DeRuyter in Madison County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Fire Bell
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 13, 2017
1. Fire Bell Marker
This bell was salvaged during the dismantling of the Union Meeting House (Presbyterian Church) in 1883.
It was mounted at the Union Hall on December 11, 1884 and used as a fire bell until the Union Hall was destroyed by fire on December 31, 1946.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Disasters • Man-Made Features • Religion & Religious Structures. In addition, it is included in the Historic Bells series list.
Location. 42° 45.537′ N, 75° 53.064′ W. Marker is in DeRuyter, New York, in Madison County. It is on Utica Street (New York State Route 13) south of Water Street, on the right when traveling south. Marker is located on the front grounds of the Genevieve Staley Civic Center building, (former DeRuyter High School), beside the front sidewalk. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 735 Utica Street, De Ruyter NY 13052, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Upstate New York, specifically in Central New York, and in the Syracuse Metropolitan Area. It is also in the American Northeast and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, New Netherland, and one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Ezra Cornell Boyhood Home (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); Seventh Day Baptist Church (approx. 0.2 miles away); Freight Depot (approx. 0.3 miles away); Red School House Cemetery (approx. 2.7 miles away); David Davis
this page online
More about this marker. Marker is a metal plaque mounted at eye-level on a large, 2-column, brick stand built to support and display the fire bell.
Also see . . . DeRuyter Union Hall. Cinema Treasures website entry:
(This link presents before-and-after-the-fire photographs of the DeRuyter Union Hall. The tower and bell are visible in the "before" photograph.)
Built in 1855, DeRuyters Union Hall was used as a meeting place and live performance venue, also served as the towns movie theater, regularly showing films from the early days of silents up until its destruction by fire on December 31, 1946. (Submitted on April 25, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 13, 2017
2. Fire Bell Marker (wide view)
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 13, 2017
3. Fire Bell
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 13, 2017
4. Staley Civic Center/Former DeRuyter High School (marker just out of frame at left)
Credits. This page was last revised on December 18, 2021. It was originally submitted on April 25, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 274 times since then and 12 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on April 25, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
