Assisting Mariners with Navigation

Assisting Mariners with Navigation. . The origin of the bell traces its history to ancient China over 4,000 years ago. Over time, bells found favor on board ships as sound transmitters and signaling devices. In the early nineteenth century, the use of bells spread to lighthouses, which originally relied on cannons as warning devices. By 1820, the lighthouse bell became the preferred method to signal ships in fog or heavy weather. Between its employment in lighthouses and bell buoys, the bell became the most common sound signal in the U.S. Lighthouse Service, with more installations than all other mechanical and manually-operated sound signals combined., Depending on location and installation, lighthouse bells generally ranged in size from 200 to 4,000 pounds. Cast in 1889 by a Baltimore foundry, this 1,365 pound bell served in an East Coast lighthouse. In the early days, the lighthouse keeper or an assistant rang the bell by hand. However, by the late 1800s , the Lighthouse Service automated bell striking using machinery governed by clockwork. This bell is inscribed with the letters "USLHE" indicating that it was produced for the United States Lighthouse Establishment, a forerunner of the U.S. Lighthouse Service that merged with the U.S. Coast Guard in 1939.