Bell and Pump House

Bell and Pump House. . , From the Daily Ledger, Tacoma Washington, Sunday, June 15, 1913: , "The Browns Point bell was cast in 1855 by Bernard and Co. bell foundry in Philadelphia, and was brought around the Horn in 1857 by the first lighthouse tender to come to the Pacific coast, the "Shurrick", to see duty at Dungeness Light Station during the 1860s and later at Point No Point, before its installation at Browns Point in 1903." , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . , Among the first light keeper's duties in the early 1900s was ringing the bell during periods of fog. Browns Point is said to have more dense fog and longer sustained periods of fog than any other site in Puget sound. This 1,200 pound fog bell was operated by hand winding a crank that lifted a 1,440 pound weight with a four part gear. This mechanism controlled the hammer that struck the fog bell. It required a person to wind it every 90 minutes. The bell rang a single stroke every 20 seconds. In 1922 all of Browns Point received electricity, and the light and bell winding mechanism were run electrically., When the old wooden lighthouse was replaced by a new concrete lighthouse in 1933, the bell was removed and replaced by an air horn. The bell was given to the College of Puget Sound (University of Puget Sound) where the bell was rung to mark the beginning and ending of classes. In 1984, the bell was given to the Island Alliance Church on Fox Island. A bowling ball was attached inside for a clapper. On June 21, 2000 the church donated the bell to Points NE Historical Society, who returned it back to Browns Point Lighthouse Park., The bell now hangs in the old Pump House, which was built in 1917 to pump well water to the cottage. In 1922, the Pump House was converted to hold the station's new electrical lines and panels. Today it holds the original Browns Point fog bell and is known as the Bell House., [Bottom left diagram caption reads] , Gamewell Fog Bell Striking Apparatus No. 4 , The bell ringing apparatus required hand winding the crank every 90 minutes. A hammer struck the bell every 20 seconds.