Name/Title
Okaman School BellEntry/Object ID
37.18Description
Okaman Country Schoolhouse Bell. Material: metal. Size: bell 10" x 18 diameter; hanger frame 20" x 24". Description: cast iron bell removed from the belfry of Waseca County Okaman schoolhouse. (a) Yoke. (b) Bell. (c) Upright Brace. (d) Clapper.Context
This bell was mounted on the Okaman Rural School located in northern Janesville Township east of County Road 3 in the general area of the Seha Sorghum Mill. The school was later to moved to Janesville's Lakeview Park and became the park caretaker's home.
The donor's mother, Gladys Zellweger taught at the school from 1929-1931 until she married Mark Miller on whose farm land the school was built. After the school closed, sometime in the 1950s, the bell was stored at the Mark and Gladys Miller farm until Mrs. Miller died. At that time, a nephew claimed the bell and moved it to his home in Pennsylvania. When he no longer wanted it, the Millers' son, Wayne moved it from Pennsylvania to his home in South Dakota where it stayed until brought to the Waseca County Museum in 2018. For more Miller family information see gift agreement attachment.Lexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Tertiary Object Term
Bell, SchoolNomenclature Secondary Object Term
BellNomenclature Primary Object Term
Device, Sound SignalingNomenclature Sub-Class
Sound Communication DevicesNomenclature Class
Sound Communication T&ENomenclature Category
Category 06: Tools & Equipment for CommunicationCreate Date
October 31, 2018Update Date
September 18, 2026