Bell Tower History

A Symbol of the University

The bell tower is a prevalent symbol throughout Furman University. It's the namesake of the Bell Tower Scholarship, the Bell Tower Ball, the Bell Tower Tournament mock trial event, and the Bell Tower Boys a capella club.

The base of Paris Mountain behind the bell tower

Furman's academic logo features a depiction of the top of the bell tower

Furman's campus used to be located downtown Greenville overlooking the Reedy river. The original bell tower was built in 1854 made of clay bricks from the Reedy's banks. The bells would announce fires, deaths, Confederate victories in the Civil War, and football victories at Sirrine Stadium.

The original bell tower, attached to Richard Furman Hall, on the old campus was destroyed by a fire in the winter of 1964.

Engineer Carl Clawson, along with funds from the Alester G. Furman family, made an exact replica of the tower on Furman's new Poinsett Highway campus that was dedicated in May 1965. Clawson did such a thorough job with the recreation that some Greenville locals believe the tower was moved from downtown to its current location!

A painting of the original bell tower at the downtown campus

The eighty-eight foot tall tower holds a carillon with 48 bells. The low D bell sounds on the hour and can be heard across campus on a quiet day. Rumor has it that if a couple kisses under the bell tower, they are destined to get married.

Caretakers

CJ Waldrop '23

CJ, a Trumpet Performance major from Greenville, met Gianni in the Fall of 2019 with the goal of getting involved with the bell tower's operations. He noticed that the tower mainly played a certain few songs, and he wanted to use his musical background to add new music to the tower. He is a current caretaker on campus, and is working on the Bell Tower Diversity Project now.

You can email CJ at cj.waldrop@furman.edu

John Shennan '24

John, a Choral Music Education major from Greenville, met CJ in the Fall of 2021 and became interested in the operations of the bell tower. He is a current caretaker on campus, and is working on a social media presence for the bell tower operations. He is also working on continuing the Bell Tower Diversity Project by making new MIDI arrangements and updating the request process.

You can email John at john.shennan@furman.edu

Gianni Iona '20

Gianni, a Business Administration and Social Entrepreneurship major, was instrumental in the restoration of the carillon to its current functionality. In the early 2000s, the mechanical ringing system was removed, leaving an aging electronic system that was losing reliability by the late 2010s. Gianni made the right connections with faculty and technicians to build a system that allows the carillon's computer to be maintained and controlled over the internet.