McShane Bell Foundry

McShane Bell Foundry is an American bell manufacturer founded in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1856 by Henry McShane, an immigrant from Dundalk, Ireland. The company developed during a period when churches, civic institutions, schools, and public buildings commonly commissioned large cast bells and coordinated chime installations. From its Baltimore operations, McShane supplied bells to customers across the United States and internationally, eventually becoming one of the country’s best-known surviving Western-style bell makers. The business originally operated at Holliday and Centre Streets in Baltimore and later expanded into a substantial factory complex on Guilford Avenue, then known as North Street. By the end of the nineteenth century, it had made tens of thousands of bells, including numerous chimes. Its products were installed in religious buildings, municipal structures, schools, and other public institutions. One particularly prominent example is a 7,000-pound bell installed in the dome of Baltimore City Hall. In 1935, the Henry McShane Manufacturing Company sold the foundry to William Parker. Parker’s family continued operating the business for three generations, preserving McShane’s role as a specialist manufacturer rather than converting it into a broader industrial conglomerate. The company moved from Baltimore to Glen Burnie, Maryland, in 1979. During the following decades, it was described as the only surviving large Western-style bell maker among the many comparable foundries that had once operated in the United States. Across more than a century and a half, the company is reported to have produced more than 300,000 bells. Its work encompasses church bells, large institutional bells, bell chimes, and musical bells, with projects ranging from individual replacement bells to larger installations designed for public or religious use. The company’s long production history and surviving installations are central to its reputation, as is its association with traditional bell-founding techniques. In 2019, ownership changed and the company relocated its headquarters and operations from Glen Burnie to St. Louis, Missouri. The move was presented as a consolidation of manufacturing and shipping activities. Following the relocation, the business became known as the McShane Bell Company, although the McShane Bell Foundry name remains closely associated with its historical identity. The company also received popular-media exposure through an appearance on the Discovery Channel program Dirty Jobs. Its present activities are centered on the manufacture and supply of church and institutional bells and related bell installations, although detailed current ownership, leadership, and financial information is not publicly established in the supplied sources.

Henry McShane established the McShane Bell Foundry in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1856. McShane was an immigrant from Dundalk, Ireland, and built the company during a period of expanding church construction and civic development in the United States. The original foundry stood at Holliday and Centre Streets. As demand grew, the enterprise expanded to a larger factory complex on Guilford Avenue, a street then known as North Street. By the late nineteenth century, McShane had become a substantial bell producer. The company had made tens of thousands of bells and had supplied dozens of chimes to churches and public buildings in the United States and abroad. Its production contributed to the soundscape of religious and civic life, with installations commissioned for cathedrals, churches, schools, municipal buildings, and other public institutions. The company’s work included individual bells as well as larger coordinated chime systems. In 1935, the Henry McShane Manufacturing Company sold the foundry to William Parker. The Parker family retained control and operated the business for three generations. This continuity helped preserve the McShane name as a specialist Western-style bell maker while many other American bell foundries disappeared or reduced their activities. A notable surviving installation associated with the company is the approximately 7,000-pound bell in the dome of Baltimore City Hall. The foundry moved from Baltimore to Glen Burnie, Maryland, in 1979. It subsequently became recognized as the only surviving large Western-style bell maker among the numerous foundries that had previously operated in the United States. Over a period exceeding 150 years, the company is reported to have produced more than 300,000 bells for customers in American communities and elsewhere around the world. The company’s public profile extended beyond specialist and historical circles. Its operations were featured on an episode of the Discovery Channel series Dirty Jobs, introducing the labor and industrial processes of bell production to a wider audience. The foundry’s output remained associated with traditional craftsmanship, custom institutional commissions, and the manufacture of bells intended for long-term architectural and ceremonial use. In 2019, the company changed ownership and moved from Glen Burnie to St. Louis, Missouri. The relocation centralized manufacturing and shipping. After the move, the business became known as the McShane Bell Company. Publicly supplied information does not establish the current owner, named executives, corporate structure, or financial performance. The company’s documented historical identity nevertheless remains rooted in the McShane Bell Foundry name and its long-running production of church, civic, school, and musical bells.

• 2019

  Relocation to St. Louis

  [1]McShane Bell Foundryen.wikipedia.org

  After an ownership change, the company moved its headquarters and operations from Glen Burnie to St. Louis, Missouri, to centralize manufacturing and shipping.

• 1979

  Move to Glen Burnie

  [1]McShane Bell Foundryen.wikipedia.org

  The foundry relocated from Baltimore to Glen Burnie, Maryland.

• 1935

  Sale to William Parker

  [1]McShane Bell Foundryen.wikipedia.org

  The Henry McShane Manufacturing Company sold the foundry to William Parker, whose family continued operating it for three generations.

• 1856

  Founding in Baltimore

  [1]McShane Bell Foundryen.wikipedia.org

  Henry McShane founded the McShane Bell Foundry at Holliday and Centre Streets in Baltimore, Maryland.

Traditional specialist bell manufacturer combining long-established American foundry expertise with custom production for religious, civic, educational, and other institutional customers.

• Religious and architectural bells

  Church bells

  Church bells are the company’s defining product category. McShane has supplied individual bells and bell systems for churches and cathedrals in the United States and other markets. These commissions can serve religious, ceremonial, architectural, and timekeeping purposes, and are generally produced for permanent installation in towers, domes, or other structures.

• Civic and institutional equipment

  Institutional and municipal bells

  McShane has produced large bells for civic buildings, schools, and other public institutions. Such work includes prominent architectural installations, including the approximately 7,000-pound bell associated with Baltimore City Hall. These bells are typically custom projects shaped by the building, intended use, and required scale.

• Musical and multi-bell systems

  Bell chimes

  The foundry has made dozens of chimes and other multi-bell installations. Chimes use multiple tuned bells to create coordinated musical sequences and have historically been commissioned by churches, universities, civic buildings, and other institutions. McShane’s chime work forms an important part of its late-nineteenth- and twentieth-century production record.

• Musical instruments and installations

  Musical bells

  Musical bells are another documented part of McShane’s offering. They may be supplied individually or as components of larger chime systems. The company’s historical positioning emphasizes cast-bell manufacture for durable public, religious, and musical use rather than mass-market consumer instruments.

• 2019

  Consolidation and relocation to St. LouisStrategy

  Background

  The company had operated in Glen Burnie, Maryland, since 1979. In 2019, an ownership change created the context for a move and operational reorganization.

  Action taken

  The business moved its headquarters and manufacturing and shipping operations to St. Louis, Missouri, and subsequently used the McShane Bell Company name.

  Aftermath

  The relocation centralized production and shipping. The supplied sources do not provide financial results, employment figures, or detailed information about the new ownership structure.

  Source

1. 1McShane Bell Foundryen.wikipedia.org