Due to the delinquency of groups of minors after dark, the Lehi City council passed a Curfew Law on 18 July 1887.  The ordinance read: “It shall be unlawful for any person under fourteen years of age to be or remain in or upon any of the streets, alleys, or public places in this city at night after the hour of nine o’clock, unless said person is accompanied by a parent, guardian or other person having the legal custody of such minor person, or is in performance of any errand of duty directed by such parent, guardian or other person having the care and the custody of such minor person, or whose employment makes it necessary to be upon said street, alleys or public places during the night time after said specified hours.  Any person violating the provisions of this section shall, on conviction, be fined in any sum not to exceed five dollars for each offense, and shall stand committed until such fine and costs are paid.”

Two months later, Mayor George Webb purchased a bell and had it mounted on top of City Hall which was rung each night by the marshal to announce the beginning of curfew. Alice Violet Phillips remembered being out playing with her friends when the bell rang.  She wrote, “At nine o’clock at night, when the curfew bell started to ring, we almost fell out of the trees, fled from our hiding places in the weeds and back of the fences, to our homes, to be safe inside before the curfew bell stopped ringing.” Not every child obeyed the curfew law however, and as time wore on, the rules were rarely enforced.

In addition to announcing the curfew, the bell was used to get the citizens attention for other events such as parades and celebrations. Beginning in 1895, the bell was rung at 9:30 am on Sunday morning to announce the beginning of Sunday School.  The bell was also used as a fire bell.  At that time, Lehi citizens had to fight their own fires.  The city was divided into four quadrants and the number of taps on the bell notified them where the fire was.

Unfortunately, ringing the bell for several different uses came at a cost.  At 9:00 in the morning of 25 July 1898, the curfew bell begin to ring.  The bell had been rung frequently to celebrate the US victories during the Spanish American war so when the citizens of Lehi had heard the bell ring that morning, they gave it little thought.  It wasn’t until they saw smoke rising from the southeast part of town they realized that Joseph W. Goates sheds and haystacks were on fire.  A crowd quickly formed a bucket brigade to battle the flames but it was too late.  Thankfully, Joseph’s animals were saved, but his sheds and about 14 tons of hay were destroyed.

In 1901, the Lehi Fire Department was organized and a fire station was built next to city hall. The curfew bell doubled as a fire alarm until 1938 when it was replaced with a siren on top of a new fire station. The old bell was placed in storage and only used on the early mornings of July 4th when it was hauled around town on a trailer and rung by the fire department.

In 1973 the historic Curfew Bell was given a place of honor on a framework in front of the fire station at 54 North Center.  It remained at that location until 1990 when it was once again relocated in front of the new fire station at 176 North Center.