CAMPANILE

The idea of a bell tower was first expressed in a letter from Professor E.W. Stanton to the Board of Trustees:

I have been informed by your committee of the action of the Board in giving to the new women’s building the name of Margaret Hall… Since the suggestion that the friends of the College desired it named in memory of Mrs. Stanton was mentioned to me there has grown up in my mind the desire to present to the building, if it were given her name, a chime of bells. I wish that I were able without injury to other interest to do this and bear myself all the expense connected therewith. There is, however, the question of a tower in which to place the bells and the purchase of a clock which generally goes with them. I desire that my offering shall be confined to the chimes themselves in order that they may be of a superior quality…

The Board accepted the gift with deep appreciation and on the conditions proposed.¹

Plans for the tower were prepared by George E. Hallett, architect, without charge. The construction contract was awarded in July 1897. The tower was completed in October 1898 at a total cost of $6510.20.² The contract for the clock was awarded to Seth Thomas Clock Co. in March 1899.

The chimes reached the campus near the end of October 1899. They were cast at the foundry of John Taylor & Co., Loughborough, England. There were ten bells in this set of chimes. Before shipment the bells had been tested by Arthur Page, Fellow of the Royal College of Organists, who, after testing, wrote “The bells are, in my opinion, of quite unusual excellence: the tone is resonant, full and mellow. Even when quite close to them there is no element of harshness; while from a little distance they are very pure and sympathetic.”³

Mr. Page also reported the physical characteristics of the bells:

The amount for “cwt” in England is 112 pounds rather than 100 pounds as in U.S. usage, so bell No. 1 weighs 463 lbs. and No. 10 3584 lbs.

Each bell carries an inscription. The quotations used are included here for easy reference, for few people have the opportunity to inspect the bells themselves:

This last inscription is from Longfellow but his name does not appear on the bell. All spellings shown are as they appear on the bells.

The largest bell also notes that the carillon is dedicated to Margaret McDonald Stanton.

The first record of the playing of the chimes appears in the February 20, 1900, copy of the ISC Student:

The Chimes

Clear, complete, musical, came the message of the bells as each student, new and old, heard the greeting of the chimes. A new tie is formed and the campus that we all love is still more charming –still more dear to our affections.

On Friday night when we listened to the playing of the chimes, it seemed fitting that their tuneful praise should first greet our beloved Secretary Wilson.

The hour is heralded by the Westminster chime and the houring is a pleasant relief from the discordant jangle of the old bell. The quarter hour is sounded by a corresponding number of notes.

Each evening the chimes are to be played for a time before chapel service. The musician is Mr. Eldon Usry, of Des Moines – one of our students.

The clock too, with its gilded hands set off in contrast to its dark face is a great convenience to the student hastening to classes.

Who can measure the value of the chimes? Long after distance has sought to shut out the sound they will be heard chiming in hundreds of hearts – an unconscious appeal to all that is true and beautiful and noble in those whose high privilege it has been to listen to their melody.

At the Board meeting of July 6, 1928

President Hughes reported that Mrs. E.W. Stanton, Dean of Women, has made a formal tender of $24,000.00, or such part thereof as is needed, to purchase and install complete twenty-six additional bells in the campanile, converting the chimes of ten bells to a carillon of thirty-six bells, this to be known as the Edgar W. and Margaret MacDonald Stanton Memorial Carillon of Bells; that the installation of these additional bells will necessitate some alterations in the bell tower and a resetting of the clock, this expense of not to exceed $2,000.00 to be borne by the College; that this gift will give Iowa State College one of the most beautiful sets of bells in the country; and that it will be a worthy memorial to one of the greatest teachers in the College, Dean Edgar W. Stanton.

During the course of the next year the bells were cast and tuned by the same firm which made the original ten bells, and the necessary modifications were made in the Campanile to mount the new units. The Iowa State Student carried this story in the edition of September 23, 1929:

Dedication of the new Stanton Carillon at the Iowa State College will be held on Sunday afternoon, Oct. 6, at 4 o’clock, with a concert played by Anton Brees, internationally known carillonneur.

This will be the first time the new bells will be heard and all Iowa is invited to listen to the program, which will be broadcast by the college radio station, WOI. This feature of the program has been arranged so that the program may be heard at other places about the campus and state, as well as in the vicinity of the Campanile…

The new bells extended both ends of the range, the largest with a diameter of sixty-four inches, weighing 5737 pounds, and the smallest one with a weight of only 27 pounds.

The clock dials were illuminated at night following their relocation in conjunction with the alterations to the bell space, and this prompted some adverse editorial comment in the student paper on October 8 where it was stated that “the lights, which in the idea itself are not in keeping with the spirit of one of our finest traditions, are the blatant flares characteristically associated with billboards and the selling of someone’s better pancake flour.”

On November 23, 1929, the editor could write: “Last night the campanile stood out again in the beauty it has held for 30 years. The lights are gone, permanently according to Herman Knapp, business manager.”

In the spring of 1931 the question of lighting the tower came up again, and on May 14 the Iowa State Student reported that “The present plan… is to flood the upper fourth of the Campanile with cardinal and gold, the school colors…” That plan died and nothing was done.

The senior class of 1934 voted to make their class gift the lighting of two dials of the clock. That would be internal light with translucent dials, thus making the clock legible at night.

The Stanton Memorial Carillon Foundation had an additional thirteen treble bells installed in the spring of 1956 and at the same time a new clavier, or keyboard, was put in. The new bells were cast and tuned by the maker of the previously made bells. One more bell was added in 1967 to make a total of fifty bells in the carillon.

The Campanile is 110 feet high and the main shaft is 16 feet square.