EL DORADO, Ark.-Rumor of an old missing bell soon became reality last summer when it was found underneath the center of the Bethel Methodist Church. Bethel Methodist Church is located three miles south of Mount Holly on Highway 57 and is no longer functioning.
"Over a year ago, parts for the old bell were discovered in the attic of the church, but no one knew where the bell was other than rumored to be on the church property," Gary Davis said in an email. "Finally, last summer someone came forward and said the bell was under the church that was rebuilt in 1938."
The El Dorado News-Times reports that the hardware that goes with the bell was found over a year ago by Jim Davis of Magnolia. The find included the hanger and clapper of the bell.
The bell was used as a school bell when the church had an operating school.
The church had settled since 1938, when it was remodeled, and the bell was supporting the church, causing a hump in the center of the building.
After rumors about the bell being on the church property, Larry Goza, a retired Methodist Minister, confirmed to Don Impson where to find the bell. The bell was approximately 20 feet in front of the pulpit.
"The bell was under their feet every time someone went into the church," Gary Davis said.
To retrieve the bell, they had to cut a 4-by-4-foot hole in the floor of the church.
"We do not know for sure how old the bell is, but the church school was closed in the 1920's when Mt. Holly started bus service," said Gary Davis.
The church was organized in 1986 and the bell is estimated to have been constructed between 1861 to the 1920s era.
The bell has now been refurnished, painted and is displayed behind the church cemetery sign. Impson had it sandblasted with the help from family friends.
The church will probably be demolished this year as the cemetery association cannot afford to maintain the building, Gary Davis said.
"I think the church has been nonoperational since the 1970's with an occasional service into the 1990's," he said. "Financially, it is a struggle for small cemeteries with no active church to maintain the cemeteries for future generations.
"There are slightly under 300 people buried at Bethel since 1861," he said.