The Liberty Bell was hidden in Allentown, Pennsylvania, during the Revolutionary War.
In September 1777, British forces threatened Philadelphia after the Continental Army’s defeat at the Battle of Brandywine. Philadelphia officials feared that the bell and other large bells could be seized and melted into ammunition, so they removed them from their towers.
The Liberty Bell traveled by wagon to what was then Northampton Town, now Allentown. It was concealed beneath the floorboards of Zion German Reformed Church and remained there for about nine months. The bell returned to Philadelphia after British forces evacuated the city in June 1778.
The bell was then known as the State House Bell; the name Liberty Bell became popular decades later. Its famous crack and association with independence made it one of the most recognizable symbols of the United States.