The sounds of liberty rang out in Bell Rock Park on May 27, echoing a tradition rooted deep in Malden’s history. One of the country’s oldest continuously used public spaces, Bell Rock Park was once home to a bell that marked both the ordinary and extraordinary moments of community life. It called residents to worship, town meetings and market days, tolled in times of loss, and in 1776 summoned Malden’s minutemen as they joined the fight for American independence.
The “new” bell is a restored 150-year-old church bell, purchased from the Verdin Bell Company of Ohio. Weighing 2000 lbs and engraved with final words of the “Malden Instructions” on one side and a drawing of a Minuteman on the other, the bell was unveiled at the annual Malden Declaration Day ceremony. The event commemorates Malden’s early assertion of independence from Great Britain in advance of the thirteen colonies’ declaration on July 4, 1776.
“We long entertained hope that the spirit of the British nation would once more induce them to assert their own and our rights and bring to condign punishment the elevated villains who have trampled upon the sacred rights of men and affronted the majesty of the people. We hoped in vain; they have lost their spirit of just resentment; we therefore renounce with disdain our connection with a kingdom of slaves; we bid a final adieu to Britain.”
— Excerpt from “Instructions for a Declaration of Independence from the Town of Malden, Adopted May 27, 1776…