Hamilton County's 250-pound Ohio Bicentennial Bell, made on a mobile foundry at the Tall Stacks festival, was broken out of its mold Thursday morning, ground and polished in the afternoon, and rung for the first time last night.

It was the 86th bell made by Cincinnati-based Verdin Co., which has been creating one for each of Ohio's 88 counties.

In the morning, under the shadow of the Cincinnatus statue at Sawyer Point, former Ohio Senate President Richard Finan of Evendale wielded a 10-pound sledgehammer to attempt to break the hardened sand and resin mold. The Verdin crew finished the job, peeling off the rest of the mold using jackhammers and picks. Hunks of mold were distributed to the crowd.

At the 6 p.m. ceremony, local World War II veteran Dale W. Griffin rang the bell, which rings in the note "E."