County Explores Options for Downieville Veterans Memorial

DOWNIEVILLE — The historic bell tower in Downieville is home to three plaques commemorating Sierra County veterans. The bell tower itself was built in 1896, likely for use by the fire department, and it appears the central plaque was placed by the Native Sons of the Golden West at some time before 1950. The other two plaques were installed within the last 30 years. The bell tower now serves as a gathering place and memorial for veterans, and the bell is famously rung every Veterans Day in honor of each service member who has died in the previous year.

In recent years, veterans have called for the restoration or improvement of the memorial, a call now led by Frank Lang. The rock wall has become “somewhat dilapidated,” and the water fountain built into the rock wall is leaking. Last week, Sierra County supervisors Lee Adams and Lila Heuer met with Lang and the county’s Public Works Director Bryan Davey in an ad hoc committee meeting to discuss what a renovation could look like.

During the meeting, Lang proposed extending the current rock wall, with room for the three current plaques to be embedded within the extension. The proposal would also add a banner plaque designating the site the “Downieville Veterans Memorial.” Lang’s sketched example would increase the height of the wall by 20 to 24 inches at the front of the tower.

The committee, however, was hesitant about making a significant alteration to the rock wall. “The committee did not necessarily want to see any additions to that rock wall. Frank had provided us a sketch, and there was a concern that that sort of encroached on the historic integrity of the Bell Tower,” explained Supervisor Adams at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting. The committee did agree that the rock wall should be rehabilitated to its original appearance and the water leak should be fixed. The county is now in the process of finding volunteers and county staff to complete the work, and the Downieville Public Utility District has been tasked with fixing the leak.

As an alternative to making additions at the bell tower, the committee suggested creating a new memorial at the Community Hall, which once was the Hugh E. Frey, Jr. American Legion Post, named for a Sierra County veteran who was killed in World War II. Supervisor Adams also suggested the potential of nominating the bell tower to the National Register of Historic Places.

Lang was disappointed by the county’s decision, stating, “I see the bell tower as a place for the community to gather in the event of emergencies, local, state, and national. The county’s position is that it has only been a place to gather in the event of a fire,” he explained. Still, he acknowledged that the decision was the county’s to make, and good arguments existed on both sides of the issue. Lang added he was open to the alternate location for a memorial, although the effort would be a much larger undertaking. He plans to gauge the opinions and preferences of veterans at the Veterans Day Luncheon at the Community Hall on November 11.