For nine months, as British colonists occupied Philadelphia, a church in downtown Allentown held a secret: the state house bell, now known as the Liberty Bell, stowed away to prevent it from being melted down into ammunition for the British war effort.

Today, the foundation of that church, constructed in 1773, is intact. Known as Zion’s Reformed United Church of Christ, and now owned by Resurrected Life Community Church, it continues to pay tribute to that revolutionary history with a to-scale replica of the bell still available for view in its basement — and a new bell prominently displayed outside for passersby.

Liberty Bell stowed in Allentown

The bell was secreted under the floorboards of the church between September 1777 and June 1778, when British forces occupied Philadelphia].

The bell smugglers transported the state house bell the 60 miles from Philadelphia to Allentown at great personal risk to themselves, and with no guarantee that the gamble would pay off.

“The patriotic spirit is real, it is compelling, the idea of wanting to be a free person was not a given, and so this is a very powerful symbol,” former Pennsylvania Gov. Mike Schweiker, a member of the America250PA commission, said during a recent event in Allentown unveiling the replica bell that now stands outside the church. “When they drive by, they will see, this is an example of what comes with the patriotic spirit, when people with a sense of determination and such a great outlook come together.”

Though the state house bell’s history traces back to the founding of the country, the bell itself took on a new significance during the movement to abolish slavery. The bell earned the “Liberty” title in the 19th century, where anti-slavery activists saw it as a symbol for their struggle, the crack in the bell representing the fracture of slavery on the nation.

“More than a century after its nine-month sojourn under this church’s floorboards, it took another generation of revolutionaries, the abolitionists of the 19th century, who gave it the name that we know today, the Liberty Bell,” said Jim Higgins, executive director of the Lehigh County Historical Society. “I believe the story of the Liberty Bell is actually the origin story of our community, the city of Allentown, for all the struggles and the triumphs of our community over the 250 years, the liberty bell remains the foundation of the earliest stories of our shared past.”

Recent tribute

Recently, in honor of America’s upcoming 250th birthday, state officials paid tribute to Allentown’s small, sometimes overlooked but key role in American independence.

Thanks to donations from the Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone, City Center Investment Corp, PPL and other private donors, the city unveiled a new, 1,500-pound commemorative bell in front of the church.

“This installation honors the spirit of hope in the face of adversity,” Cassandra Coleman, executive director of America250PA, said in a news release. “It marks a turning point in our history and anchors that story in the heart of Lehigh County. It carries forward the legacy of those who lived, fought, and sometimes had to hide during a pivotal moment in human history — and reminds us that their resilience made this anniversary, and this country, possible.”

The replica bell in the church basement is the only piece of history that remains after Resurrected Life took over the building in 2023 from Zion, whose membership had dwindled to just 15 people. Zion’s congregation donated the building to Resurrected Life that year, which made renovations to the building and now uses it for worship services and a six-week summer program for children.

Before Resurrected Life’s acquisition of the building, its basement was home to the bell and the larger Liberty Bell Museum, which hosted other exhibits on local history. Following the acquisition, the museum’s leaders were unable to come to a lease agreement with Resurrected Life, and the museum closed and transferred its exhibits to the Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum, where they are on display.

The bell, which is owned by the state, remains at the church.

Now, the new commemorative bell on the sidewalk makes the church’s history even more visible to passersby. At an unveiling of the bell in May, local dignitaries paid tribute to Allentown’s role in the revolutionary war. It’s one in a series of commemorative bell installations across the state, each paying tribute to a historic Pennsylvania site.

The replica bells — which have also been installed in Susquehanna, Wayne and York counties — will become permanent public installations “designed to invite reflection, pride, and connection to the Commonwealth’s diverse contributions to the American story,” according to a news release from state Sen. Nick Miller, D-Lehigh.

Reporter Lindsay Weber can be reached at Liweber@mcall.com.