TownTapestry
Sign inJoin
BellGood evening
History · Bell

Bell’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Bell. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
10recent photos

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

The town was founded in the 1890s, named after a beauty contest winner, Bell Fletcher. In the early 1900s, a railway was built, passing through the town on its route between Starke and Wannee. A train depot was built circa 1905, and the restored depot building is now the town hall. The Town of Bell was officially incorporated as a municipality on August 18, 1902. It was reincorporated in 1903.

On September 18, 2014, a 51-year-old ex-convict, Don Charles Spirit, shot and murdered his daughter Sarah and her six children. He then committed suicide after police officers responded to the scene of the crime.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Be one of the first

Start Bell’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bell’s history is told.

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people from Bell

See all 1 →
CWCole WhiteSports
By decade

Bell, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
Today10 photos
Cannon Farm, Bell, Florida, US (4)CommonsCannon Farm, Bell, Florida, US (4)2021Cannon Farm, Bell, Florida, US (3)CommonsCannon Farm, Bell, Florida, US (3)2021Cannon Farm, Bell, Florida, US (2)CommonsCannon Farm, Bell, Florida, US (2)2021Cannon Farm, Bell, Florida, US (1)CommonsCannon Farm, Bell, Florida, US (1)2021Cannon FarmCommonsCannon Farm2014Bell Suwannee River south03CommonsBell Suwannee River south032010Bell Suwannee River south02CommonsBell Suwannee River south022010Bell Suwannee River south01CommonsBell Suwannee River south012010Bell Suwannee River north01CommonsBell Suwannee River north012010FLMap-doton-BellCommonsFLMap-doton-Bell2004
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Bell is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Bell has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Cannon Farm in Bell, 4.3 miles away.

Bell and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Bell. Tap a dot.
Cannon FarmCITY OF HAWKINSVILLE (shipwreck)Sikes HouseFort White Public School Historic DistrictHigh Springs Historic DistrictNewberry Historic District

Closest to Bell

Cannon FarmBell · District4.3miCITY OF HAWKINSVILLE (shipwreck)Fanning Springs · 19th Century Paddlewheel Steamboat12.2miSikes HouseFort White · Building14.5miFort White Public School Historic DistrictFort White · District14.7miHigh Springs Historic DistrictHigh Springs · District16.5mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Cannon Farm’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Bell?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Bell’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Trenton📜 Fanning Springs📜 Fort White📜 Branford

From Wikimedia Commons (10). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

The porch light’s on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Bell, FLView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map

Local begins with a boundary.

See what belongs to your selected town.

Loading boundary…

Bell is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

Neighborhoods narrow the feed further, while townwide announcements, events, and issues remain visible.

Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
Open detailed map