CLARKESVILLE — A bell that once rang from Habersham County’s third courthouse is preparing to return to public view nearly a century after it was first installed.
County officials, preservation specialists and local craftsmen are working together on a new monument outside the current Habersham County Courthouse that will incorporate both the historic courthouse bell and salvaged bricks from the county’s recently demolished fourth courthouse.
The project ties together pieces of three generations of Habersham courthouses — and comes during the 100th anniversary year of the bell’s original installation.
A Bell That Spanned Generations
According to information provided by Habersham County, the bell was originally installed at the county’s third courthouse in 1926. It was manufactured by the E.W. Vanduzen Company of Cincinnati and cast at the Buckeye Bell Foundry, one of America’s most prolific bell makers of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1837, the foundry produced thousands of bells for churches, schools and public buildings before closing in the 1950s.
The Habersham bell measures 38 inches in diameter, stands roughly 30 inches tall and weighs approximately 900 pounds.
County officials said the bell originally rang in unison with the courthouse clock.
Prior to the demolition of the third courthouse in the 1960s, the bell was removed and preserved. It was later installed inside the clock tower shaft of the fourth courthouse in 1983 before eventually being removed again in 2020.
“The bell had been each time, like each time the courthouse had been revamped or whatever, that bell stayed,” said Ammons Grave Restoration owner Leigh Ammons. “This is a bell that has continued with all the different courthouses.”
Preserving Pieces Of The ‘Ugly Courthouse’
The county’s fourth courthouse — often jokingly referred to by locals as “the ugliest courthouse in Georgia” — was demolished in 2025 after the current courthouse opened in 2012.
Before demolition, however, county officials salvaged hundreds of bricks from the structure.
“They wanted to incorporate the original brick out of the courthouse,” said Fry Masonry owner Alton Fry.
Fry said approximately 400 bricks were saved, though many required extensive cleanup before they could be reused.
“They still had the original mortar on them,” Fry said. “One of my guys… spent two days cutting all the old mortar off of the brick to be able to relay them.”
The restoration effort proved challenging.
“There were pot marks in the brick where they had busted them up, and they were not in good shape,” Fry said. “We had to pick through and get the good ones out we could use.”
Using the salvaged materials, Fry Masonry constructed an 8-foot-by-8-foot brick foundation that will support the bell monument.
Inside the structure, workers poured a heavily reinforced concrete base designed to support the finished installation.
“I think it was like 3,000 or 4,000 pounds, the finished weight on that stuff,” Fry said.
A New Home Outside The Courthouse
The monument itself is being coordinated by what county officials described as the “Courthouse Bell Committee,” which includes Facilities Director Mike Bramlett, Deputy Clerk Patti McLarty and Ammons.
Ammons said the project aims to respectfully preserve courthouse history while creating a public gathering space outside the current courthouse.
“We came up with a drawing that is going to allow for… the bricks to be incorporated,” Ammons said.
The bell itself is currently being prepared for restoration and mounting. Legacy Metal & Steel is fabricating steel supports that will hold the bell atop the monument, while Ammons Grave Restoration will clean and restore the bell itself.
County officials said the bell will remain fixed in place to protect it from damage and preserve its structural integrity.
Plans also call for informational signs and a walking area around the monument.
“We’re wanting to do a presentation on July 4th,” Ammons said, noting the unveiling is expected to coincide with celebrations marking America’s 250th anniversary.
More Than Just A Bell
For county leaders and preservationists, the project represents more than restoring a historic object.
County officials said the bell symbolizes “Habersham County’s courthouse(s) history” and serves as a physical connection between generations of local government and community life.
The county also emphasized that despite years of rumors, the bell was never actually lost.
“The county was always aware of its location,” officials said in written responses provided to Habersham News.
Now, after years in storage, the century-old bell is preparing to return once again — this time as the centerpiece of a monument built from the remains of a courthouse that many residents thought would disappear forever.
