In the mid-1700s Philadelphia wanted a bell with a voice strong enough to call people together. When the Liberty Bell first rang it was loud enough to turn heads across the city. Imagine a quieter world no engines no sirens no constant hum. When that bell was struck its sound cut cleanly through the air. People stopped what they were doing. The tone was not beautiful but it was commanding. It did its job.
It was originally cast in 1752 in London by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. That first version cracked almost immediately during testing after it arrived in Philadelphia and was judged unusable.
But the bell always struggled. Even in its early days it did not sing the way a great bell should. The sound was heavy and uneven more of a blunt announcement than a clear musical note. Over time each strike stressed the metal just a little more. Tiny fractures formed. The tone grew rougher. By the early 1800s the bell no longer rang so much as it groaned. When it was struck for Washington’s birthday in 1846 the sound was so harsh that it shocked listeners. After that day the bell fell silent forever.
The bell was then melted down and recast in Philadelphia by John Pass and John Stow in 1753. Their foundry was located near what is now Market Street in Philadelphia. This second casting is the Liberty Bell as we know it today although it later developed the famous crack after decades of use.
Why Didn’t the British Steal The Bell?
During the Revolutionary War, the British did not just occupy towns; they stripped them. Anything that could be reused for the war effort was fair game, especially metal. Church and courthouse bells were prime targets. Cast from bronze, a valuable mix of copper and tin, bells were routinely seized and melted down to make cannon shot, artillery parts, and ammunition. This practice played out across New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, wherever British troops or Loyalist raiding parties had access. Town bells that had called people to worship, celebrate, and gather were suddenly reduced to raw material for war.
Westfield sat directly in the path of this activity. Longstanding local tradition holds that the bell from the original meetinghouse of what is now the Westfield Presbyterian Church was taken by British forces and ferried to Staten Island where it was melted down. Staten Island served as a major British stronghold and military depot throughout the war making it a logical destination for confiscated metal. Bells taken from New Jersey communities were commonly transported across the Arthur Kill or Kill van Kull for that purpose and Westfield’s bell never reappeared after the conflict.
The Liberty Bell avoided this fate for a simple reason. It was removed before the British could reach it. As British forces advanced on Philadelphia in 1777 Patriot leaders recognized that large bells were obvious targets. The Liberty Bell along with other city bells was taken down and hidden in rural Pennsylvania until the occupation ended. When the British entered Philadelphia the bell was already gone.
Just as important the Liberty Bell was not yet a revered national symbol. To the British it would have been just another civic bell worth melting down if it had been available. Its symbolic power came decades later. The difference between Westfield’s lost bell and the Liberty Bell was not importance but preparation. One was exposed and taken. The other was hidden in time.
Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell and London’s Big Ben
High above the city in the Elizabeth Tower hung the Great Bell known as Big Ben. When it struck the hour the sound rolled outward like a wave. Deep calm and perfectly controlled. It was not just heard it was felt. Windows trembled. The ground itself seemed to acknowledge the time. Unlike the Liberty Bell this sound was intentional engineered calculated and tested. The tone was pure and steady. E natural ringing with authority.
Big Ben cracked too. But here is the difference. Even with its crack the bell held together. Its massive size and superior metal balance allowed the sound to remain strong and recognizable. London kept listening. The bell kept speaking.
The Liberty Bell and Big Ben tell two very different stories through sound. One was smaller imperfect and fragile yet deeply human. Its voice faded but its meaning grew louder. The other was powerful disciplined and enduring a sound that still defines a city and a nation’s sense of time.
Today one bell is silent and the other still rings. Yet both are heard. The Liberty Bell speaks through what it represents. Big Ben speaks through its voice. And together they remind us that history is not only something we read or see. Sometimes it is something we hear. And sometimes something we can no longer hear at all.
The Butter Bell Heard Round Pennsylvania
In January 2026 at the Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg, a giant 1 000-pound butter sculpture was unveiled to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary. Sculpted from a massive block of butter donated by Land O’Lakes, the piece is titled “A Toast to Our Nation’s 250th Anniversary: Inspired by Founders. Grown by Farmers.” and honors both the founding era and Pennsylvania’s agricultural heritage. It was carved in early January by artists Jim Victor and Marie Pelton and depicts a 1776 Philadelphia scene with Benjamin Franklin, the Founding Fathers signing the Declaration of Independence, a celebratory milk toast and the Liberty Bell among the patriotic elements.
The sculpture was on display in the Main Hall of the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center in Harrisburg from January 10 through January 17, 2026, as part of the official kick-off of “America250PA” celebrations. About 1,000 pounds of real butter were donated by Land O’Lakes specifically for the Pennsylvania Farm Show butter sculpture honoring America’s 250th anniversary. Supplying the butter is part of a long standing Farm Show tradition highlighting Pennsylvania’s dairy industry and its national partners. After the show, the 1,000 pounds of butter were carefully scraped off the frame and recycled into renewable energy at a farm methane digester in Juniata County.
The Lego Liberty Bell
Another strange liberty bell is the life-size LEGO Liberty Bell on permanent display in Terminal A-West at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL). The bell was originally created as part of a promotional campaign and contest where people guessed how many LEGO bricks were used to build it, with the rumored total around 1,776 bricks as a nod to the year of American independence. Professional LEGO builds of similar size routinely use 10,000+ pieces, even when hollow. So yes your instinct is correct so there’s no way it is only 1,776.The model has become a popular selfie spot for travelers passing through the terminal.
Libery Bell and America250PA
As part of the 250th anniversary of the United States, America250PA launched a project known as Bells Across Pennsylvania. Rather than altering or recreating the historic Liberty Bell this initiative places dozens of full size Liberty Bell replicas across the state as outdoor public art. Each bell is made of fiberglass not metal and is uniquely designed by local artists to reflect the history culture and identity of its host community.
Pennsylvania’s goal is to have at least one bell in every county with clusters in major cities. In Philadelphia alone roughly 20 artist designed bells are planned for display in neighborhoods parks and civic spaces throughout 2026. Together with the butter sculpture at the Farm Show the project has fueled talk that the Liberty Bell is being remade in unusual ways. In reality, the original bell remains untouched while its image is being used statewide as a unifying symbol to tell local stories during America’s 250th year.
The “Almost Liberty Bell” and Ties To Jersey
Cumberland County New Jersey has its own authentic Liberty Bell story that predates the modern America 250 celebrations. The county possesses an original eighteenth century courthouse bell often referred to locally as the Cumberland County Liberty Bell. Cast in England and acquired by subscription for the county courthouse in Bridgeton around 1760 the bell was used to summon residents for civic business. Local tradition holds that it rang in 1776 when news of the Declaration of Independence reached the community. Over time it also served as a war alarm during the War of 1812 a fire bell and even a school bell. Today this historic bell is preserved and displayed inside the Cumberland County Courthouse where visitors can see it under glass.
Alongside this historic artifact Cumberland County is also participating in the modern America 250 public art movement. As part of the America250PA Bells Across Pennsylvania initiative a full size fiberglass Liberty Bell replica has been installed outside the Old Cumberland County Courthouse in Bridgeton,New Jersey. This contemporary bell does not ring and is
Final Thought
If you think it’s butter, but it’s not….. it’s the Liberty Bell.
As the Bell Tolls…. Liberty vs. Big Ben
Don’t know why, but we thought it interesting enough to check out the “tale of the tape” to compare two of the world’s most iconic bells.
| Comparing Two Icons | Liberty Bell | Big Ben |
|---|---|---|
| Official name | Liberty Bell – When it was cast and installed in the 1750s it was simply known as the State House Bell. | Officiall called the Great Bell of the Elizabeth Tower – The most accepted explanation is that the bell was nicknamed after Sir Benjamin Hall, the large and imposing official who oversaw its installation in the 1850s. |
| Location | Philadelphia Pennsylvania USA | London England UK |
| Year cast | 1752 original – 1753 recast | 1858 |
| Foundry | Whitechapel Bell Foundry London then recast by Pass and Stow Philadelphia | Whitechapel Bell Foundry London |
| Primary purpose | Civic announcements and public gatherings | Timekeeping and national reference |
| Weight | About 2,080 pounds | About 30,000 pounds |
| Diameter | About 12 feet | About 9 feet |
| Height | About 3 feet | About 7.5 feet |
| Material | Bronze copper tin alloy | Bronze copper tin alloy |
| Inscription | Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land Unto All the Inhabitants Thereof | No inscription related to liberty tone based identity |
| Intended pitch | Estimated E flat | E natural |
| Tone quality | Uneven dull mixed partials | Clear strong stable harmonics |
| Sound character | Blunt commanding imperfect | Deep resonant authoritative |
| Estimated loudness at source | About 100 to 110 decibels | About 118 to 120 decibels |
| Estimated audible range | Central Philadelphia area | 3 to 5 miles under ideal conditions |
| Crack history | Cracked early worsened over time | Cracked shortly after installation |
| Effect of crack on sound | Severely degraded then silenced | Retained recognizable tone |
| Last rung | February 22, 1846 in honor of George Washington’s birthday | Still rings today |
| Current status | Silent preserved artifact | Active working bell |
| Public accessibility | On display at Liberty Bell Center, Philadelphia | Visible only limited public access |
| Most Famous Movie | National Treasure starred Nicolas Cage and was released in 2004.Cage plays Benjamin Franklin Gates a historian treasure hunter whose search for a hidden Founding Fathers secret brings the Liberty Bell into the center of the story. | For Big Ben the most famous movie reference is V for Vendetta. It starred Hugo Weaving as V and Natalie Portman as Evey Hammond and was released in 2005. The destruction of Big Ben in the film became one of the most iconic modern movie images tied to the bell and the Elizabeth Tower, symbolizing the collapse of authoritarian power. |
| Symbolic role | Freedom civil rights imperfection of democracy | Stability continuity time national identity |
| Cultural identity | Meaning louder than sound | Sound defines identity |
