexed Bell". The history was researched by Hazel R. Sanders and written by Larry J. Easley in 1990.

According to the book, the bell was a gift to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, congregation from Grace Methodist Church, a German congregation. The bell came here from St. Louis by steamer and was taken to the church by wagon. The book notes: "The streets were rough in those days, and the bell rang with each bounce. First Christian legend has it that 'an old German was bringing his cow along, and there was so much racket that the cow got so scared that she wouldn't give milk that day. The owner of the cow was so provoked that he bewitched the bell,' and from that moment on, the bell had a bad tone."

Once arriving at its new home, it was found the bell was too large to fit in the belfry, so a scaffold was built behind the edifice to house it. The book doesn't say when the bell was removed to the front lawn, but credits the Rev. Charles Swift, pastor of First Christian from 1920 to 1925, with ordering its removal from the by-then-rotting scaffold. Further, he had painted on the bell the words "Little Gray Church Around the Corner".

It seems the bell was never installed at the Illmo Christian Church after its move there in 1924. Again, according to the book, that congregation returned it to First Christian, when the latter built a new church at Dunklin and West End Boulevard. Again, however, the "hexed" bell defied the plans of men: It was again too large for the new belfry.

Eventually, First Christian sold the bell to the Sigma Tau fraternity of Western Kentucky University at Bowling Green for $100. The money from the sale benefited a fund for a new church pipe organ.

Sharon Sanders is the librarian at the Southeast Missourian.