Commissioners apply for grant to renovate historic Trumbull Courthouse clock, bell

WARREN

In March 1895, when the second Trumbull County Courthouse was destroyed in a fire, the county had been home to Warren’s Packard Electric Co. for five years, and the Packard brothers would build their first Packard automobile in Warren four years later, in 1899.

On March 4, 1897, when construction of the current courthouse had nearly been completed at a cost of $140,000, Niles native son William McKinley was being inaugurated as president of the United States.

On Nov. 7, 1896, the new bronze bell for the courthouse arrived. Weighing 1,500 pounds, it was placed in the courthouse dome and was operated by ropes, according to the Warren Daily Chronicle.

Nearly 120 years later, much about this courthouse has not changed, including the clocks and bell.

The configuration inside the courthouse has changed, however.

The bell remains in the same place, but it doesn’t chime anymore, except when a county maintenance worker pulls back its large hammer and releases its impressive sound either as a private pleasure or to show it to a visitor.

Some of the bell’s history is unknown, like how long it’s been since it last tolled on a regular schedule, but county maintenance employees say it’s been at least 20 years.

Recently the county commissioners authorized grant writer Julie Green to apply to the state for $20,000 in capital-budget money to renovate the courthouse clocks and bell.

Read more about the bell's history and the renovation project in Tuesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.