by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

A 1,000-pound church bell has descended from its East Machias steeple and moved to its new home on West Branch Farm in Machias, the future home of a Machias living history village.

“I’m shocked at how heavy the bell is,” said reenactor Joseph Dowling of Bucks Harbor, who delivered the bell from East Machias to its current storage place. “It’s probably 4 feet in diameter, it just barely fit between the wheel wells of my truck.”