Highland’s oldest structure, a bell tower, partially restored and donated back to the city

A bell tower going back to the founding of Highland will soon be in a new place with new caretakers.

The bell tower was not new when it was installed on the first Highland City Hall in 1884, moved there by a Jas. H. Miller.

“I could go back further, but I can’t read German,” said Jacob Rose, president of the Highland Historical Society. “We think it was on the square originally, but we don’t have a source on that yet.”

The tower itself was composed of wood, its frame constructed from four reclaimed wood posts that may have originally come from someone’s porch, Rose said. For 100 years, the bell tower was part of City Hall’s structure.

Then in November 1984, the old City Hall was demolished and the current one was built.

“A lot of people were upset about (the demolition) and there was an effort to try and save it,” Rose said.

In the end, the cost was too high. But the bell tower was relocated to Kaeser Park, where it has stood ever since. At first it was at the front of the park, and at some point it was moved further back.

But throughout the years, maintaining the bell tower has been a challenge.

“It suffered a lot of vandalism, including a pellet gun on one side,” Rose said. “It’s not entirely restored, but all the damaged siding has been replaced.”

Still, in its current location in the back of the woods it is still subject to vandalism, and Rose said it’s “not appreciated.”

So now the bell tower is being donated to the City of Highland, and will be moved next to the current City Hall, which itself is undergoing extensive renovations.

The bell tower is one of the oldest structures in town, Rose said, with the original structure dating back to the 1884 construction and the rest from the 1920s and 30s. The bell itself weighs 900 pounds and is solid cast iron, estimated at approximately 150 years old.

“It was donated by a ladies’ group for the ‘new’ City Hall, but some articles contradict that, saying the bell was moved from a previous location, which has not been substantiated,” Rose said.

The Louis Latzer Library is hoping to find someone to do a German translation from some of the documents to better establish the bell tower’s history, Rose said. In the meantime, Jonathon Pierce of Boy Scout Troop 8040 will be constructing garden planter boxes at the base of the tower in its new location for his Eagle Scout project, Rose said.

The donation of the bell tower was approved by the City Council on May 1, along with assuming responsibility for its care and protection.