Restoration of Berea Schoolhouse Bell Tower Completed

The Bell Tower, or Belfry, of the Berea Little Red Schoolhouse is the premier architectural feature of the building. It had a fresh coat of paint about 1980 and nothing has been done since. After nearly 4 decades of exposure to Berea weather most of the exterior paint was gone, the railings had fallen apart and wood moulding rotted. By the winter of 2018 we had installed new railings, replaced the moulding on the wood pillars, and stripped and repainted the interior of the tower. The hardest part was yet to be done. A sky hook was needed to restore the exterior of the cap roof and base of the tower. 

​Fundraising and donations have recently allowed us to budget for completing the bell tower. In this final phase bad wood, flashing and caulk were replaced, slate tiles secured or replaced and all exterior wood painted. As the jewel in the building’s crown our vintage schoolhouse bell was secured to the floor of the tower to ring again after nearly a century of silence.

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