Episcopal Church in Highlands raises copper steeple into place

The Episcopal Church of the Incarnation in Highlands installed a shiny new copper steeple on Aug. 25 as part of a $6M renovation project.

The installation of the steeple by JDavis Construction was done by crane in two parts. First, a 6,500-pound octagonal frame was hoisted 76-feet into the air and set down around the newly installed church bells. Next, came the process of installing the 2,600-pound steeple on top.

Pictured below is a glimpse of the installation process for the new steeple.

Andrew MacColl, Senior Project Manager at JDavis, said they needed to raise the steeple into position multiple times in order to drill 16 holes through the steel octagon base. This was a time-consuming process with very little room to move around inside the steeple while drilling the holes.

The housing for the new church bells (left) and the copper steeple on a trailer ready to be hoisted into position. The steeple in the middle is being delivered to a church in Tennessee.

“I would like to say that JDavis is proud of what has been accomplished here with this difficult internal build,” said MacColl. “A tremendous amount of time and effort went into this particular piece of the project. Our entire staff did a job well done!”

Installed first was the housing for the bells weighing 6,500 pounds.

Rev. Bentley Manning said the new steeple looks wonderful.

“In addition to housing our bells, the spire is intended to be a beacon of God’s sanctuary – a place where we gather to experience God’s love, grace, and salvation,” said Fr. Manning. “I hope the beauty of the spire communicates something like this to our community for generations to come.”

Placed on top of the housing is the 2,600-pound copper steeple.

Fr. Manning said now that the bells and steeple are in place, they can focus on internal aspects of the renovation.

“We are really pushing to finish out the inside of the church,” he said. “Some of these elements are artistic while others are purely functional.”

The interior of the new copper steeple.

Renovations began in November 2020 and Fr. Manning said construction has gone smoothly.

“We are grateful for all the skill, dedication, and expertise our contractor and sub-contractors have brought to the project,” he said.

Read more about the renovation project at the Episcopal Church of the Incarnation HERE.

Read more about the installation of the church bells HERE.

An aerial view of downtown Highlands and the newly installed steeple on the right.

Article and photos by Brian O’Shea
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