The Burnside Carillon - Greenville, South Carolina - Carillon on Waymarking.com

This Tower and Carillon is a replica of the Florentine tower on the former campus in downtown Greenville, it houses a 60-bell carillon, which honors the late John Edwards Burnside, class of 1917.

The bells did and were transferred to a perfect replica of the Bell Tower, which now stands on Furman's lake. Obviously one difference is that the original was connected to the building, and in this version, the exposed face is copied on all four sides, so that the current Bell Tower exists alone on its peninsula on Furman's Swan Lake.

The Bell Tower at Furman's campus holds the third complete set of bells, purchased from the Van Bergen family just like the set before (whose foundries were in the Netherlands). This third set of bells was first installed in the Bell Tower on the old campus in 1909 (as discovered in an audio interview with John Plyler, Jr.).

As recorded in a dedicatory program for the The Burnside Carillon, there were 60 bells, which meant that at the time of its installment, it was the largest Carillon in the South. “The bells within the tower were composed of 80 percent Copper and 20 percent block tin, and ranged in size from 10 inches in diameter to five feet. The largest bell in the tower weighed 4,500 pounds.”

Perhaps the most interesting historical fact about the old bells and Bell Tower was their link to the Civil War. James C. Furman, son of the namesake of the university and ardent pro-slavery figure and secessionist, closed the university during the war. Yet he allowed men to climb into the tower after any Confederate victory and ring the bells. This became a tradition, so that even after athletic victories, students would ring the bells in the tower to symbolize a win. Clemson students even stole bells, a theft against Furman's winning football program (which you'll hear about next), making it so they wouldn't have to hear the victory bells.

Plaque Text:
The Carillon in this tower given in honor of
John Edward Burnside
Furman University, B.A. 1917. LL.D. 1966
Student Leader, Loyal Alumnus
Outstanding Citizen, Christian Gentleman
By His Associates and Friends
of Charlotte, North Carolina 1966
Furman

Location: 3300 Poinsett Highway Greenville, South Carolina United States of America 29613 Who controls the carillon?: Furman University Number of bells: 60 Year of construction: 01/01/1966 Structure: Tower Location web page: [Web Link] Schedule of regular public performances: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
An original photograph of the carillon is required. One of you and your crew doing your very best imitation of Quasimodo and/or Esmeralda will be most appreciated.

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