Local church’s bell tower being restored

LEXINGTON, Tenn. — A 55-year-old church in Lexington is being restored after weathering a few storms.

“People look to that bell tower,” First Baptist Church in Lexington Senior Pastor Clay Hallmark said. “It’s just sort of a symbol of hope and encouragement to the community.”

The First Baptist Church moved to its current location in Lexington in 1953 and built their bell tower in 1962.

But the tower is starting to fall apart, causing leaks inside the building.

“It was hit twice by lightning,” David Frizzell, a Deacon at the church, said. “In 1988, it knocked one of those steeples off, and almost right next to it, in 2007, another steeple was knocked off.”

A company geared towards restoring old buildings has been hired by the church to complete the renovations.

Business owners just down the street from the church in downtown Lexington love the uniqueness the tower and the chimes bring to their town.

“I love the bell tower,” business owner Desiree Zimmerman said. “One of the great aspects of moving from California to Tennessee was moving right down the road from a historical building and knowing those bells go off every day.”

Residents also say that it is very noticeable when the chimes do not play during the day.

“A few years ago, the bell tower stopped working,” owner of the Lunch Box Michael Goldner said. “And we own one of the oldest homes here in town, and we enjoyed hearing it so much. And now that it’s working again, it’s just great. It’s just reminiscent of days gone by.”

The building company says they have almost finished the south side of the tower and expect to replace between 1,000 and 2,000 bricks on the tower by the end of the project.

The church also wants to restore the front part of their sanctuary once this project is complete.