School Bells are Ringing
Source: Lake Minnetonka Historical Society
It’s September and school bells are once again ringing out across our community. Today’s kids might not pay any mind to the unmelodious tones of modern school bells but, to those who know a bit of local lore, there’s one bell that certainly has a history worth listening to. . .
The 285-foot steamboat Belle of Minnetonka was built in 1882 by railroad magnate James J. Hill as an attraction for his newly christened Hotel Lafayette. The Belle was easily the largest steamboat to ever sail Lake Minnetonka and regularly carried over 2,000 passengers in a single voyage. Minnetonka mariners knew that a boat’s “voice” came from its whistle and bell and the Belle was no exception. Originally cast for Belle’s predecessor, Phil Sheridan, which sailed on the Ohio River from 1866 to 1879, the large bronze bell found its use in hailing those seeking to travel the long river route. After breaking free from a repair cradle and sinking, Phil Sheridan’s machinery and iconic bell were purchased by Hill and installed into the Belle of Minnetonka, where it remained until she was dismantled in 1897. From there, it was sent to Minneapolis along with other scrap metal removed from the defunct steamer.
Source: Minnesota Digital Library
The following year, the Excelsior School Board discovered the old bell sitting in the scrap yard and began fundraising from the community to purchase it for use in the town’s new school belfry. It was successfully moved from Minneapolis back to Excelsior and hauled up into the belfry where it called to the town children for another 63 years. As the building aged, concern grew that the belfry could no longer support the bell’s considerable weight so, in 1962, it was removed and placed in storage. Not long after, it was moved down the street and mounted on a granite slab outside the new Excelsior Library, where it remained until the building’s demolition in 2022.
Today, the 160 year old bell sits in the care of the town’s public works department, who intend to someday reinstall it in the Excelsior Commons or Port of Excelsior.
Source: Facebook Group “If You Grew Up on Lake Minnetonka You Remember”
This is a heavily modified version of an article we published to Tonka Living & Skipper Living Magazine, September, 2026.
Bibliography of Sources:
A Directory of Old Boats, McGinnis, 2010, p. 15-18A Record of Old Boats, Edgar, 1933, p. 32-33Happenings Around Excelsior, Meyer, 1982, p.52-53Photograph sources are captioned below each image.
