By Kae Warnock

We all know about the Liberty Bell, and that it became a symbol of independence. Before the famous crack, the bell was rung in the early years of our nation’s independence for many occasions, including to remind voters to cast their ballots and to call the legislature into session. 

When Washington’s army lost the Battle of Brandywine in September of 1777, the Liberty Bell was secreted away, along with 10 other bells, under the floorboards in the Zion Reformed Church in what is now known as Allentown, Penn. (It was common at the time for bells in captured towns to be melted down to become cannons.)

No one knows exactly when the Liberty Bell cracked, but it is thought that it was between1817 and 1846. From the mid 1880s through 1915, even though the Liberty Bell could no longer be rung, it traveled by rail to seven events—as far away as San Francisco—so the American people could see it. However, each time the bell traveled, the cracks became larger and the symbol of liberty further endangered. Following the 1915 trip, it was decided that the bell would travel no more.

In 1950, the Liberty Bell was chosen as the symbol for a U.S. savings bond campaign. But how could the public be persuaded to invest in savings bonds, if the symbol could no longer travel? Enter President Harry S. Truman and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury John W. Snyder. Together they convinced six copper companies to fund the casting of 54 full-size replicas of the Liberty Bell. 

The exact duplicates of the Liberty Bell were created by the Paccard Foundry in Annecy-le-Vieux, France, and a faux crack was hand-painted on each bell. These were shipped as gifts to the 48 states, Alaska, Hawaii, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands to be mounted on trucks along with the slogan “Save for Your Independence.” The trucks carried the bells from town to town so that the citizens could see and hear the Liberty Bell. For as Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote in the "Sound of Music," “A bell is not a bell unless you ring it”, and Truman wanted Americans to hear the Liberty Bell for the first time. 

If you did your math a moment ago, you noticed that I only mentioned 53 of the bells. The 54th bell was given to the people of Annecy-le-Vieux as a token of thanks from the United States. Not to be outdone, the city of Annecy-le-Vieux sent a 55th bell to Independence, Mo., as the city was fittingly named and Missouri was Truman's birth state.

What Happened to the Bells?

After the savings bond drive, some of the bells went into storage for a time and a news article in the mid-1970s lamented that some of the bells were no longer on display. During the bicentennial in 1976, at least three states—Illinois, Kentucky and Mississippi—remounted their bells on trucks so that they could travel around to communities once again.

Today, 32 of the Liberty Bell replicas given to the states are located either inside the capitol or on the capitol grounds. (This includes the Kansas bell, which is currently in storage awaiting restoration.) 

Ten bells found homes on the grounds of state-owned buildings or museums and the District of Columbia’s bell is on the grounds of the U.S. Treasury Building. The bells given to Maryland and Texas are on college campuses; North Dakota’s bell is at a high school; Washington’s bell is on the federal courthouse grounds in the capital city; New Mexico’s bell is on display at the state fairgrounds; three bells, those of New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands are displayed in public parks; and Virginia’s bell is located at a fire station in Charlottesville. Pennsylvania’s bell is fittingly displayed in the basement of the current Zion Reformed Church in Allentown and the final bell is on the grounds of the Truman Library in Independence, Missouri.

But wait, there’s more ...

If you have noticed other Liberty Bell replicas that I haven’t mentioned, you aren’t going crazy. According to the Paccard Foundry, still operating in France today, more than 300 additional copies of the bell have been made since 1950. 

Kae Warnock is NCSL’s expert on capitol buildings, security, personnel, bells and more.

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