The Theft of the Fenwick Tower Bell at Holy Cross

Marybeth Reilly-McGreen is writer and a Holy Cross grad. She recently wrote an intriguing story about the theft of a unique work of art: a famous bell located on the campus of Holy Cross. It’s unusual to see big, heavy items like this stolen, but outdoor thefts of art and artifacts are more common than one might think. You’ll enjoy this read. — AA

On a spring afternoon in 2009, at around 3 p.m., a student noticed six middle-aged men in crisp, matching coveralls exit a white van parked on Linden Lane. The vehicle sat between a guard shack, located in the middle of the College’s busy main entrance, and Holy Cross’ public safety office in the basement of O’Kane Hall. The area between teemed with hundreds of students walking to and from classes.

One of the men carried a wrench.

The student watched as the men removed the 400-pound, then-156-year-old bronze bell, commonly known as the Fenwick Tower Bell, from its stand on the lawn at the corner of Fenwick and O’Kane halls. The crew loaded it into the van and left the only way they could, via Linden Lane, a short, busy, U-shaped road offering one way in and one way out.

Only later, after calls were exchanged between the public safety and facilities departments, did College officials realize that the bell, a fixture on campus since 1854, had been stolen in broad daylight.

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