The Brock's Liberty Bell Replica Page

Texas’ Liberty Bell Replica. Serial #1.

“No one suffered more than the Aggies, so we will give it to them.”

On this day in 1950, Texas Governor Allan Shivers gave the state’s replica Liberty Bell to Texas A&M to honor Aggies who served in World War II. Today, the bell is suspended in the rotunda of the Academic Building: tx.ag/TAMULibertyBell

The Liberty Bell Museum of Allentown has been an incredible custodian of American history. Located in the basement of Zion’s Reformed United Church of Christ, the site of literally going underground and hiding the original Liberty Bell from falling into the hands of the British during the Revolution. In more recent times, the wonderful people at the museum have been the custodians of the Pennsylvania’s Liberty Bell 🔔 Replica since 1962. My family has enjoyed visiting the Liberty Bell Museum 🔔 of Allentown in recent years. It was a great joy a few years ago to visit with the Museum Director and Manager and to point out the serial number on the Pennsylvania Liberty Bell 🔔 Replica. Until that day, it had been a mystery that lasted about 58 years.

Looking forward to visiting the new location of this wonderful collection of American history, but also returning to Zion when visiting Pennsylvania to see the historical marker outside acknowledging the efforts and great measures taken to safeguard the original bell 🔔. Best of luck to you all in relocating this wonderful collection and particular care with moving and transporting the Pennsylvania Liberty Bell 🔔 Replica to its new home. Serialized number 4.

Godspeed to the good people of the Liberty Bell 🔔 Museum of Allentown.

Lehigh County Historical Society The Lehigh County Historical Society is one of the largest historical societies in America. Our 30,000 square foot headquarters museum, the Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum, is a state-of-the-art climate-controlled facility that houses one of the finest historical research libraries in the state of Pen...

Pictures of our visit to the South Carolina Liberty Bell Replica in November 2020. The plaque is present, the clapper is not. The yoke is showing its age, but everything else is in good shape. The cooler weather and fall foliage make it a great time of year to visit.

Pictures from our visit to the Georgia Liberty Bell Replica in November 2020. The plaque and clapper are present, although the clapper is restricted from ringing. The Liberty Plaza where the bell is located is a beautiful area and is across the street from the Capitol building.

Pictures of our visit to the North Carolina Liberty Bell Replica in November 2020. The original plaque is not present, the clapper is present and able to ring. This replica has a metal yoke, presumably replacing an original wooden yoke. It has the ability to hold up for many years to come. It was really a nice time of year to visit with the cooler weather and changing leaves.

Pictures of our visit to the Tennessee Liberty Bell Replica in November 2020. The plaque is not present, the clapper is present. There was a family ringing the bell as we were approaching the area. The tone and volume is as strong as ever.

Pictures from our visit to the Original Liberty Bell in October 2020. The bell is in good condition. New safety and security protocols are in place since our visit last fall. You may experience longer lines now due to social distancing and new security screening machines to enter the pavilion. Also, you can no longer walk all the way around the bell. You can only view from the front at this time.

Pictures from our visit to the Pennsylvania Liberty Bell 🔔 Replica in October 2020. The bell is in good condition. The plaque and clapper are present. And, as noted in a post last week, we were able to identify Pennsylvania as serial number 4.

Pictures from our visit to the New York Liberty Bell 🔔 Replica in October 2020. This was our first visit to the New York Bell since 2005. The bell is still in the same spot, at the top of the steps, inside the main entrance. In fact, one of the security guards said the bell only moves from that spot over the holidays when the Christmas 🎄 goes in that spot. The bell is in good condition. The plaque and clapper are present.

Pictures from our visit to the Vermont Liberty Bell 🔔 Replica in October 2020. The bell is in good condition. The plaque and clapper are present.

Pictures from our visit to the New Hampshire Liberty Bell 🔔 Replica in October 2020. The bell is in good condition. The plaque and clapper are present.

Today, Lana and I journeyed to the Liberty Bell Museum in Allentown, PA on a mission.

As followers of this page know, each of the official Treasury Department Liberty Bell replicas have a serial number, ranging from 1 (or 0...see the Wyoming album) to 55 (or maybe 57). There are a handful of bells whose numbers have been elusive...so much so that in some articles they have been described as not having numbers. These lists usually include Texas, Alaska....and Pennsylvania.

Most of the serial numbers are small raised numbers on the shoulder of the bell. However, last summer in Montana, we made a discovery. At first, we thought it had no number. But then, basically by dumb luck, we found a small etched, not raised, 8 on the crown of the bell. As we examined bells after that, we found that at least 11 of the first 14 serial numbers are etched on the crown. New Mexico (13) is raised, and we haven't personally examined Indiana (10) and Florida (12) since we discovered the etched numbers. Some had multiple etched numbers, as many as 4 or 5.

So, now we could reexamine the bells "with no numbers." Lana blew up the pictures she took of the Texas bell, and, lo and behold, there were a couple 1s on the crown. We were off to Alaska in June but got foiled...the crown has been painted with a thick coat of black paint, making any discovery of small etched numbers impossible. That left PA.

We take an annual trip to New England, so we set our itinerary to include a side trip to Allentown. The museum is only currently open by appointment, so we called and set one. I mentioned that we hoped to be able to find the serial number. Pastor JD Knappenberger said they had recently made a thorough search for it, to no avail.

As today approached, my apprehension increased. I had visions of reenacting Geraldo opening Al Capone's vault...getting to the bell and not finding a number.

So, we arrive. JD and the museum manager lead us to the bell. Lana examines the crown, and......

Pause for commerial break.

..and there are 2 small etched 4s. 4 is the number that lists show PA as being, but no one could find the number on the bell. Until now. Because of their location and size they are easy to lose in the normal wear and tear the crown suffers.

So, a bell that has been sitting in a corner of a museum since 1962, its serial number a mystery, has finally yielded its secret.

We love being bellers!