California
Bell Company
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with light for backyard lighting and street lamp applications.
Proudly handcrafted in California since 1906! Click
here to see our large bells
Need A Big bell For your
"San Juan De Lorena 1762"
"San Juan De Lorena 1762"
Click
here to see our large bells
This incredible bell will be a beautiful addition to your mission style home in need of a bell for your belfry or niche. The bell is 20" in diameter, 2" larger than the classic El Camino Real Bell. It is be available in patina brass, cast iron, and aluminum. Click
Here For More Information
We Also Make Brass Plaques
Plaques are priced by the size,
9" El Camino Real 
from 1914 to 1955! Sold Out! "Mission San Fernando 1797"
Designed by Mrs. A.S.C. Forbes
"Jesus Maria Bell 1690"
CClick
Here for SECURE on-line ordering
Max Kurillo, Huell Howser, and
John Kolstad
Max Kurillo (left), historian
and author of
Huell Howser (center) host of
John Kolstad, (right) owner of California Bell,
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Get your own original El Camino
Real Bell
Finally after 100 years you can purchase
Looking For Bells from 1" to 13"?
The El Camino Real and Its Historic Bells In 1769, The El Camino Real, or Kings Highway, was just a footpath begun by the Franciscans and led by Father Junipero Serra who was a deciding influence in establishing the California Missions north from San Diego to Sonoma. Each Mission was situated in areas where large populations of Indians lived and where the soil was fertile enough to sustain a settlement. As time progressed and more Missions were built, the footpath became a roadway wide enough to accommodate horses and wagons. It was not, however, until the last Mission in Sonoma was completed in 1823, that this little pathway became a real route. El Camino Real is the Spanish name for the historic road that joined the twenty one Franciscan Missions, the Pueblos and Presidios in the early days of California. Many of the Missions have been restored and the Kings Highway now is a magnificent modern road leading from San Diego, via Rose Canon, to Oceanside, then inland to Mission San Luis Rey and Pall from Oceanside to Mission San Juan P\Capistrano, Myford-Irving, Tustin, Santa Ana, Orange, Anaheim, Fullerton, LA Habra, Whittier, Mission San Gabriel to El Monte, Puente, Pomona, Claremont, San Bernardino, Redlands, Colton and Riverside. From Los Angeles El Camino Real leads to Hollywood, through Cahuenga Pass to Sherman Way thence to Mission San Freehand from Sherman Way to Calabasas, Camarillo, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Gaviota, Mission Santa Ines, Mission La Purisima, Los Olivos, Santa Maria, San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles, San Miguel, Jolon, Mission San Antonio, Soledad, Salinas to Monterey and Mission Carmel, or from Salinas to Mission San Juan Bautista, San Jose, Mission San Jose, Hayward, San Leandro, to Oakland from San Jose to Santa Clara, Palo Alto, Redwood City, San Mateo, Colombo, Ocean View, to Mission de los Dolores and San Francisco (Market and Third Streets). Across the bay, El Camino Real leads from San Rafael to Mission San Francisco Solano in Sonoma. The greater portion of El Camino
Real is Highway 101, a part of the splendid system of California highways.
It is a continuous road over seven hundred miles in length and is marked
by the unique and picturesque Mission Bell guideposts which originally
gave distances between the principal towns and directions to the Missions.
The bells are placed along the road not merely as landmarks and guides
to travelers but as testimonials to the work of the Franciscan padres who
were the pioneers that settled California in 1769.
The idea of placing a marker along the highway and in front of each Mission did not come about until 1906 when a cast iron 85 pound bell and piping designed by Mrs. A.S.C. Forbes was placed into the ground in concrete at the Iglesia de Nuestra Senora Reina de Los Angeles, also know as the Plaza Church near Union Depot in Los Angeles. The bells were inscribed, "El Camino Real 1769-1906." The dates reflect the founding of the first Mission and the dedication of the first bell in Los Angeles on August 15, 1906. The plan had been to place one bell along each mile of the El Camino Real Highway, in front of each Mission, and also selected historical landmarks. By 1913, a goal of 425 bells was reached. One bell was placed in front of each Mission and the balances were placed along the El Camino Real Highway. Since then many bells were lost to road reconstruction and theft. After feeble attempts over
the past 50 years, John Kolstad, owner of Mrs. A.S.C. Forbes' original
California Bell Company, and Keith Robinson, Principal Landscape Architect
of Caltrans, have teamed together and installed 555 original El Camino
Real Bells along Highway 101. These bells have been installed on
Caltrans property from Los Angeles to San Francisco. California Bell
is now working with cities to reinstall the original bells in the remaining
areas of the original route. From Sonoma to San Francisco, and Los
Angeles to San Diego, new bells will be appearing along El Camino Real.
Call your local City Manager for information on their installation progress.
Click
Here
For Great Historical Photos
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Other Great Links: AAA Via Magazine; Bell Man of the El Camino Real; May 2008 Huell Howser's Pod Cast Of the El Camino Real Bells (coming soon)
San Diego's Dave Scott,
KISU
Los Angeles
Times 8-16-2006
Los Gatos Eagle
Scout Installs Bell 8-25-06
"A Guide to the Historic Bells of Mrs. A.S.C. Forbes"
"California's El Camino Real and It's Historic Bells"
Contact us:
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