Schuyler County Bell Survives in Truman’s Bell Wall
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By Stephen Randall Roberts
Between Missouri Hall and the quadrangle on the campus of Truman State University stands a brick wall housing a row of five bells. In 1967, Kirksville businessman Joe Burdman donated the historic bells to the university. The funds to build the brick wall to display the bells were provided by contributions from TSU’s spring and summer classes of 1967. The bells represent the ideals of liberty, justice, religion and education.
From left to right/ north to south: a brass bell from a rural school in Randolph County near Moberly, Missouri; a cast iron bell from Macon County’s Goldsberry Seventh Day Adventist Church in Ethel, Missouri; a brass bell from the Adair County Courthouse in Kirksville, Missouri; a brass bell from the Schuyler County Courthouse in Lancaster, Missouri; and a brass bell from Hurdland School in Knox County, Missouri. All the bells, with the exception of the cast iron bell, were made of brass with an alloy added which creates a pleasant sound and prevents rusting.
Joe Burdman was an enthusiastic participant in local civic and philanthropic affairs. Born in southern Russia, he left the country to flee the Czar’s army during a very tumultuous time. On December 14, 1913, he immigrated to the United States and was reunited with his fiancé who had also emigrated from Russia. They were married and settled in Burlington, Iowa. With only $127 to his name, Burdman purchased a horse and wagon and began buying and selling scrap metal. The business enterprise was known as the J. Burdman Iron and Metal Co. In 1921, Burdman, his wife and their two sons moved to Kirksville, after being told, “a veritable gold mine was to be found there.” He expanded his business, buying wrecked cars and selling auto parts and accessories. On March 1, 1921, J. Burdman Auto Parts was established. Burdman was active in the Kirksville community and served as president of the Kirksville Rotary Club, president of the Kirksville Chamber of Commerce and was elected mayor of Kirksville in 1960.
The bell from Schuyler County was salvaged from Schuyler County’s second courthouse, which was constructed in 1895 and served the county until 1960. C.A. Dunham, architect from Burlington, Iowa, received $275 for his plans for the building. The low bid for construction, $22,233, came from L.S. Atchison, who represented a Colorado Springs, Colorado, firm. The bell was manufactured by Seth Thomas Clock Co. in New York. Cornerstone ceremonies took place June 24, 1895. Originally, the first floor had space for five offices with additional office space on the second where the courtrooms were located. The courthouse was used until 1960. When the building was razed, the bell was removed from the tower. It is not known how much Joe Burdman paid the Schuyler County judges (now known as commissioners) for the brass bell.
Stephen Randall Roberts presented a jigsaw puzzle of the Truman State University Bell Wall and information about it to the Schuyler County Historical Society for display in the Wm. P. Hall “Home” Museum in Lancaster, Missouri.
