Which famous bell was hidden in Allentown during the American Revolution?

The Liberty Bell was hidden in Allentown during the American Revolution.

When British forces occupied Philadelphia in September 1777, local officials feared that important bells could be melted down for ammunition. The Liberty Bell was removed from the Pennsylvania State House and transported to present-day Allentown, where it was concealed beneath the floorboards of Zion German Reformed Church.

The bell remained hidden for about nine months. It returned to Philadelphia in June 1778 after British forces evacuated the city. The bell had been cast in London in 1752 for the Pennsylvania State House and recast in Philadelphia after the first casting cracked during testing.

Its famous crack developed later, and the bell acquired its name in the nineteenth century. During the 1976 bicentennial, Britain presented a much larger replica called the Bicentennial Bell; it is not the original Liberty Bell. The Liberty Bell’s wartime concealment is one reason the bell is closely connected with both Philadelphia’s revolutionary history and America250 commemorations.