The Landmark & the Legacy

At the corner of Main and Broad Streets in Sackets Harbor, New York, stands the 120-year old, 6-story, red brick-clad Bell and Clock Tower. Visible from all sides are the four faces of the clock, once mechanical and now electrified, computerized and illuminated after dark. Above the clock, at the very top of the Tower, is a chime of ten bells which perform dual functions; the largest bell tolls the hour, and a tune may be played on all ten, rung by skilled hands for special occasions. When it was first built, the tower also housed a library, before it grew larger than the Tower’s rooms could contain. Iron spiral stairs grant access to each of the Tower’s six floors, and climbing them is a journey through the history of the Tower. Graffitied names dating back nearly 100 years are found on the walls, usually accompanied by the exact date they were written, left by the countless people who passed through the Tower over its long life.

This landmark, its bells and library are the legacy of Sackets Harbor native, Marietta Pickering Hay.

Marietta’s Gifts

Marietta Pickering Hay’s philanthropy included two sets of bells and a library in the village of Sackets Harbor. For the pleasure of the people of the village, she donated a chime of nine bells, placed in the Presbyterian church. These were lost in a fire in 1899.

Informed that her gift had been destroyed, Marietta immediately pronounced she would pay for its replacement, but this time the chime would include ten bells. Also, since her first gift, Marietta had become interested in the importance of libraries to small towns and wanted to establish one in Sackets Harbor. The construction of an entirely new church building gave her the opportunity to install a library at the same time.

The church was to be a grand one. The plot of land is on the corner of Broad and Main Streets, with the previous church facing Broad Street. Architect D. D. Kieff designed a Lombardesque structure that is equally attractive from either street face, with a tower on its corner which would house Marietta’s chime and her library. The Presbyterian Society paid for the main church building, but the cost of the tower was paid by Marietta. Additionally the village had become accustomed to the clock that had been in the steeple of the previous church, so Mr. Kieff designed the tower with an opening for a clock with four faces. Marietta apparently had little interest in clocks, so Village Trustees authorized payment of $600 for the actual timepiece, which became the Village Clock.

The cornerstone of the current church and tower was laid in 1899, the very same year as the fire that had destroyed the previous one, and the completed building was dedicated in 1900.

“In an age when so many people talk about mindfulness, the steeple and the bell have a role to play in calling people to pause and be mindful.  The clock and the bell remind us that God … enters into our here and now.  The invitation comes to stop and listen, to look up and remember that there is something greater than us, longer than now….” (1) The bells in our tower ring an invitation to appreciate our time and place.

1. Stackhouse, Rochelle A., What’s a steeple for?, Christian Century, December 5, 2018.

The Legacy

The library operated in the Tower until 1918, when it outgrew the space. A new addition was made to the church and the Hay Memorial Library was moved out of the Tower. In 2003, the Library was moved again to its own building next door to the church. It operates to this day, open four days per week.

Trusts from Marietta Hay included money to help pay the salary of a bell-ringer and to maintain the first set of bells. Later, she endowed a Trust to help pay for the bell-ringer, the librarian, maintenance of the tower, and care for the library collection. The library didn’t own the tower spaces or pay rent. It had free use for as long as it needed. The trust was divided in half in 1991, when Hay Memorial Library moved out of the tower extension. Since that time the church has used interest on its half of the trust for repairs on the Tower.

The Tower still stands, as it has since 1900. The clock keeps accurate time, and the large bell has continued to ring out the hour for well over a century. Marietta’s chime of ten bells are played in celebration, ringing joyfully over the village.