Bring a Bell to MassMu’s Lawn to Commemorate the End of the Civil War

Tuesday  |  April 7, 2015  |  14:02 PM

News Release:  Bring a Bell to MassMu’s Lawn to Commemorate the End of the Civil War  

The Massillon Museum invites the public to join staff and volunteers in a four-minute bell-ringing on Thursday, April 9, 3:15 to 3:19 p.m., to commemorate the historic meeting between Grant and Lee at Appomattox Court House 150 years ago. Each minute will represent a year of the American Civil War. While Lee's surrender did not completely end the Civil War, the act is seen by most Americans as the symbolic end of four years of bloodshed, according to the National Park Service.

Bring your own bell to the Museum lawn. Gather around the Civil War cannon—Massillon’s tribute to the men and women who fought to save the Union. Those who attend will join with citizens across the nation as part of the National Park Service initiative—Bells across the Land: A Nation Remembers Appomattox. Bells will ring first at Appomattox at 3:00 p.m., coinciding with the moment the historic meeting between Grant and Lee ended. 

No bell?  Download a free “Pocket Bells 3D” app with a choice of tones for your phone: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pocket-bell-3d/id595180849?mt=8  

Plan to take "bellfies" (selfies with your bell) at the event to share on social media, and plan to share images and thoughts about Massillon’s observance at #BellsAcrosstheLand2015. The National Park Service will compile messages to record how each one helps build our national story.

The Museum staff encourages all area churches to ring their bells for those four minutes. Schools, parks, and communities from all over the country will be participating in this event. 

Guests are invited to visit the Museum’s second-floor Civil War display, Massillon and the War of the Rebellion: Women and the War. Admission to the Massillon Museum is always free.

On April 9, Anderson’s in the City, the coffee shop in the Museum lobby, will offer bell cutout cookies for sale along with its usual array of freshly baked sweets and specialty beverages.

The Massillon Museum is located at 121 Lincoln Way East in the center of downtown Massillon. Free parking is available on adjacent streets and in nearby city lots.

For more information, visit http://www.nps.gov/cebe/learn/news/join-the-national-park-service-in-ringing-bells-across-the-land-a-nation-remembers-appomattox.htm

Call the Massillon Museum at 330-833-4061 or visit massillonmuseum.org. 

Let bells ring across the land!

Media Contacts:

Scot Phillips, Massillon Museum Operations Officer  -  330.833.4061

Chris Craft, Civil War Historian & MassMu Special Projects Coordinator  -  330.833.4061

Margy Vogt, MassMu Public Relations Coordinator  -  330.844.1525