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Artesia City Hall
18747 Clarkdale Avenue
Artesia, California 90701
562-865-6262
Artesia News
Historic bell donated to Historical Society
The remnants of the Artesia Christian Church have voted to donate a historic bell dating back to 1874, found in a tower on church property, to the Artesia Historical Society.
The Artesia Christian Church, members of a sect of Christianity called the Disciples of Christ, held their last service on Sunday, June 10. The church property has been sold and while in Escrow, the iron bell housed in an intricate tower will be moved by the City of Artesia into temporary storage while the Historical District undergoes renovation.
According to Veronica Bloomfield, author of Images of America: Artesia 1875-1975, the bell was actually a schoolhouse bell and was housed inside the Artesia Grammar School. The founding of the Artesia School District in 1875 is often cited as the beginning of the village of Artesia, and this makes the bell the only artifact that the Historical Society possesses that dates back to this time. “It is the most significantly documented piece of Artesia’s history,” said Bloomfield.
In 1910, the bell was transferred to the Artesia Christian Church with the understanding that the bell would never leave Artesia, and it hasn’t left the church since.
When the church’s parishioners voted to donate the bell, they also presented a donation of $1000 to the Artesia Historical Society.
Larry Rowes, a parishioner of the Artesia Christian Church since he was four years old, said, “The congregation was really glad to know who the bell will be with and where it’s going.”
Because of the way that church has built the tower encasing the bell, the City expects the project to remove the bell to be an interesting challenge.
Chuck Burkhardt, of the City’s Public Works Department, is one of the people undertaking the task.
“The way the bell is encased in that tower tells me that no one expected it to go anywhere else,” said Burkhardt.
Larry Rowe and the bell he's been around his whole life.
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