The sites are listed in order by the year of casting (unknown first), which may be different from the year of installation. Following the year is an indication of the founder's contribution to the instrument:
trad* - carillon with traditional keyboard now,
but with other mechanism and/or chime size at the date cited
non-trad* - carillon with non-traditional keyboard now,
but with other mechanism and/or chime size at the date cited
chime - chime (any mechanism)
great - great bell (over 4 tonnes weight) not in a chime
[...] - instrument is defunct; link is to "sites that are no more"
(...)... - instrument was replaced; link is to the same site
BALTIMORE - STJ : USA - MD 1??? C chime
St.John's Episcopal Church--Huntingdon
BROOKLYN - STMY : USA - NY 188? C chime
St.Mary's Catholic Church
CHATHAM : CANADA - ON 1??? C chime
First Presbyterian Church
DELAWARE - STM : USA - OH 1??? C chime
St.Mary's Church (RC)
DETROIT - STS : USA - MI 1??? C chime
St.Stephen's (Polish) Catholic Church
DETROIT - TE : USA - MI 1??? C chime
Trinity Episcopal Church
ELIZABETH : USA - NJ 1??? C chime
St.Patrick's Roman Catholic Church
GLEN MILLS : USA - PA 1??? C chime
Glen Mills Schools Library
(formerly Smith Memorial Chapel)
GLOUCESTER CITY : USA - NJ 1??? C chime
St.Mary's Catholic Church
HARRISON : USA - NJ 1??? C chime
Holy Cross Catholic Church
Hoboken : USA - NJ 18?? - great
(unknown)
KEARNY : USA - NJ 1??? C [chime]
Holy Communion Episcopal Church
KNOXVILLE : USA - TN 1??? C chime
Second Presbyterian Church
MONTPELIER : USA - VT 1??? C chime
Trinity United Methodist Church
Newark : USA - NJ 18?? - great
(unknown)
NORWALK : USA - OH 1??? C chime
St.Paul's RC Church
PITTSBURGH - STS : USA - PA 1??? C chime
St.Stanislaus Kostka Catholic Church
ROANOKE - G : USA - VA 1??? C chime
Greene Memorial Methodist Church
SAINT CATHARINES : CANADA - ON 188? F non-trad*
St.George's Anglican Church
SHENANDOAH : USA - PA 1??? C chime
St.George's Catholic Church (Lith.)
TAMAQUA : USA - PA 1??? F chime
Trinity United Church of Christ
UTICA - STJ : USA - NY 1??? C chime
St.John's RC Church
VICKSBURG : USA - MS 188? C chime
St.Paul Catholic Church
WILMINGTON -- FA : USA - NC 1??? C chime
Fifth Avenue United Methodist Church
READING - STP : USA - PA 1875 C chime
St.Paul's Catholic Church
GARDEN CITY : USA - NY 1876 C chime
Episcopal Cathedral of the Incarnation
HALIFAX - STM : CANADA - NS 1879 C (chime)
St.Mary's Cathedral Basilica (RC)
ORANGE - STJ : USA - NJ 1881 C chime
St.John the Evangelist Catholic Church
RICHMOND - C : USA - VA 1882 C chime
Talbott Chime
Centenary United Methodist Church
WARREN - P : USA - PA 1882*C chime
Park
* (made for St.Mary's Catholic Church, Buffalo, NY)
BALTIMORE - STV : USA - MD 1883 C chime
St.Vincent de Paul Catholic Church
CHELTENHAM : USA - PA 1883 C [chime]
St.Paul's Episcopal Church
HYDE PARK : USA - MA 1883 C chime
Church of the Most Precious Blood (RC)
PORTSMOUTH : USA - NH 1883 C chime
Christ Episcopal Church
STILLWATER : USA - MN 1883 C chime
St.Michael's RC Church
SAINT JOHN - IC : CANADA - NB 1884*F chime
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
* installed here in 1885
BUFFALO - STM : USA - NY 1885 C chime
St.Michael's Catholic Church
CORNWALL : CANADA - ON 1885 C chime
The Mountain Chime
Trinity Anglican Church
OMAHA - T : USA - NE 1885 C chime
Trinity Cathedral (Episcopal)
COVINGTON - T : USA - KY 1888 C chime
Trinity Episcopal Church
NEW BEDFORD - STL : USA - MA 1888 C chime
St.Lawrence Martyr RC Church
PROVIDENCE - STMAY : USA - RI 1888 C chime
St.Mary's Catholic Church
ANNISTON : USA - AL 1889 C chime
Church of St.Michael & All Angels (Episcopal)
DANBURY - STPE : USA - CT 1889 C chime
St.Peter's Catholic Church
BEAVER : USA - PA 1890 C chime
Trinity Episcopal Church
originally in Rochester, PA
EXETER : CANADA - ON 1890 C chime
Trivitt Memorial Church (Anglican)
and Precious Blood Mission (RC)
WEST CHESTER : USA - PA 1890 C [chime]
Holy Trinity Episcopal Church
KEY WEST : USA - FL 1891 C chime
St.Paul's Episcopal Church
WAYNE : USA - PA 1891 C chime
St.Mary's Episcopal Church
FREDERICK - E : USA - MD 1893 C chime
Trinity Chimes
Trinity Chapel
Evangelical Reformed Church (UCC)
OCEAN CITY - T : USA - NJ 1893*C chime
Ocean City Tabernacle
* made for a different site
BLOOMINGTON : USA - IL 1895 C chime
St.Patrick's Catholic Church
CHICAGO - STJCH : USA - IL 1895 C chime
St.James Catholic Church
KANSAS CITY - IC : USA - MO 1895 C chime
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
(Roman Catholic)
PORTLAND - STL : USA - ME 1896 C [chime]
St.Lawrence Congregational Church
(formerly Union Congregational?)
DES MOINES : USA - IA 1898 F trad*
Cathedral Church of St.Paul (Episcopal)
CHAMBERSBURG : USA - PA 1899 C chime
First United Methodist Church
(was First Ev.United Brethren Church)
DETROIT - STAN : USA - MI 1901 C chime
Ste.Anne de Detroit (Catholic Church)
FARIBAULT - OMS : USA - MN 1902 C chime
Bishop Whipple Memorial Chime
Bishop Whipple Memorial Tower
Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour (Episcopal)
LOUISVILLE - WS : USA - KY 1902 C chime
Parr Memorial Chimes
(in memory of Maria Marmaduke Parr)
Walnut Street Baptist Church (SBC)
ROCHESTER - STMI : USA - NY 1903 C chime
St.Michael's Catholic Church
BLOOMINGTON - 3 : USA - IN 1905 C (chime)
Student Building
Indiana University
JANESVILLE : USA - WI 1907 C chime
First Congregational Church, UCC
LOS ANGELES - STA : USA - CA 1907 C chime
St.Agnes Catholic Church
BALTIMORE - CC : USA - MD 1908 C chime
New Refuge Deliverance Cathedral
(formerly Christ Episcopal Church)
FALL RIVER - CH : USA - MA 1908 C [chime]
City Hall
BRIDGETON : USA - NJ 1909 C chime
Central United Methodist Church
CAMBRIDGE : CANADA - ON 1909 C chime
Central Presbyterian Church
GRAND RAPIDS - STA : USA - MI 1909 C chime
Cathedral of St.Andrew (RC)
PHILADELPHIA - STJL/1 : USA - PA 1909 C chime
Wanamaker Mausoleum
Church of the St.James-the-Less (Episcopal)
DECATUR : USA - IL 1910 C chime
The Conklin Memorial Chimes
First United Methodist Church
MCDONOGH : USA - MD 1910 C (chime)
Tagart Memorial Chapel
McDonogh School
MIDDLETOWN -- : USA - NY 1910 F chime
St.Joseph's Catholic Church
SAINT MARY-OF-THE-WOODS : USA - IN 1910 C chime
Church of the Immaculate Conception
St.Mary-of-the-Woods College
CHATTANOOGA : USA - TN 1911 C chime
St.Paul's Episcopal Church
FORT WORTH - TS : USA - TX 1911 C chime
Harrison Chimes
First Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)
(including Taylor Street Presb. Church)
SYDNEY : CANADA - NS 1911 C chime
St.Andrew's United Church
DENVER - ICC : USA - CO 1912 C chime
Immaculate Conception Cathedral (RC)
NIAGARA FALLS - CC : CANADA - ON 1912 C chime
Christ Church (Anglican)
NIAGARA FALLS - Z : USA - NY 1912 C chime
Zion Lutheran Church (ELCA)
PHILADELPHIA - CS : USA - PA 1912 C chime
Cathedral Church of the Saviour
WILMINGTON - W : USA - DE 1912 F chime
Westminster Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)
DUBUQUE : USA - IA 1913 C chime
St.Luke's United Methodist Church
FORT WASHINGTON : USA - PA 1913 C (chime)
St.Thomas' Episcopal Church
HAMILTON - STG : CANADA - ON 1913 C chime
St.Giles United Church
(was St.Giles' Presbyterian Church)
ROSEMONT : USA - PA 1913 F chime
Memorial Church of the Good Shepherd (Episcopal)
VAN WERT : USA - OH 1913 C chime
St.Mark's Lutheran Church (ELCA)
HELENA : USA - MT 1914 C chime
St.Helena's RC Cathedral
MOUNDSVILLE : USA - WV 1914 C chime
Simpson United Methodist Church
(was First M.E. Church)
COLUMBUS - OSU : USA - OH 1915 F chime
Orton Hall
Ohio State University
DE LAND : USA - FL 1915 C chime
The Eloise Chimes
Hulley Tower
John B Stetson University
FORT DODGE : USA - IA 1915 C chime
First United Methodist Church
GLENDALE - CC : USA - OH 1915 C chime
Christ Church - Glendale (Episcopal)
MALDEN : USA - MA 1915 C chime
First Baptist Church of Malden (ABC)
SAN RAFAEL : USA - CA 1915 C chime
First Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)
TALLAHASSEE : USA - FL 1915 F chime
Lewis Chime
St.John's Episcopal Church
HASTINGS : USA - NE 1916 C chime
First United Methodist Church
SAINT JOHNS : USA - MI 1916 C chime
First Methodist Church
SIOUX CITY - F : USA - IA 1916 C chime
First United Methodist Church
WALTHAM : USA - MA 1916 C chime
Beth Eden Baptist Church (ABC)
WEST NEWTON : USA - MA 1916 C chime
First Unitarian Church
WINCHESTER : USA - VA 1917 C chime
Grace Evang. Lutheran Church (ELCA)
BALA-CYNWYD - STM : USA - PA 1918 C chime
St.Matthias Catholic Church
ALLIANCE : USA - OH 1919 C chime
Christ United Methodist Church
(formerly First Methodist Church)
KANSAS CITY - IB : USA - MO 1919 C chime
Independence Boulevard Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ)
KEY WEST : USA - FL 1919 R chime
St.Paul's Episcopal Church
UPPER MONTCLAIR - STJ : USA - NJ 1919 C chime
St.James Episcopal Church
HIGH POINT : USA - NC 1920 C chime
Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church
KANSAS CITY - V : USA - MO 1920 C chime
Visitation of the Blessed Virgin RC Church
LANCASTER - G : USA - PA 1920 F chime
Grace Lutheran Church (ELCA)
OIL CITY : USA - PA 1920 C chime
Christ Church (Episcopal)
PHILADELPHIA - CS : USA - PA 1920 R chime
Cathedral Church of the Saviour
PITTSBURGH - H : USA - PA 1920 C [chime]
Highland Presbyterian Church
URBANA - 1 : USA - IL 1920 C chime
The Senior Memorial Chime
Upper belfry
Altgeld Hall
University of Illinois
BIRMINGHAM - HM : USA - AL 1921 C chime
The McCoy Tower Bells
Highlands United Methodist Church
JOHNSTOWN : USA - PA 1921 C chime
First Lutheran Church (ELCA)
NEW ORLEANS - HN : USA - LA 1921 C chime
Holy Name of Jesus Church (RC)
SAINT LOUIS - HC : USA - MO 1921 C [chime]
Holy Communion Episcopal Church
SALISBURY : USA - MD 1921 C chime
Trinity United Methodist Church
SHREVEPORT - FB : USA - LA 1921 C chime
First Baptist Church (SBC)
NORTH MANCHESTER : USA - IN 1922 C chime
Manchester College
OKLAHOMA CITY - FUMC : USA - OK 1922 C chime
First United Methodist Church of Oklahoma City
BOSTON - AS : USA - MA 1923 C chime
All Saints Church (Episcopal)
LEHIGHTON : USA - PA 1923 C chime
Zion United Church of Christ (UCC)
(was Zion Reformed Church)
READING - W : USA - PA 1923 C chime
Wesley United Methodist Church
(was Windsor Street Methodist Church)
RED BANK : USA - NJ 1923 C chime
St.James' Catholic Church
SAN ANSELMO - SFTS : USA - CA 1923 C chime
San Francisco Theological Seminary
WATERLOO : USA - IA 1923 F chime
First Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)
MEDFORD - STJ : USA - MA 1924 C chime
St.Joseph's RC Church
NEWNAN : USA - GA 1924 C chime
Newnan Presbyterian Church
OXFORD - 1 : USA - OH 1924 F chime
Molyneaux-Western Bell Tower
Miami University
BALTIMORE - ML : USA - MD 1925 C [chime]
Martin Luther Ev.Luth. Church (ELCA)
CATASAUQUA - F : USA - PA 1925 C chime
Catasauqua Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)
(was First Presbyterian Church)
MONONGAHELA : USA - PA 1925 C chime
First United Methodist Church
MUNCIE - FP : USA - IN 1925 C [chime]
First United Presbyterian Church
FALKIRK : SCOTLAND-ST 1926 C chime
"Auld Kirk" Presbyterian Church
LONGVIEW : USA - WA 1926 C chime
Longview Community Church
PHILADELPHIA - W : USA - PA 1926 C chime
Wynnefield Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)
WARREN - FM : USA - PA 1926 C chime
First United Methodist Church
CHEYENNE : USA - WY 1927 C chime
St.Mark's Episcopal Church
EMMAUS : USA - PA 1927 C chime
St.John's United Church of Christ (UCC)
(was St.John's Reformed Church)
PLATTSBURGH - STJ : USA - NY 1927 C chime
St.John the Baptist RC Church
WEST NEW YORK : USA - NJ 1927 C chime
St.Joseph of the Palisades RC Church
COLUMBIA : USA - PA 1928 C chime
St.John's Evang. Lutheran Church (ELCA)
BEAVER FALLS : USA - PA 1929 C chime
McCartney Library
Geneva College
CARLISLE : USA - PA 1930 C chime
First United Church of Christ (UCC)
DELAWARE - OW : USA - OH 1930 C chime
Stuyvesant Hall
Ohio Wesleyan University
WILKINSBURG - STJ : USA - PA 1930 C chime
St.James Catholic Church
ATLANTA - FP : USA - GA 1931 F non-trad*
Devereaux McClatchey Carillon
First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta
BALTIMORE - OS : USA - MD 1934 C chime
Our Saviour Lutheran Church (LCMS)
EAU CLAIRE - G : USA - WI 1936 C chime
Grace Lutheran Church (ELCA)
BALTIMORE - CL : USA - MD 1958 C chime
Christ Lutheran Church (ELCA)
McShane Bell Foundry
400 Arundel Corporation Road
Building C
Glen Burnie, MD 21060-6364
Tel: 800-828-8397
410-636-4390
Fax: 410-636-8239
Email: mcshanebell@mcshanebell.com
Web: www.mcshanebell.com
Glen Burnie is a suburb of the city of Baltimore, where the McShane bell foundry was begun.
The company still owns the old foundry premises in the city, but uses them only rarely.
The McShane Bell Foundry was started by Henry McShane (1833-89). He arrived in this country in 1847 as an immigrant from Dundalk, Ireland; his occupation prior to arrival was recorded as "currier". After being employed in the Baltimore brass foundry of Clampitt & Regester (later Regester & Webb) for several years, he set up his own bell and brass foundry in 1856. .
Also arriving from Ireland just before or after Henry were five siblings, at least one of whom joined him in the foundry business for some years.
Names the firm has held:
McShane's Bell Foundry (1856-7)
McShane & Bailey (1857-63)
Henry McShane & Co. (1863-1891)
Henry McShane Manufacturing Co. of Baltimore City, Inc. (1891-?)
McShane Bell Foundry Co. (?-1904-1920-?)
At one time, the McShane foundries also produced piping, plumbing fixtures, etc. After part of the foundry burned in 1893, the non-bell work was moved to a newly-constructed facility in a previously undeveloped area on the shores of the nearby Patapsco River. When the railroad followed the foundry to the area in 1895, it needed a name for the railroad stop. William James McShane, vice-president of the foundry, gave it the name Dundalk, after his father's birthplace. Thus began the modern town of Dundalk. However, the McShanes did not stay there long, because in 1900, the pipe foundry was sold to the Central Foundry. That sale was part of a wholesale breakup of the McShane Manufacturing Company, caused by the financial recession of the late 1890s.
Although the bell foundry retained the McShane name, there were no members of the McShane family associated with it after the breakup. Ownership thereafter is obscure, but in 1942 the foundry was purchased by William (Bill) Parker, and it is Parker's son and grandson who now run the business.
A bit of history related to the McShane foundry in Dundalk (payment required for access).
In 1888, The McShane Bell Foundry (Henry McShane & Co., Proprietors) published a 120-page catalog of their work, and in 1890 they supplemented it with an additional 30 pages of testimonials. The catalog advertised the "finest grade of bells for churches, academies, factories, fire alarm, court houses, tower clocks, etc." as well as "chimes and peals and bells of all sizes mounted in the most approved manner and fully warranted." They cited medals won at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, 1876, and the Paris (France) Exposition of 1879. Also advertised in the catalog are light house and fog-alarm bells, locomotive bells, plantation and farm bells, steamboat and ship bells, altar gongs and chime, and hand bells (wood-handled, for schoolteachers, etc.). Several pages are devoted to various attractive features of McShane bells, viz., materials used, methods of molding and casting bells, design of fittings, inscriptions, transportation, and so forth. There is the usual discussion on how far bells can be heard. There are recommendations for methods of hanging in towers, for design of belfries, for regular lubrication, and on how to ring. There are tables of sizes and weights of bells - from 6200 lbs down to 400 lbs for churches and similar uses, from 350 down to 100 lbs for factory and academy [school] bells, and from 100 lbs down to 25 lbs for plantation and farm bells. Numerous illustrations include McShane's rotary yoke, McShane's improved friction rollers (for "large Bells of 1,400 pounds and heavier"), tolling hammers, and various chimes in their frames. All bells of 100 pounds or more were shipped with a three year warranty "not to fracture by regular usage". There is a long illustrated article about The Centennial Chimes, McShane's first, produced in 1876; and there are reproductions of newspaper articles about several of the subsequent chimes produced by this foundry.
In 1928, McShane published a high-quality booklet about chimes. A brief introduction included illustrations of two types of bell frame, an electric keyboard, and a "hand console with electric attachment". The latter incorporated electric solenoids into a traditional chimestand, thus providing both types of action very efficiently. The introduction was followed by 73 pages, each describing one chime with the following details:
Although dates of installation are not explicitly stated, they can in most cases be deduced from the custom inscriptions or from the quoted letters. It then becomes evident that the chimes are listed in order from newest to oldest, and the remaining dates can be interpolated. Comparison of these dates with information from other sources shows that this booklet describes every chime which McShane had installed from late 1908 up to 1928. It's not clear why McShane did not list any of the 30 to 50 chimes which the foundry produced in the three decades prior to 1909. Perhaps they implemented a significant improvement in tone quality in 1908-9 (though the quality of their castings was always excellent). It might have been that their records of older chimes were less complete. Or it might simply have been that a span of 20 years produced a nicely sized booklet. Whatever the reason, it seems highly probable that the 29 McShane chimes for which year of installation is presently unknown were made either before 1909 or after 1928.
The relationship between pattern weight and note (or "tone") for the 73 chimes
produced between 1909 and 1928 was as follows:
| Weight (in pounds) |
Tone | Number of chimes |
Number of bells |
| 5,600 | B | 1 | 15 |
| 4,200 | C | 2 | 10 or 11 |
| 3,500 | D flat | 5 | 12 to 15 |
| 3,000 | D | 26 | 10 to 16 |
| 2,500 | E flat | 13 | 10 to 14 |
| 2,200 2,000 |
E | 21 2 |
11 10 or 11 |
| 1,650 | F | 3 | 10 |
| Number of bells | Number of added semitones |
| 10 | 1 or 2 |
| 11 | 1 or 2 |
| 13 | 2 or 3 |
| 15 | 4 or 5 |
Return to Indexes to bellfoundries.
This index page was built from the database on 26-Sep-01 and last updated on 11-Jun-09.
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