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Muffin bells, though commonly associated with “The Muffin Man,” had an entirely different purpose throughout the early and late 1800s. Named after the muffin top shape of the bell, a muffin bell would have been used by a fire watchman walking the night shift around town. The firefighters would run up and down the streets, swinging their bells to alert the townspeople if a fire broke out.
These bells were typically very loud, made with a cast iron hammer in the middle of the ‘muffins’ that would make a double ring.
