05/17/2026
Long before radios, social media, or even widespread daily newspaper delivery, Urbana had its own living public announcement system a man with a bell, a cane, and a voice nearly everyone in town knew.
For more than 60 years, Harvey Robinson, affectionately known as “Blind Harvey”, walked the streets of Urbana announcing auction sales, church dinners, and community events. Blind from a young age, Harvey knew Urbana so well that residents often remarked he could navigate the city “better than many who could see.”
As he walked the streets, people would hear his familiar call ringing out:
“Auction! Auction! Right this way!”
Or, when promoting a church dinner:
“Dinner! Dinner, right this way and get a big dinner at the Second Baptist Church! Chicken, ham and everything good to eat for 25 cents!”
As the clanging of his trademark brass bell rang out.
Born into slavery in Virginia around 1845, Harvey came to Urbana as a young man and eventually became one of the city’s most recognizable figures. Though blind, he traveled nearly every street in town with remarkable independence, tapping his cane along sidewalks and storefronts. The coming of the automobile in Urbana required kind Urbana citizens to offer some assistance for the beloved town crier to ensure he could cross city streets safely.
Harvey was part of Urbana’s daily rhythm and part of the social fabric of neighborhoods like St. Paul Neighborhood where he resided in later years. Many Urbana residents recalled Harvey fondly, and reported he would greet people by name when he recognized their voice.
In his later years, Harvey’s health declined, and in 1928 Urbana reported that the familiar figure many had watched tapping his cane through town had become seriously ill. He died shortly afterward at the home of his sister, Anna Stanhope at 320 Hill Street, ending a presence that had been woven into Urbana life for generations. Newspapers called him “Blind Harvey, the Old Town Crier,” noting that he had become a familiar face to Urbana residents for more than sixty years.
Yet Harvey’s story did not end with his passing. His well-known brass bell, the same one that rang through Urbana streets announcing auctions and church dinners, remained a treasured family keepsake. Decades later, his nephew Melwood Stanhope carefully preserved the bell as a cherished heirloom and reminder of Harvey’s remarkable life. Family members recalled that people all over Urbana recognized the bell and remembered hearing it echo through downtown as Harvey made his rounds.
Today the sound of that bell may be gone, but Harvey's story, still echoes through Urbana history.
The photos: 320 Hill Street where Harvey Robinson passed away in 1928 while residing with his sister, Anna Stanhope. Melwood Stanhope posing with Harvey's brass bell in 1954.
