Kaskaskia Bell State Memorial
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Kaskaskia Bell State Memorial is a monument located in Kaskaskia, Illinois containing the Kaskaskia Bell, also known as "The Liberty Bell of the West," a gift from King Louis XV of France to the Catholic Church of
New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...
. The 140-pound bell was cast in 1741 in
La Rochelle, France La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...
. After George Rogers Clark took Kaskaskia from the British on July 4, 1778, the bell was rung in celebration. From then on, it was known as the Liberty Bell of the West. The building currently housing the bell was built in 1948. Recently, an audio program has been added sharing the history of the bell with visitors. The bell was washed away from its stand during both the Flood of 1973 and the
Great Flood of 1993 The Great Flood of 1993 (or Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood of 1993) was a flood that occurred in the Midwestern United States, along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers and their tributaries, from April to October 1993. The flood wa ...
, widening the hairline crack discovered in 1948. As a result, the bell can no longer be rung, although Independence Day ceremonies are still held.{{Cite web, url=https://www2.illinois.gov/dnrhistoric/Experience/Sites/Southwest/Pages/Kaskaskia-Bell.aspx, title=Kaskaskia Bell Memorial, website=www2.illinois.gov, language=en-US, access-date=2018-01-27 The site is maintained by the
Illinois Historic Preservation Division The Illinois Historic Preservation Division, formerly Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of Illinois, and is a division of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. It is tasked with the duty of m ...
.


References

Monuments and memorials in Illinois Individual bells in the United States Illinois State Historic Sites 1948 establishments in Illinois