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List of carillons in the United States

Carillons, musical instruments of bells in the percussion family, are found throughout the United States. Several institutions register and count them. Some registries specialize in counting specific types of carillons. For example, the War Memorial and Peace Carillons registry counts instruments that serve as war memorials or were built in the name of promoting world peace. TowerBells counts carillons played via a baton keyboard as "traditional carillons" and those with computerized or electronic mechanisms as "non-traditional carillons", among other bell instruments. It also publishes maps, technical specifications, and summary statistics. As the World Carillon Federation does not consider non-traditional carillons to be carillons, it counts only those played via a baton keyboard and without computerized or electronic mechanisms. According to TowerBells and the World Carillon Federation, there are about 170 existing traditional carillons in the United States.

According to the , the carillons in the United States account for 25 percent of the world's total and is consequently considered one of the "great carillon countries" along with the Netherlands and Belgium.

Criteria for inclusion

The defines a carillon as an instrument of at least 23 cast bronze bells hung in fixed suspension, played with a traditional keyboard of batons, and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoniously together. It may designate instruments of 15 to 22 bells built before 1940 as "historical carillons". Its member organizationsincluding for example The Guild of Carillonneurs in North Americaalso define a carillon with those restrictions. This list contains only carillons that meet the definition outlined by these organizations.

Alabama

  • Birmingham:
  • Rushton Memorial Carillon at Samford University in the Harwell Goodwin Davis Library. 60 bells. Each inscribed with Biblical scripture or meaningful literary inscription.
  • First Presbyterian, 1924. 37 bells. Originally 25 from the John Taylor Bell Foundry in Loughborough, England. 12 added in 1967 from the van Bergen Bell Foundry.
  • Huntsville: First Baptist Church, 1990. 48 bells by The Verdin Company. Carillon housed in the world's tallest prefabricated steeple: 229 ft (70 m). Traditional keyboard + 2 non-traditional electronic consoles.
  • Tuscaloosa: Denny Chimes, a well-known landmark of the University of Alabama's campus. Houses 25 bells, which are played both manually and electronically.

Arizona

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Florida

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

  • Ames: Stanton Memorial Carillon in the Campanile at Iowa State University, 1899. 50 bells by Taylor, originally built with 10 bells in 1899, with 26 more added in 1920, another 13 in 1954, and one final bell in 1967. Renovated in 1994.
  • Cedar Falls: University of Northern Iowa Carillon in the Campanile at the University of Northern Iowa, 1926. 56 bells. The carillon originally consisted of 15 bells in 1926 cast by the Meneely Bell Foundry, with 32 bells added in 1968 cast by Petit & Fritsen, and 9 additional bells in 2023 cast by The Verdin Company. The bell tower was renovated in 1984 and 2007.
  • Des Moines: The Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Episcopal Cathedral Church of St. Paul | Des Moines, Windsor Memorial Carillon. 25 bells in the Mary Belle Windsor Tower in downtown Des Moines. The 12 original bells were cast in 1896 by the McShane Foundry, Baltimore. Three additional bells were installed in 1989 and 10 more in 1991. These last 13 bells and the rebuild of the bell tower were a gift from the Windsor family, hence, the Windsor Memorial Carillon.

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

  • Morgan City: Carillon Tower at Brownell Memorial Park, dedicated 1971. 106 feet tall with 61 bells.

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Missouri

Montana

Danforth Chapel, Montana State University, Bozeman MT. The carillon, a gift of Joseph Mares, class of 1924, plays every morning and evening and on special occasions such as commencement and presidential inaugurations.

Nebraska

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New York

North Carolina

Ohio

  • Cleveland: The Alexander McGaffin Carillon. Installed with 47 bells by Eijsbouts, June 1968. Expanded to 51 bells by Eijsbouts in June 2025.
  • Cleveland Heights: St. Paul's Episcopal Church; Erected in 1928 with 8 bells by Gillett and Johnston, 15 bells by Van Bergen were added in 1952, making a carillon of 23 bells. Then, in 2023, an additional 24 bells by the B.A. Sunderlin bellfoundry were added, making a full concert carillon of 47 bells.
  • Dayton: Deeds Carillon, Carillon Historical Park, 1942. 57 bells by Petit & Fritsen. Refurbished in 1988 from an electronic to a traditional carillon.
  • Mariemont: In Dogwood Park just off of Route 50, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Begun with 23 bells by Gillett and Johnston in 1929, then expanded to 49 bells in 1969 with bells by Petit and Fritsen.
  • Oxford: The Pulley Bell Tower at Miami University, constructed 2001. 50 bells designed and installed by The Verdin Company, cast by Petit & Fritsen.

Oklahoma

Pennsylvania

South Carolina

  • Charleston: The Carillon and Thomas Dry Howie Tower at The Citadel has 59 bells weighing from 25 to 4,400 pounds and a total of 25,000 pounds, and were originally cast in 1795 at the Bergen Bell foundry in the Netherlands. Installed in 1954, as of 2022 only 18 bells are playable.
  • Clemson: The Clemson University Memorial Carillon. 48 handcrafted bells, located in the tower of Tillman Hall at Clemson University.
  • Greenville: The Riverplace Bell Tower and Carillon. 25 bells were placed within 3 steel columns, the tallest at 54 feet. The open structure of the tower was designed to view the river and cityscape nearby, under the tower is a continuously flowing water feature. The tower was installed in 2012 and dedicated to C. Thomas Wyche "Tommy" on August 23, 2012. Wyche was chosen for his love of music and lifelong support of the city's arts, land preservation, and future development.
  • Greenwood: The Callie Self Memorial Baptist Church Carillon. 37 bells in a 3-octave scale. Bells cast by the Van Bergen Bellfoundries, Heiligerlee, Netherlands. Restored in the 1990s over a one-year period by L. Eckert, a then employee of the foundry's US Office based in Charleston, SC.

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

Washington (state)

Washington, D.C.

West Virginia

Wisconsin

See also

References