Ames Academy Bell

This metal school bell hangs from a brick arch mounted atop a stone slab. The bell itself has "Cast by A. Fulton Pittsburgh" inscribed on one side. The local legend regarding the bell's origin is that it was being transported on a horse-drawn wagon from an Ohio River steamboat, and while going through Amesville, the wagon broke. The tale then goes on to say that the owner never returned to get it, so it somehow ended up at the newly-built Ames Academy.

The bell was installed at Ames Academy (sometimes referred to as Amesville Academy), which opened in 1852. It hung there until 1901 when it was transferred to the public school in the village. When a new elementary school was constructed in 1955, the decision was made to transfer ownership of the bell to the city. It's unclear where it was located between 1955 and 1975, when it was mounted in its current location in Gifford Park.