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Antioch Historical Society breaks ground for Bell Tower at Museum

(From left to right) Brett Swisher, VP Operations for Wayne E. Swisher Cement; Brad Middleton, Director of Safety for Drill Tech Drilling & Shoring; Antioch District 3 City Councilman Don Freitas; Mayor Pro Tem Louie Rocha; Cid Zamora, son of Joe Zamora, First Congregational Church member who stored the bell; Museum Past-President and First Congregational Church Bell project leader Dwayne Eubanks; First Congregational Church Bell project team members Tom Menasco – leading the fundraising, Laura Jacques, Carla Baker Marymee and construction manager Stan Davis joined in for the ceremonial groundbreaking of the bell tower. Photos by Allen D. Payton

From city’s first church; fundraising goal almost met, still needs support

By Antioch Historical Society

The Antioch Historical Society hosted a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, on the museum grounds on W. 4th Street, to build a tower to house the 157-year-old First Congregational Church bell and restore it. The bell is said to be one of the oldest known artifacts in Antioch. (See related articles here and here)

A groundbreaking was held for the tower to house the historic First Congregational Church of Antioch bell on the Museum grounds on Wednesday, July 23, 2025. Rendering and photos source: Antioch Historical Museum

City officials and staff, Historical Society and project team members were joined by construction company representatives for the event.

Thank you to all who attended.

(From left to right) Brett Swisher, Brad Middleton, project team member Lucy Meinhardt; Acting City of Antioch Parks & Recreation Director Shahad Wright; Dwayne Eubanks; Tom Menasco, Laura Jacques, Carla Baker Marymee and Stan Davis participated in for the ceremonial groundbreaking of the bell tower.

Project leader Dwayne Eubanks said, “the bell rang out in 1871 a year before the City was founded. The bell stood as a symbol of unity in a city of diversity.”

If you’d like to support this worthy project, please make an online donation at our website: https://antiochhistoricalmuseum.org/unity-bell-tower…/

 “There will be a patio with benches or a concrete block wall around it,” Eubanks shared. “Almost $83,000 has been raised out of the $94,000 goal.”

Bell tower project leader Dwayne Eubanks shares details with those who attended the ceremonial groundbreaking on July 23, 2025.

Checks can be sent to: Antioch Historical Museum, 1500 West 4th Street, Antioch, CA 94509. Names of sponsors will be permanently inscribed at the exhibit site. Contributions are tax deductible. If you have questions, contact Dwayne Eubanks at the Antioch Historical Society Museum at (925) 757-1326.

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.


the attachments to this post:


AHSM bell tower groundbreaking 1 07-23-25


AHSM bell tower groundbreaking 2 07-23-25


AHSM bell tower groundbreaking Dwayne Eubanks 07-23-25


This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 30th, 2025 at 3:16 pm and is filed under Community, History, News, Non-profits, Rivertown. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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