Marsh Carillon and Tower

The Concord Carillon and Tower was donated by Dr. Joseph Franklin Marsh, Jr., President of the college from 1959 to 1973, in honor of his father, Joseph Franklin Marsh, Sr., President of Concord Normal School from 1929 to 1945, and his mother Florence Catharine Keller. He donated $750,000 to build the tower on the Administrative Building ‘‘Old Main,” now known as Marsh Hall. Dedicated in 1997, it’s one of the nation's few “concert carillons,” qualified as having at least 47 bells and a range of four or more octaves. Its bells range from a 29-pound instrument only seven inches high to a 2.96-ton bourdon more than 36 inches tall.

The 15-minute daily concerts, traditionally performed in the afternoons, are supplemented regularly throughout the year by concerts led by guest carillonneurs, 

The region’s unique topography and a just right combination of warm air aloft and cooler air near the ground creates an inversion effect which magnifies the sound that travels over the fields and woodlands from distant melodies to a thunderous intensity miles from its source.

Concord President Kendra S. Boggess is quoted as saying, the carillon “continues to be a chief attraction on the campus, inspiring students, faculty, and residents of the town of Athens and attracting visitors from afar.” (Source: West Virginia Explorer, Bells at Concord University in W. Va. linked to strange phenomenon, by David Sibray, Nov. 30, 2023.)