columbian liberty bell -- almost like a passing of the torch...hmmm...

[Michael Bailey]

http://www.hydepark.org/historicpres/ColumbianExp.htm about halfway
down the page -- was this something I knew and forgot?  anyway, found
mention of the Columbian Liberty Bell in an old Christian Science
Journal from 1893, people were donating a penny to melt down in the
bell and 25 cents to cover costs...



A mystery from the Fair, passed on by Melissa Cook. If you can help,
contact this site and we'll pass it along. hpkcc at aol.com.

I received a copy of an email that originated from Luke Van Belleghem
of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, seeking ideas for the
"History Detectives" program.

I live in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, site of the 1893
Columbian Exposition, Robie House, the first self-sustaining nuclear
reaction, to name a few.

In researching the 1893 Columbian Exposition, I was fascinated by the
mystery of the disappearance of the "Columbian Liberty Bell," a 13,000
bell created by Meneely in Troy, NY and intended to travel the world
as a symbol of peace and freedom. It was created from metal objects
collected from around the country, including objects connected to
famous people in American history, from George Washington to Jefferson
Davis. Various books from the Columbian Exposition era mention or
picture the bell, and various websites tell pieces of the story. (I've
list a few of them at the end of this email.)

Don't know if this is the type of thing you're looking for, but I for
one would love for some detectives to solve the mystery of how a
13,000 pound bell could disappear within a couple years of its
creation!

And here may be part of the answer!

Hello! Bonnie Tipton Long, here. Listen, I ran a 6-week program for
After School Matters this summer based on the Devil in the White City
book. The kids went all over Chicago looking for whatever they could
find left over from the White City and put together an exhibit based
on those findings. We decided to see what we could find out about the
Columbian Bell. They turned up its origins and early history at the
Harold Washington Archives.

As you probably know, it was smelted out of melted down metal items
from previous military actions involving several wars--buttons, keys,
swords, etc. The project was a vision of the Daughters of the American
Revolution and the bell was supposed to travel the U.S. after the Fair
and the bell was supposed to ring in every major city. However, there
was very little enthusiasm for the bell at the actual fair, so the
plans became less involved. The bell eventually went to Europe, where
it disappeared.

We contacted the DAR, specifically their archivist, Alisa Johnson. She
found an article in the DAR magazine that dated from the 1940's. In
that article, there is mentioned an unsigned letter in which someone
claims that the bell was held up in Russia in 1905 by the Tzarist
government awaiting tariffs, I believe somewhere around 1900. This
same individual claims that the bell was still there during the
Revolution and was melted down by the Bolsheviks to be used for
weapons.

I don't know if this helps in anyway, but we sure enjoyed finding out about it.

Bonnie Tipton Long
North Lakeside Cultural Center
6219 N. Sheridan Rd.
Chicago, IL 60660

Jack Ferry gave additional information in an e-mail September 2010.
This is here condensed and elaborated.

The bell's post-Fair journey started as a rail progress starting
September 15, 1895 on the Illinois Central through Illinois and border
state towns (on other railroads) where it was honored (in much the
same way as many may recall the 1940s and 50's Freedom Trains with the
real Liberty Bell). The bell then was installed for the duration of
the important International and Cotton States Expostion in Atlanta.
Thereafter, it toured Mexico then England-- sounding first at
Runnymede, where Magna Carte was signed.