Page 20 - AAA Every Day – AAA Hudson Valley – September/October 2019

TRAVELER’S GUIDE
“Proclaim Liberty throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants thereof.” This is the first line of the inscription on the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. Originally known as the “State House Bell” when it was cast in 1753, the bell did not develop its iconic crack until the mid-nineteenth century after several decades of use. It also was around this time in the 1830s that it became
known as the Liberty Bell when it was
adopted as a symbol of the abolitionist
movement. Today, the bell is on display
near Independence Hall.
Jefferson City, Missouri
Many of the Liberty Bell replicas can be found at
or near state capitol complexes, but others can be a bit trickier to find. New York’s bell is inside the State Education Building in downtown Albany. For several years, the building was not open to the general public, but recently the Education Department has begun
offering tours. These free tours are available on Saturday afternoons by appointment. The Education building, completed in 1912, is recognized for its distinctive exterior columns and extensive artwork inside. Reservations for the tour can be made online at nysed.gov.
Each Liberty Bell replica is a little different. Some are proudly on display outdoors while others are hidden away inside and seldom seen. For many years, the North Dakota bell was inside a high school in Bismarck. Virginia’s bell sits outside of a firehouse in Charlottesville. Indiana keeps its bell inside the spectacular Indiana War Memorial in downtown Indianapolis. Some bells still have the original clapper inside, and some even have a crack painted on to match the real thing. For your next road trip, consider
going on a scavenger hunt to find one or more of these exquisite reproductions. It’s a fun piece of Americana and it might take you to some interesting places you would have otherwise missed.
Thomas Berens is a AAA Every Day contributor and a Liberty Bell Replica tracker.
Did you know that each state has its own replica of this famous American symbol? In 1950, the U.S. Treasury Department commissioned a foundry in France to cast the full-size replicas as part of a savings bond drive. It is believed that there are around 55 bells, one for each
of the states and territories, as well as an extra bell for then-President Harry Truman. This particular bell can now be found at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum in Independence, Missouri.
While Pennsylvania is where the
original bell resides, it too has a state
replica at the Zion’s Reformed Church in Allentown. During the Revolutionary War, the Liberty Bell was hidden inside this church while the city of Philadelphia was vulnerable to attack by the British. Today, there is a Liberty Bell Museum at the church and visitors have the opportunity to ring the replica.
Dover, Delaware
20 I SEP/OCT 2019
Springfield, Illinois