For Whom the Bell Tolls?

In 1897, the Richmond Hill Board of Education persuaded council to jointly purchase a new bell for the public school - one that could serve both educational and municipal purposes. This bell replaced the Methodist Church bell as the official "Town Bell." It rang out the hours of school and work till 1935, survived even longer as a fire bell, and can be seen today at the fire hall on Major Mackenzie Drive West.

But this more southerly bell proved difficult to hear in the north end. "Since the church bell has ceased to ring we are at a loss to know when we who live north of Centre Street should wake up each morning in time for breakfast," complained NORTH ENDER in the January 6, 1898, issue of The Liberal. "The music of the new town bell seldom penetrates the stillness of our northern latitude."

Nor did this new bell carry across the surrounding countryside. "A sense of loneliness and uncertainty has fallen over Richmond Hill and vicinity," wrote OUTSIDER in the January 20, 1898, issue of The Liberal. "The familiar sound that reverberated over hills and valleys for miles around, is no longer heard. No longer can the suburban villages of Headford,Patterson,Victoria Square, and even Gormley regulate their clocks to proper time, and be daily reminded of the existence of a place called Richmond Hill."