NC State to Return Historic Bell to Raleigh Fire Department

A historic bell – the oldest surviving artifact from the Raleigh Fire Department, dating back to 1870 – will be returned to the city by North Carolina State University officials during a special event on Wednesday, Nov. 19, at 10 a.m. at the Central Fire Station, located at 220 S. Dawson St. Media coverage of the event is invited.

NC State Chancellor James Oblinger will present the bell to Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker and sign a document to officially mark the transfer of ownership of the bell from the university to the city. The event will also include a presentation on the history of the bell.

The bell was cast in 1870 and originally placed in the Metropolitan Hall city market building on Fayetteville Street. In 1914, the bell was moved from Metropolitan Hall to the West Morgan Street fire station tower, where it remained until its removal in 1938.

NC State acquired the bell in the late 1940s and placed it atop Withers Hall in 1948. In 2007, Matt Robbins, a graduate student in architecture researching the history of the bell, discovered the bell atop Withers was the same bell that was housed at Metropolitan Hall and the West Morgan Street fire station.

Last month, specially trained members of the Raleigh Fire Department’s urban search and rescue team removed the bell from atop Withers Hall in preparation for its return to the city.