The Liberty Bell, an iconic symbol of the American Revolutionary War, originally hung in Independence Hall and is traditionally believed to have rung on July 8, 1776, to call Philadelphia’s citizens to hear the first reading of the Declaration of Independence. It was also rung for the First Continental Congress in 1774 and after the Battle of Lexington and Concord in 1775, though historians doubt this due to the deteriorated steeple. The bell, commissioned in 1751 for the Pennsylvania State House to mark William Penn’s Charter of Privileges’ 50th anniversary, was cast in London, cracked during testing, and recast by Pass and Stow in 1753. In 1777, it was hidden in Allentown to prevent the British from melting it down for ammunition.
The term “Liberty Bell” was popularized by the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1837, previously known as the Independence or Old Yankee’s Bell. The exact timing of the bell’s crack is unknown, but it was repaired in 1846 and last tolled on Washington’s birthday that year before becoming unusable. Displayed in Independence Hall’s “Declaration Chamber” since 1852, it toured various expositions until 1930. For the 1976 Bicentennial, it was moved to a glass pavilion and then to the Liberty Bell Center in 2003.
Independence National Historical Park preserves several sites associated with the American Revolution. Administered by the National Park Service, the 45-acre park was authorized in 1948, and established on July 4, 1956.
Independence National Park Historic District National Register #66000675 (1966)
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