There is a beautiful structure on the campus of The Storm King School that sits on the gentle slope just above Orr Commons, overlooking the athletic field and Spy Rock beyond. Whether snow-capped in the winter, giving shade to students on a sunny day, or ringing out after every athletic victory, the Bell Tower holds an important place in the life of our students and the memories of our alumni.
2016 boys varsity soccer team giving the Bell a celebratory ring
The Bell Tower was the brainchild of Robert Williams ’54, Trustee Emeritus. Our archives, as well as recollections of alumni and neighbors, tell an interesting story about how the Bell Tower came to be. Mr. Williams, as a commemorative gesture, wanted the structure built in honor of a man who, like the Bell Tower itself, stood watch over the the School for many years—Mr. Stephen Duggan.
View of the Bell Tower with Spy Rock in the background
Mr. Duggan, a long-time Deer Hill Road resident, spent 42 years on the Board of Trustees (1954-1996) and served nearly two decades as its president. His contributions were many as he guided the School through a period of change, and championed the construction of many new buildings on campus during the late ‘50s and early ‘60s. Mr. Williams, who served alongside Mr. Duggan as a fellow board member from 1973 to 1990 and succeeded him as president in 1974, had witnessed first-hand all that Duggan had accomplished on behalf of Storm King.
As Mr. Williams refined his dreams about the tower, he shared his ideas with his wife, Andie. The couple planned the surprise together before they told Mr. Duggan’s wife Smokey. Three versions of the structure and three different sites were imagined by a local architect named Sam White until the final version was approved. The Bell Tower was finally constructed by a builder named Chris Budney.
An architectural drawing of the Bell Tower by architect Sam White
The bronze bell housed within the tower was obtained from a Presbyterian Church in Canaan, Connecticut. It was manufactured by the Meneely Bell Foundry, also known as the Bell Castors of Troy, New York- a firm with a long history in the Hudson Valley. According to the Duggans, who were thrilled by the gesture of Mr. and Mrs. Williams, the quality of the bell’s ring tone “like all Meneely bells, is unsurpassed.” Mr. Williams has also paid for the restoration of the bell in recent years and contributes annually for its upkeep and maintenance.
Many board members were present at the Bell Tower’s commemoration in the spring of 1991, including Carolyn Kohn ’72, Headmaster John Suitor (1987-1993), and many friends of the Duggans, some of whom had assisted in funding the tower’s construction. Today, the Bell Tower commemorating the service of Mr. Stephen Duggan, remains as an iconic campus landmark in the collective memory of the school community thanks to alumnus, trustee, and president Robert Williams, Class of 1954.