Westborough Paul Revere Bell is Bound for Boston

The 876-pound bell originally cast by silversmith and patriot Paul Revere will soon be taking a historic ride from the First Baptist Church belfry in Westborough to its new home at the Old South Meeting House in Boston.

Known as the place where the Boston Tea Party began in 1773, the landmark Old South Meeting House has operated as a non-profit museum since 1877 and continues to be a thriving public gathering space for freedom of speech. The First Baptist Church has reached an agreement with Old South Meeting House on the purchase of the bell.

“We’ve been working on restoration of the Meeting House Tower and its magnificent 1766 Tower Clock,” said Emily Curran, executive director at the Old South Meeting House. “As part of that restoration we had very much wanted to return a bell to the tower. Old South Meeting House has not had a bell since 1876, for over 100 years. We had started to make plans to have a new bell cast, when we heard about the historic bell in Westborough. It’s very exciting."

According to the , the Westborough bell is one of only 26 bells known to be cast by Paul Revere himself, and one of only ten whose whereabouts have been documented to date.

“The Westborough bell is older than the bell that’s currently at the Paul Revere house,” remarked Paula Skogg of the Historical Commission. “If it can’t stay in Westborough then this is the very best place it could possibly be going, back to Boston to the oldest clock tower in the country,” she added.

While details of the moving and installation of the bell are still underway, the hope is to move the bell to Boston within the month.

“As a museum and historic site, we are very mindful of the unique history of the Westborough Paul Revere Bell, and will preserve both the bell and its history here in Boston for generations to come,” said Curran.  She added that the Old South Meeting House plans to invite the people of Westborough to special events that will celebrate the bell and its history.

Once installed in the restored tower, the Tower Clock will strike the bell hourly, ringing out in the streets of Boston.

“This bell is really going to be heard by a huge number of people. It will be well-loved and well-used,” said Curran.

“It’s like returning Paul Revere to Boston in the form of the bell,” said Dave Nelson, chairman of the Board of Trustees of the former First Baptist Church. “It’s going to be an important moment in Westborough history as well as Boston."

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