The tocsin, or fire bell, has served communities since ancient times by warning inhabitants of danger. Marquette's old fire bell was cast in bronze by the Henry McShane Bell Foundry in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1882. It was placed in the Spring Street Firehouse in the 1890s and became part of the Gamewell Fire Alarm System. It continued to peal fire warnings until the mid 1950s, when the telephone replaced it. After the firehouse was demolished in 1970, the bell was saved and beginning in 1984 Northern Michigan University used it to ring football wins. It was placed at this site in June 1999.