The bell now called the Liberty Bell arrived in Philadelphia in 1752.
The Pennsylvania Assembly ordered the bell for the State House, the building later known as Independence Hall. It was cast in London by Thomas Lester’s foundry and shipped across the Atlantic to Philadelphia.
The bell carries an inscription from Leviticus 25:10: “Proclaim Liberty Throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof.” It also records that the Pennsylvania Assembly ordered it for the State House.
The bell cracked during an early test or shortly afterward and was recast by Philadelphia founders John Pass and John Stow. The name “Liberty Bell” became popular much later, especially during the nineteenth century, rather than being its original official name.