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The bell that was inside the tower of the former Hebron United Methodist Church in Attleboro for almost 125 years is now on its way to a summer camp.

A crew from Gilbane Building Company of Providence was at the South Main Street church Thursday to remove the bell from the tower and transport it to its new home, Camp Fuller in Wakefield, R.I., which is operated by the Greater Providence YMCA. The camp, in fact, was named after Frederick Fuller, who helped procure land for the camp in the late 1800s and whose family owned the Providence foundry where the bell was cast in 1883.

Because of the camp's connection to the Fuller family, Y officials had wanted to obtain a Fuller bell, said Martin Hanoin, a member of the camp's board of directors and its historian.

In doing research a few months ago, Hanoin learned that the Hebron church was up for sale and had a Fuller bell. He then contacted officials of Centenary United Methodist Church in Attleboro, which has jurisdiction over the Hebron church, and asked if the Greater Providence YMCA could acquire the bell.

The Rev. Garvin Warden of Centenary Church said when the request was made, he took it to the church council and trustees, who agreed to let the Y have the bell for a $2,500 donation. Hanoin said the bell will be placed on the ground at the camp so it can be readily seen, and will be used to call campers to meals.

But for more than a century, the bell summoned people to worship at the Hebron church, which housed an active congregation for more than 120 years until it merged with Centenary Church in 1998 because of dwindling membership.

The Hebron building then became the Hebron Village Outreach Center and was used over the years for community programs and two food pantries. The food programs will be relocated after the sale.

The intended buyer of the Hebron church is All Saints Anglican parish, and Warden said the removal of the bell prior to the sale was part of the negotiations.

The sale is expected to be finalized soon, but the Anglican parish is now facing a lawsuit filed by the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts in a dispute over money used by the parish after it split from the diocese and the national Episcopal Church.