Limestone County Courthouse Bell

For more than a century, the Limestone County Courthouse bell rang to notify residents of the time of day and of momentous events. The courthouse and surrounding Square had been the heart of the community since Limestone County's founding fathers cleared the Square of trees and used the logs to build the first courthouse in 1820. In 1825, the county replaced the log courthouse with its first brick courthouse, but structural damage soon appeared. In 1835, a four-year construction of a second brick courthouse was completed. During Union occupation in 1864, the courthouse burned, and in 1869 a four-year reconstruction of the courthouse interior was completed. In 1871, the bell was installed in the courthouse to chime the time and announce the opening of court and major events. In 1874, it rang in celebration of the election of Athens' George S. Houston as Alabama governor. In 1919, after three years of construction, a new courthouse was completed and the 1871 bell from the antebellum courthouse was installed in its dome. During renovations in 1974, the bell was replaced with an electronic chime system. In 2015, it was removed from the courthouse attic during renovations, and in 2018 the bell and its original red oak support beam were installed in a bell house on the Limestone County Courthouse lawn.

Athens, Alabama · United States