The Illinois times. (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-19??, 1950-06-16
OPEN HOUSE IN CARVER PARK
The Story of the
Liberty Bell

starts With q letter written OF the
lst Of November 1881. By Isaac
Norris. Thomas Leech and Edward
Warner, superintendeuss Of indie
pendenee Hall, known Is the state
House, 70 Robert Charles, Colonial
Agent Of the Province IN London
This letter requested Mr.. Charles
10 procure a bell from England
Of about two thousand pounds
weight the cost Of which we pre-
sumo may amount to 100 pounds
sterling Let the bell be cast
by the best workmen and examined
carefully before ii IS shipped. With
these followin words. we'll shapen
in large letters around H. via
By order OF the Assembly of the
Province Of Pennsylvania, for the
State House in the City Of Phila-
delphia. 1852. and underneath;
Proclaim Liberty Throughout all
the Land unto all the Inhabitants
thereof Lev XIV. To-" With
this letter the Liberty Bell was
started. 1t was first cast by Thorn
as Lister of Whitechapel, London,
and arrived at Philadelphia IN the
latter part of August, l752. 1t
was hung on trusses In the state
House yard, now called lndepeh-
dence Square, 10 test ist sound
before being raised to the tower
The Bell cracked during that test
and was recast by Pass and STOW
two ingenious workmen," Of Phil
adelphia.
The Liberty Bell was recast in
Philadelphia by Pass and Stow
twice. a fact which is very little
known. In recasting. the English
model was broken up and the met
al was sued, with the addition OF
an ounce and one half of American
copper to the pound Of the old bell
metal to make the bell less brittle
and give it better tone. The
same form and lettering were used
with the substitution of the names
of the two men that reeast the
bell-Pass and Stow, the place and
year of recasting.
The third casting Of the bell
with the original metal proved sa-
tisfactory and it is the relic that
visitor views today. The bell was
hung this time permanently In
steeple of the State House In
dependence HalD where it remain
ed until the steeple was taken
down. July Is, 1881. and the bell
was lowered into the brick tower,
where it remained until 1916. At
this date it was placed on public
exhibition as a relic in the Declar-
alton Chamber in Independence
Hall, 1t remained there until 1876,
when it was placed on its old wal
nut frame in the tower hallway,
remaining there until 1877, when
it was hung from the ceiling of
the clerestory of the tower by a
chain of I3 links. 1t was returned
again to the Declaration Chamber
and was placed in a glass case
the following year, and in 1896
was taken back to the tower hall.
In 1915 the case was removed so
that the public might have the OPP
portunity to touch it, reverent
privilege constantly sought by
many. The greatest event as
sociated with the Bell was its toll
ing to announce the Proclamation
of the Adoption of the Declaration
of Independence, on July 8, l776,
read in public at Philadelphia, in
the Old State House Yard, from
the balcony of the astronomical
observatory located on the north
eastern end of the yard, since re-
moved. At the conclusion of the
reading. the bell. Andrew McNair,
tolled the Liberty Bell once more.
From this date on. the relic con-
tinued to record the events of the
Revolution and thereafter uninter-
ruptedly until in 1885 it cracked
while tolling the death Of Chief
Justice John Marshall of the Unit
ed States Supreme Court.
In 1916 it was suggested that
the Bell should be rung on Wash
ington's birthday, and the crack
was drilled out TO separate the
parted with the hope of restoring
the Bell otne. This experiment was
unsuccessful and the Bell has not
been rung since 1885. 1t has been
tapped on numerous occasions, In
GLIDING "D-Day," June 6. 1944. at
the landing of Allied troops in Nor