Melrose Bells will Ring Again In order to improve our interpretation of the day-to-day lives of the slaves that worked at Melrose, the staff at Natchez National Historical Park is in the process of restoring the servant call bell system at the main house. When completed in 1848, the mansion contained bell cranks that called the servants from the cellar and the rear service yard to the front door, dining room, the formal parlors and the master bedroom. In 1857, another series of bells and pulls were installed in the secondary bedrooms, the dressing room, and the library. A myriad of wires, pivots, and swivels winds its way through the house to the back gallery and the cellar. The fragile original bells, most of which are over 160 years old, will be removed and placed in the parks museum collection. Reproduction bells will be installed and the entire system will be reconditioned to work as originally designed. Last Friday, facilities staff member, James Davis (pictured here) removed the original bells and handed them off to museum tech, Jessica Coffman, for conservation. Historian Jeff Mansell is working with the company that will reproduce the bells; he and Davis will refurbish the system later in the summer.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Jun 2014 20:32:21 +0000