The Liberty Bell Trail is a suburban

rail trail A rail trail or railway walk is a shared-use path on a Right of way#Rail right of way, railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the rail corr ...

under construction in southeastern

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. When complete it will cover in suburban southeastern

, traveling from East Norriton Township in Montgomery County to Quakertown in

Bucks County Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the English ...

. It was proposed in 1996, and partially follows the former path of the now defunct Liberty Bell Trolley Route, which had been operated by the Lehigh Valley Transit Company from around 1900 to 1951. The

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

route was named by the company for the

Liberty Bell The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American Revolution, American independence located in Philadelphia. Originally placed in the steeple of Pennsylvania State House, now know ...

because a branch of it followed

Bethlehem Pike Bethlehem Pike is a historic long road in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that connects Philadelphia and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It began as a Native American path called the Minsi Trail which developed into a colonial highway called the King ...

, the road along which the bell was transported in September 1777 when it was being moved from

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

to Northamptontown (now

Allentown Allentown may refer to: Places * Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California * Allentown, Georgia, a city in four counties in Georgia * Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Tazewell County * Allentown, New Jersey, a boroug ...

) for safekeeping shortly before the British occupation of Philadelphia 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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. The trail has been named for both the trolley route and the bell. The route passes through 15 municipalities (from south to north): * East Norriton Township * Whitpain Township * Upper Gwynedd Township * Lansdale Borough * Hatfield Township * Hatfield Borough * Franconia Township * Souderton Borough * Telford Borough * West Rockhill Township * Hilltown Township * Sellersville Borough * Perkasie Borough * Richland Township * Quakertown Borough

References

External links

Liberty Bell Trail homeMaps of the route
Rail trails in Pennsylvania Protected areas of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Protected areas of Bucks County, Pennsylvania {{US-trail-stub

See also

References

External links