LAKEPORT, Calif. — The effort to preserve a piece of unique Lakeport history will be celebrated this week.

The Lakeport curfew bell is at the heart of a new monument to be dedicated at Xabatin Park in a “Rotary After Dark” event planned for 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 23.

The project, a collaboration between the city of Lakeport and the Lakeport Rotary, focused on taking the historic Lakeport “curfew” — or “hooligan” — bell, which had sat in storage for many years, and placing it at the center of a new monument at the park, which opened a year ago this month.

The bell once was used to alert children to return home for the night.

During the June meeting in which the Lakeport City Council gave its final approval on the project, Lakeport Public Works Director Ron Ladd credited Public Works Superintendent Jim Kennedy for finding the bell sitting in storage on the Lake County Fairgrounds property.

Mark Lipps, a local businessman and Rotary District 5130 Area governor who took the club’s lead on the project during his term as president that ended earlier this year, reported that the bell has been installed at the park.

He said the bell originally was installed downtown just after the historic Lakeport courthouse was built in the 1870s.

“This has been a Lakeport Rotary labor of love for the last year,” he told fellow Rotarians in an email update on the bell project.

The Rotary reported that the bell display, commemorative plaque and accompanying benches are located near the parking lot and the bathrooms.

The monument’s completion comes as the Lakeport Rotary itself is planning to celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2025.

“This club is a part of the history and legacy of this community. I am excited that our club plans to continue telling the stories of ‘days gone by’ in celebrating our 100th Anniversary. Stay tuned for those details. We will continue the sweat equity in leaving more footprints around town for today and upcoming generations,” Lipps reported in his email update.

The community is encouraged to attend the Wednesday celebration.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.