RATHDRUM - A Rathdrum icon may be hopping Highway 53 to a new home.

The Northern Lakes Fire District wants the 1897 bell that has been in City Park since 1977 to return to its original home - the local fire department - after the new station is built down the road on Highway 53 this year.

"That bell means a lot to us and we'd like to establish it at the new station with a light on it under the flagpoles," said Larry Clark, Northern Lakes commissioner, adding that a display with information on the bell would be erected in the station's lobby.

"The fire bell is part of the heritage of both the city of Rathdrum and Northern Lakes Fire and represents more than just a piece of the past; it is a memorial to firefighters of the past. It needs to be taken care of properly and this is the place to do it."

Clark made his pitch to the City Council this week during an update on the new station's timeline. The council decided to postpone a decision until the city receives input from the 20th Century Reading Circle of Rathdrum, a group that raised funds to place it in the park.

Rena Hawley, president of the club, said on Thursday that the group supports the move.

"From the plans we've seen, we believe it's a good place for it," Hawley said. "It will be taken care of and available to the community. We also thought about the children who tour the fire station."

The village trustees of Rathdrum set aside $400 in 1896 to buy the bell built by the Meneely Bell Foundry of Troy, N.Y. The inscription on the bell says, "Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty."

Also inscribed are the names of men who lost homes and businesses in some of the great fires of the past as well as the names of firemen.

During its days in service, three tolls on the bell would summon the firefighters and three more would signal the fire was out and they had returned home. The bell was placed in storage in the 1960s and replaced with a civil defense siren. It was placed in Rathdrum City Park in 1977.

"The bell served the community for more than 60 years and is deserving of a place where it can be displayed more prominently and protected," Clark said, adding that the clapper has been removed due to noise complaints.

Lance Bridges, Rathdrum's parks director, said the city wants to make sure it makes the right move with the bell.

"It's an icon of Rathdrum and there's a lot of pride in the community with that bell," he said. "I think that it needs to be in a place that's unique because it does have a long history. I want what's best for the bell."

Meanwhile, Clark said the contractor for the new fire station is expected to be chosen in mid-May after a bid process.

"We should be breaking ground by June 1," he said.

The 10,000-square-foot station is being funded with a $1 million federal grant through the Federal Emergency Management Agency and $1 million in matching funds the district has saved.

The station will have living quarters, a kitchen, drive-through bays, a hazardous materials area and a shop.

BNSF Railway donated nearly 3 acres valued at $660,000 along Highway 53 next to the current station for the project. The existing station will be used for storage.