The Liberty Bell Museum (also the Liberty Bell Shrine Museum) is a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

and museum located in Zion's United Church of Christ (formerly Zion's Reformed Church) in Allentown, Pennsylvania in the

Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...

region of eastern

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. The museum is based in the church in which the Liberty Bell, an iconic and globally-recognized symbol of America's independence, was hidden from the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

by Allentown-area

American patriots Patriots, also known as Revolutionaries, Continentals, Rebels, or American Whigs, were the colonists of the Thirteen Colonies who rejected British rule during the American Revolution, and declared the United States of America an independent n ...

during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

from September 1777 to June 1778. The museum was constructed and opened in 1962 and contains exhibits relating to the Liberty Bell and subjects including liberty, freedom, patriotism and local history. It also contains a full-size replica of the Liberty Bell, one of 55 replicas cast in France in 1950 for a

U.S. Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...

savings bond promotion, which visitors are permitted to ring. Also on display is Allentown's Liberty Bell, which was cast in 1769 for Zion's Reformed Church and is believed to have been rung on July 8, 1776 to announce the public reading in Allentown of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...

. Zion's Church, built in 1886 to replace the former church on the site, is one of 14 structures in Allentown listed on the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

; however, the federal law that created the registry provides no protection against actions taken by property owners. The shrine was founded in 1962 by Ralph H. Griesemer and Morgan D. Person.

History

After General George Washington's and the Continental Army's defeat at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777, the revolutionary capital of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

was defenseless, and the city prepared for what was seen as an inevitable British attack on the city. Pennsylvania's Supreme Executive Council ordered that eleven bells, including the State House bell and the bells from Christ Church and St. Peter's Church in Philadelphia, be taken down and removed from the city to prevent the

from taking possession of them and melting them down to cast into munitions for use in the war. A train of over 700 wagons, guarded by 200 cavalry from

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

under command of Colonel Thomas Polk of the 4th Regiment North Carolina Continental Line, left Philadelphia for

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

in the

with the bells hidden in the manure and hay. The State House Bell was hidden in the wagon of Northampton County militia private John Jacob Mickley. On September 18, the entourage and its armed escort arrived in Richland Township (present-day Quakertown). On September 23, 1777, the bishop of the

Moravian Church , image = AgnusDeiWindow.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , caption = Church emblem featuring the Agnus Dei.Stained glass at the Rights Chapel of Trinity Moravian Church, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States , main_classification = Proto-Prot ...

in Bethlehem reported that the wagons had arrived, and all bells except the State House bell had been moved to Northampton Towne in present-day

Allentown Allentown may refer to several places in the United States and topics related to them: *Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California *Allentown, Georgia, a town in Wilkinson County *Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Taze ...

. The following day, the State House bell was transferred to the wagon of

Frederick Leaser Frederick Leaser (1738–1810) was a Pennsylvanian German farmer, Patriot (American Revolution), patriot and soldier from Lynn Township, Pennsylvania, Lynn in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. During the American Revolutionary War, he transported the L ...

and taken to the historic Zion Reformed Church in center city Allentown, where it was stored (along with the other bells), under the church's floorboards. Three days after the Liberty Bell's arrival in Bethlehem, on September 26, 1777, British forces marched into Philadelphia unopposed and occupied the city. The bell was later returned to Philadelphia in June 1778 following the end of the British occupation of Philadelphia. On November 19, 1908, the Liberty Bell Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution unveiled the Saving of the Liberty Bell Plaque, describing the efforts of Mickley and Leaser, at Zion Reformed Church in Allentown. On January 11, 2022, Zion's Consistory, the church's governing body, announced plans to put the church up for sale in late 2022 because of "declining membership and financial problems related to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

." While the announcement did not indicate how the potential sale might impact the future of the Liberty Bell Museum, a consistory spokesperson indicated that preserving the museum was the church's "highest priority." The museum is closing permanently after April 1, 2023. morning call march 30, 2023 https://www.mcall.com/2023/03/30/liberty-bell-museum-closing-in-allentown-photos/

Allentown Flag Day Association

The museum serves as the headquarters of the Allentown Flag Day Association, which was established on July 3, 1907 by local residents Joe Hart and General

Harry Clay Trexler Henry Clay Trexler (April 17, 1854 – November 17, 1933) was an American industrialist, businessman, and major philanthropist who contributed to the economic development of Allentown, Pennsylvania and the surrounding Lehigh Valley in the late 19 ...

. It is the oldest incorporated Flag Day Association in the United States. The Association's most notable event occurred in 1922, when 50,000 people attended an event honoring General John J. Pershing with an award.

Pip the Mouse

In 2003, the Liberty Bell Museum became the permanent home of Pip the Mouse, a puppet that was part of the show, "The Mouse Before Christmas." The holiday show originally was performed at

Hess's Hess's was a department store chain based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The company started in 1897 with one store, originally known as Hess Brothers, and grew to nearly 80 stores by its peak in the late 1980s. The chain's stores were closed or sol ...

, a now-defunct local department store, from 1962 to 1995. The character of Pip became regionally famous among children and was a staple of the store's holiday advertising and marketing campaigns.

Gallery

File:Arrival of Liberty Bell in Allentown - 1777.jpg, Reproduction of a watercolor by Davis Gray of the arrival of the Liberty Bell at Zions Church, in Northampton Town, Pennsylvania on September 24, 1777 File:Second Zions Memorial Church.jpg, Woodcut of the Second Zion's Reformed United Church of Christ in Allentown, Pennsylvania. This illustrated the church that was erected in 1773 and was the hiding place for the Liberty Bell during the winter of 1777–1778 File:The Saving of the Liberty Bell Plaque, Zion Reformed Church, Allentown, PA.jpg, The Saving of the Liberty Bell Plaque commemorating John Jacob Mickley and

File:Liberty Bell Shrine, Zion Reformed Church, Allentown, PA - entrance.jpg, Entrance to Liberty Bell Museum in Allentown, Pennsylvania File:1893 - Liberty Bell in Allentown PA.jpg, Liberty Bell returns in Allentown in 1893 on its way to Philadelphia following the Columbian Exposition in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Background: Hotel Allen with Zion's Church on the far right. File:1908 - Zions Memorial Church - Allentown PA.jpg, Zion's Reformed Church before the unveiling of the Mickley-Leaser plaque, 1908.

References

External links

Official websiteLiberty Bell Church official website
{{Coord, 40.6023, -75.4704, region:US-PA_type:landmark, display=title 1777 in the United States American Revolutionary War museums in Pennsylvania History of Allentown, Pennsylvania History museums in Pennsylvania Museums in Allentown, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania in the American Revolution Shrines