History
Since the conception of the company in 1856, McShane Bell Foundry has been producing America’s finest Church Bells, Ring Peal, Chimes and Carillons the world has ever heard.
Over 300,000 McShane church bells ring out from the towers of Cathedrals, Churches, Municipal Buildings, Universities and schools everyday, all over the world.
Our bells are produced using time honored techniques and with state of the art foundry craftsmanship and technologies to produce bronze church bells that are as beautiful to hear as they are to view.
All our bells come with state of the art mechanical and electrical ringer’s systems for both swinging and stationary bells. Our state of the art equipment is what helps produce their beautiful unmistakably McShane tones.
Bell Casting & Bell Maintenance
Our goal is simple: to produce the best sounding bells with the most up to date ringing systems for our customers. We approach each project big or small as if it’s our only project. This accountability and attention to details for our customers is what sets McShane Bell Foundry apart.
Our other services include consultation, inspections, annual maintenance contracts, and bell towers. Basically McShane can handle your church bell projects from start to finish with outstanding results.
Featured in main photo above, second from right: John J. Matey, McShane Bell Installer (1868-1939) - Credit to Maria Crocker for identifying John!
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Jan 3, 2020
1847
Born in 1830, Henry McShane immigrated as a teen from Ireland to Baltimore. He found employment in a brass factory. Nine years later, he struck out on his own, opening the original McShane Bell Foundry.
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Jan 3, 2020
1856
McShane Bell Foundry was founded in 1856 and has since been producing America’s finest Church Bells, Ring Peal, Chimes and Carillons the world has ever heard.
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Jan 3, 2020
1873-1887
"Highest Awards for Church Bells and Chimes" was awarded at fairs and exhibitions, including the Centennial Exhibition 1876.
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Jan 3, 2020
1873
Writer George Washington Howard devoted a whole passage to McShane in, The Monumental City: Its Past History and Present Resources.
McShane opened a second facility near where The Baltimore Sun building now sits on Guilford Avenue (then called North Street).
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Jan 3, 2020
1876
Grand exhibition was held in Philadelphia to mark the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The company set up and earned raves for its chime of 13 bells (representing the 13 original states).
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Jan 3, 2020
Sep. 1897
The University of Virginia, the bell, ensconced by the chapel’s sandstone bell tower, was cast by the McShane Bell Foundry of Baltimore and presented to the University by the V.V.V. Dramatic Club.
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Jan 3, 2020
1907
The McShane Bell Foundry was commissioned to make the Pocahontas Bell to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the founding of Virginia.
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Jan 3, 2020
1948
A spectacular fire burned McShane to the ground. The fire was deemed arson, caused by an employee. And not just any employee– the half-brother of the president.
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Jan 3, 2020
April 13, 1953
Marka Truesdale DuPont and Maryland governor Theodore McKeldin attended the casting of a replica of the Liberty Bell. The 300-pound bell toured all 48 states in an effort to raise $5 million for the National Association for Mental Health.
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Jan 3, 2020
1962
The first Liberty Bell replica was purchased for $8,000 in Portland, OR.
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Jan 3, 2020
1975
Portland’s second Liberty Bell found its first home, a park across the street from City Hall where blighted old buildings once stood, the newly christened Terry Schrunk Plaza.
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Jan 3, 2020
2019
McShane moves to its new home in St. Louis, Missouri from Baltimore.
