Workers move Lawrence schools' original bell into a refurbished case at Lawrence High School on Sept. 16, 2015.

This may be the most literal application the title of this blog will have. The original bell from Lawrence’s first school received a new home this month. The 1,600-pound bell is now safe in a refurbished case, but prior to that it has had many resting places, including the bottom of the ocean.

The bell was originally a church bell, which makes more sense if you know that Lawrence’s first high school was located in the basement of the Unitarian Church, the original location of which was near the intersection of Ninth and Ohio streets.

Mike Norris, assistant principal? at Lawrence High School, said the bell was made in Boston in the 1850s and was sent to Lawrence on a route that was supposed to begin by boat over the ocean, then continue on by river. But it did not work out that way.

After a shipwreck, the bell spent three years at the bottom of the ocean before being salvaged and taken back to Boston for repairs. On the second attempt to get the bell to Lawrence, it was sent by a combination of train and then steam boat, Norris said.

In 1890, the Lawrence school system purchased the bell from the church, and it served as the school bell at the high school that was located at Ninth and Kentucky streets. The LHS class of 1961 was responsible for getting the bell to its current location at Lawrence High School, 1901 Louisiana St.

But over the summer, after the wall that held its case was torn down as part of construction at the school, the bell was moved again. After a couple months of homelessness, the bell has returned to its original location within the school, Norris said. The wooden case, which received new moldings and a glass front in preparation for the bell’s return, is in a wall that divides the auditorium and one of the school’s hallways.

Though the school doesn’t ring the bell — it is clear, Norris said, that true to its original purpose, the bell was meant to be heard for blocks — it did get one experimental chime before being sealed behind its new glass case. And after all these years, it’s still very loud, he said.

Workers move Lawrence schools' original bell into a refurbished case at Lawrence High School on Sept. 16, 2015.

The Lawrence schools' original bell sits in its refurbished case at Lawrence High School.