The Thomas Rees Memorial Carillon is the gift of Senator Thomas Rees, publisher of Illinois State Register from 1881 until his death in 1933. During World War I, Rees served on the International Board of Arbitration for newspapers and later for unions, providing him the opportunity to travel throughout Europe. Rees attributed his great interest in bells to visiting carillons in Belgium and the Netherlands—although his initial interest was the result of articles he had read in National Geographic, the Musical Quarterly and Art and Archeology by William Gorham Rice.

Rees provided a $200,000 bequest to build the carillon and left very specific instructions in his will regarding the number of bells and the location of the carillon. Robert Stuart, President of the Springfield Park District (1959 – 1975) carefully and meticulously implemented the Senator’s vision by consulting and hiring the architects, designers and bell foundry when the carillon was constructed. While the Rees Carillon is one of the world’s largest carillons with 67 bells, more importantly, the quality of the bells coupled with the tower’s location in Washington Park distinguishes the Rees Carillon as one of the world’s finest instruments.