Watervliet in Albany County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Meneely Bell From St. Brigid's Church
Photographed by Howard C. Ohlhous, August 8, 2024
1. Meneely Bell From St. Brigid's Church Marker
Inscription.
Meneely Bell From St. Brigid's Church. .
World Renowned Meneely Bell Foundry Bell From... St. Brigid's Church, . To meet the needs of a growing population of Catholics in the Port Schuyler area, a church on the northwest corner of Salem (4th Avenue) and Mansion (7th Street) was dedicated on July 11, 1851. A Troy Clinton Meneely bell was installed in 1883. Clinton, the youngest son of Andrew Meneely had worked as a clerk in the West Troy Foundry gaining knowledge of bell casting before joining the Union Army during the Civil War. Upon his return family disputes led to his establishment of the Troy Meneely Foundry. Hard feelings between the two firms lasted for over fifty years., The West Troy and Troy Meneely Foundries became two of the seven major bronze bell foundries in the United States. The firms traced their lineage back to Paul Revere who operated the first American bell foundry. Andrew Meneely learned bell founding through Julius Hanks and his father Benjamin Hanks who tutored at the Revere foundry. Originally the West Troy Foundry made bells, bronze cannons, engineering equipment and tower clocks., Some of these important bells include: . A replacement for the original Liberty Bell (cast in 1876 for the Centennial) that hangs today in the bell tower of Independence Hall, Philadelphia. This is not a replica of the original bell. Rather, it is a much larger bell, weighing 13,000 pounds, a thousand pounds for each of the original thirteen states. . Four bells on the Metropolitan Life Insurance Tower in New York City. According to Sydney Ross in his Gateway booklet entitled The Bell Casters of Troy: "These bells are 700 feet in the air, and are by far the highest hung bells in the world. Their sound has been reported by voyagers at sea, beyond Sandy Hook, New Jersey, fully twenty-eight miles from the tower, and by others on Hudson River boasts, equally as far to the north.", To this day, there are Meneely bells on every continent on the planet except Antarctica., This bell was removed from the steeple of St. Brigid's Church on October 4, 2023. This bell was donated to the City by the owners of Wicked Smart, Todd and Marcie Van Epps, and it's removal from the church steeple was paid for by the Watervliet Charitable Foundation., To learn more about Meneely bells, go to www.Watervliethistoricalsociety.com,
World Renowned
Meneely Bell Foundry
Bell From... St. Brigid's Church
To meet the needs of a growing population of Catholics in the Port Schuyler area, a church on the northwest corner of Salem (4th Avenue) and Mansion (7th Street) was dedicated on July 11, 1851. A Troy Clinton Meneely bell was installed in 1883. Clinton, the youngest son of Andrew Meneely had worked as a clerk in the West Troy Foundry gaining knowledge of bell casting before joining the Union Army during the Civil War. Upon his return family disputes led to his establishment of the Troy Meneely Foundry. Hard feelings between the two firms lasted for over fifty years.
The West Troy and Troy Meneely Foundries became two of the seven major bronze bell foundries in the United States. The firms traced their lineage back to Paul Revere who operated the first American bell foundry. Andrew Meneely learned bell founding through Julius Hanks and his father Benjamin Hanks who tutored at the Revere foundry. Originally the West Troy Foundry made bells, bronze cannons, engineering equipment and tower clocks.
Some of these important bells include:
Click or scan to see this page online
A replacement for the original Liberty Bell (cast in 1876 for the Centennial) that hangs today in the bell tower of Independence Hall, Philadelphia. This is not a replica of the original bell. Rather, it is a much larger bell, weighing 13,000 pounds, a thousand pounds for each of the original thirteen states.
Four bells on the Metropolitan Life Insurance Tower in New York City. According to Sydney Ross in his Gateway booklet entitled The Bell Casters of Troy: "These bells are 700 feet in the air, and are by far the highest hung bells in the world. Their sound has been reported by voyagers at sea, beyond Sandy Hook, New Jersey, fully twenty-eight miles from the tower, and by others on Hudson River boasts, equally as far to the north."
To this day, there are Meneely bells on every continent on the planet except Antarctica.
This bell was removed from the steeple of St. Brigid's Church on October 4, 2023. This bell was donated to the City by the owners of Wicked Smart, Todd and Marcie Van Epps, and it's removal from the church steeple was paid for by the Watervliet Charitable Foundation.
Location. 42° 42.458′ N, 73° 42.694′ W. Marker is in Watervliet, New York, in Albany County. It is on Broadway (New York State Route 32) near Schyler Lane, on the right when traveling north. The marker is part of a Welcome to the City of Watervliet display at the a southern entrance to the city. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Watervliet NY 12189, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Upstate New York, in the Capital District, and in the Albany 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 New Netherland and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Photographed by Howard C. Ohlhous, August 14, 2024
5. The Former St. Brigid's Church & School
In March of 2012 the former Saint Brigid's Church & School in Watervliet became the offices and production facility of the Van Epps' Wicked Smart Apparel.
Credits. This page was last revised on March 29, 2025. It was originally submitted on August 10, 2024, by Howard C. Ohlhous of Duanesburg, New York. This page has been viewed 397 times since then and 48 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on August 10, 2024, by Howard C. Ohlhous of Duanesburg, New York. 3. submitted on March 29, 2025, by Steve Stoessel of Niskayuna, New York. 4. submitted on August 12, 2024, by Howard C. Ohlhous of Duanesburg, New York. 5. submitted on August 14, 2024, by Howard C. Ohlhous of Duanesburg, New York. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
