Historic church bell to return to public eye

A 600 pound bell is lowered into a truck on 19th Street and Central Avenue Thursday afternoon. The bell was a gift to St. Mark's Church from St. Mark's in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1868 and was removed to be placed on display. Michael Smith/staff

CHEYENNE - A piece of local history kept cloistered away for decades may be back in the public eye again as early as next year.

The article in question is a 600-pound bell that has spent much of the last century hanging unused in the bell tower of St. Mark's Episcopal Church at 1908 Central Ave.

Crafted by a foundry in Troy, New York, the bell was a gift to the local church from another house of worship with the same name - St. Mark's Episcopal Church of Philadelphia.

According to a history of the Cheyenne church written by Shirley Flynn, the bell was gifted by friends of the Rev. Joseph W. Cook, who founded the Cheyenne church in 1868.

Larry Swanson, a former junior warden at St. Mark's, said the bell's age is reflected in its inscription. It presents the bell "to St. Mark's, Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory."

Wyoming would not become a state until 1890.

The bell first rang out on April 4, 1869, at the church's original location on the corner of 18th Street and Ferguson, now Carey Avenue. But it was put into temporary retirement following the construction of the current church building.

"The current St. Mark's was started in 1886 and completed in 1888. But it didn't have the bell tower on it as originally built," Swanson said.

"The tower was added to the building in 1924, and the original bell was placed in the tower at some point after that."

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Historic church bell to return to public eye