The Academy Bell

The Academy Bell. . , For the people of Kanab, this bell represents schools and the importance of learning. From its founding in 1870, Kanab citizens have been encouraged to obtain as much education as possible and to use it for the benefit of all. For the first two decades, school classes were held in temporary buildings and even in homes. In 1890 a proper school was built on the northeast corner of Main and 1st North. The original one story structure had walls of hewn stone gathered from the surrounding hills. With ever growing population, the roof of the school was removed in 1896 and a second story with brick walls was added along with a belfry on top to complete the "Academy", shown here. The Academy Bell could be heard clearly throughout the town, calling children to school on weekdays and everyone to church on Sundays. The bell signaled curfew each evening, sounded solemnly for funerals and rang wildly as an alarm for public emergencies such as fires and floods., By 1914 the Academy was overflowing with students eager to learn so some grades were held in other buildings such as the "Ward Hall" which can be seen on the left side of the photograph. A new 14 room school, to house all grades from elementary through high school, was completed in 1917-18 atop "Monument Hill" at the east end of Center Street. Later school buildings followed over the decades., For many years after the Academy was torn down, the Bell was stored away, forgotten, then rediscovered. In 2004, as an Eagle Scout project, Landon Casebolt erected the pedestal on which the bell stands here for you to reflect on things that made this town what it is today.