NCSU to return historic bell to city

RALEIGH -- The oldest surviving artifact from the Raleigh Fire Department, dating to 1870, will be returned to the city this week.

A historic bell that has been in N.C. State University's possession will be returned to the city Wednesday during a ceremony at 10 a.m. at the Central Fire Station, 220 S. Dawson St.

NCSU Chancellor James Oblinger will present the bell to Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker and sign a document to transfer ownership from the university to the city, according to a news release from the university.

The bell was cast in 1870 and originally placed in the Metropolitan Hall city market building on Fayetteville Street, the release said.

In 1914, the bell was moved from Metropolitan Hall to the West Morgan Street fire station tower, where it remained until its removal in 1938, the release said. N.C. State acquired the bell in the late 1940s and placed it atop Withers Hall in 1948.

Last year, Matt Robbins, a graduate student in architecture researching the history of the bell, discovered that the bell atop Withers was the same bell that was housed at Metropolitan Hall and the West Morgan Street fire station, the release said.

Last month, specially trained members of the Raleigh Fire Department's urban search and rescue team removed the bell from atop Withers Hall in preparation for its return to the city, the release said.