Antique 1886 C S Bell Co Hillsboro Ohio #3 Cast Iron Crystal Metal School Bell

This listing is for a large antique cast iron bell. The bell itself is not marked, but the piece on top is marked "The C.S. Bell Co 3 Hillsboro O." on one side and "No 3 Yoke 3 1886" on the other. The piece that holds up the bell is marked "No 3 Upright 1886" on one side and "Crystal Metal 3" on the other. The bell is in very good overall condition with some surface corrosion but no apparent cracks. This listing has no reserve price so don't miss your chance to win!

Approximate measurements:

Bell: 18" diameter; 14" high with top piece
Holder: 19.5" wide; 20" high

From home.swbell.net:

"Charles Singleton Bell was born in Cumberland, Maryland on February 7, 1828. After completing a common school education he went to Pittsburgh to learn the foundry business from his uncle, Alexander Bradley. He came to Ohio to take charge of the Whitley Foundry in Springfield and later moved on to Dayton. On January 7, 1858, he began the operation of his own company in Hillsboro. Starting with two employees and a weekly payroll of $7.00, they processed 8 tons of pig iron the first year. The early foundry was located in a frame building near the B & O Railroad Depot. A few years later, a second foundry was built on the corner of Main and North West Streets. James K. Marley became a partner and ran the showroom while Mr. Bell operated the foundry. In 1869, Bell purchased Marley's interest and continued to add more items to his list of products, which were to include Mogul stoves, caboose stoves, coffee hullers and pulpers, grinders, corn and cob crushers, burr and hammer typed feed mills, a machine called the "Tortilla" (used in Mexico and South America to grind hominy), sorghum and maple syrup evaporators, plows and garden rollers, and the "Perfection" cane mill made to be sold by the Montgomery Ward Company."