ST. PETER — History experts in southern Minnesota are investigating the possibility that a large bell anonymously left at a historic site in the state a few years ago is the same one that once hung in St. Peter’s history center.

The Mankato Free Press reports that the 132-year-old brass object was left at the Traverse des Sioux Treaty Site.

Some believe the bell hung at the St. Peter’s Arts and Heritage Center until a tornado destroyed the building in 1998.

Eileen Holz is vice president of the Nicollet County Historical Society.

She used information stamped on the bell to locate where it was created, discovering that Philip Dick of St. Peter may have purchased the bell in 1886.

Officials are waiting for more proof before confirming the piece is the missing bell.