The Enigma of the Liberty Bell Locked Up in Massachusetts!

We hoped to visit the Massachusetts liberty bell replica when we visited the Massachusetts State house in Boston. Back then, we had visited three bells already and were excited to see this one and find out which serial number was on the bell.

Massachusetts State House

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Who Would Lock Up a Liberty Bell?!

Disappointedly, Massachusetts did just that! No liberty for this bell, we had to be painstakingly persistent to get to see it. Later we found out that the New York Capitol in Albany also restricts access to its bell.

Before I get into details, let me explain more about these bells and why there was one in Boston.

What Is a Liberty Bell Replica?

In 1950, the U.S. Department of the Treasury held a “Save For Your Independence” savings bond drive. Connected to this drive was the casting of fifty-five full-size replicas of the American Liberty Bell in Annency-le-Vieux, France.

After every state received one of these replicas, they had to display it publicly and allow free access. When we found out about them, we decided that a Liberty Bell Replica quest would be an excellent addition to our US Capitol Visits.

The Massachusetts State Seal

So What Happened in Boston?

Almost every other liberty bell has been easy to find and access. Usually they are close to the state house or even inside the state capitol. So we started by asking security at the entrance where we could see their liberty bell replica. They referred us to “The Interns” on the second floor.

First: “The Interns”

Fancy Marble Flooring

When we found the interns, they were helpfully told us “Oh yes, the liberty bell replica! It is here at the state house, but it is locked up… You can see a bit of it from this window.” Yeah, after Tom climbed over several pieces of furniture, he could kind of see the top of the bell.

the liberty bell is not very visible…

Not very satisfying, so they recommended us to return to security and see whether they could unlock the bell for us.


Step Two: Security and Another Glimpse

We returned and no, they weren’t. “Nobody sees the liberty bell!” Sending us to another viewpoint, a security guard opened a locked door. Now we could get to a statue and catch another glimpse of the bell. Still, not very impressive from a distance. Nice to get that glance but not really satisfied with our view of the bell.

Famous? Guy on a Horse With No Name statue

Three Times is a Charm: Back to Security AGAIN

Back we went to the front door security people, who must have hated us by now. We explained that that last view was not close enough and reminded them that the treasury department explicitly stipulated that this bell should be publicly accessible. After calling their manager and explaining the situation (“These weirdos from New Hampshire just won’t go away!”), we succeeded.

Victory! The Massachusetts Liberty Bell!

He got official permission to unlock the Liberty Bell for us!

Victory! OurCarpeDiem with the Liberty Bell !

After going through a bunch of “No access! There be dragons!” doors, we eventually reached Our Bell! Happiness ensued! We got our picture of the bell and were able to find the serial number, which turned out to be 10. Although looking at the picture over and over, I wonder whether it is 50…

2020 Update: when we were all stuck at home: Rick Brock has a liberty bell page on Facebook and was able to get closer than we did. He kindly provided us with the correct number: 30 ! Thank you, Rick!

This was our first liberty bell which did not have a crack painted on it.

Eureka! Massachusetts Liberty Bell

It was not an easy process, but we succeeded! Persistence and determination. Now we could go back home to get ready for that night’s Airbnb’ers 😀

Number TEN! Number 30!

Conclusion: Let Freedom Ring!

In conclusion, this Liberty Bell may be locked up, but its significance and impact on American history will never be restrained… Looking forward to visiting all the other ones. Hoping that they are not locked up! Follow our quest to visit all State Liberty Bell Replicas.

What YOU Can Do to Help This Liberty Bell

When you find yourself close to Boston and have time to visit the state house, do it and ask for the liberty bell replica. The more people ask, the better the chances for a publicly accessible liberty bell, like the treasury department intended!


More Fun Things To Do in New England

When you visit New England, don’t miss out on these awesome thing to do!


Comments

25 responses to “The Enigma of the Liberty Bell Locked Up in Massachusetts!”

  1. What an interesting read! The Massachusetts State House looks beautiful. If I ever visit Boston, I definitely want to check this out 🙂

    Best,

    Kat | http://www.katimalist.com

  2. Thank you, Kat!
    Yes, the Boston statehouse is worth a visit for sure; Make sure to ask about the liberty bell. The more people request it, the better the chances for it to be released to a more accessible spot!

  3. This was such an interesting read! I never even realised the replicas existed, I have to say making it into an expedition to find them all sounds like great fun! Good luck with finding the rest! 😁

    1. Thank you, Hermione!

      That’s what I love about reading travel blogs, I am learning so many new things each day! Go find your state’s replica if you can (hmmm, actually now that I think about it, you might be in the UK, and we would be celebrating our independence from you guys 😀 ) m. Doing a quick library visit now, and want to write about my sunshine blogger award, so will read more of your blog later when I have my “work” done 🙂
      Reading your blog has been making me feel like curling up on the sofa with a good book, which gets me out in the world and gets me to discover more places we want to visit! Tonight 🙂

      1. How very true Karen! It’s so wonderful to be able to read and connect with people all over the world on their journeys! Hahaha you are right, I am indeed in the uk, however I am hoping to next year to go traveling around America again and hopefully visit Canada too (I lived there for 3 years). So I shall definitely keep an eye out for the replica bell when I’m traveling, as I’m hoping to cover a few states! Congratulations on the sunshine blogger award! 😁 Aww that’s so nice to hear! I’m so happy you’re enjoying the blog! your words mean so much to me! I’ll keep reading yours too when I get back from work! 😁 all the best

        1. Thank you, Hermione . Hope you will get to see some liberty bells, and looking forward to reading about it !

  4. BethRebecca

    That looks amazing! I wish I could go and see them all too, seems really interesting

    Beth x | https://bethrebecca.com

    1. Thank you, Beth! Even if you can’t visit them all, you might be able to visit the one(s) within driving distance of where you are. I like that they give you a sense of our country’s history in a very concrete way. History you can touch!

  5. Oprah Simpson

    My friend in Jamaica does something very similar with her husband. They go around the Island visiting Lighthouses and learning about the history. I think both are pretty cool.

    1. Thanks Oprah! Ah, light houses! We have been considering that quest in Maine, but not been organised enough yet to pull it off! Glad your friends are doing it in Jamaica! Do they have a blog? Would be an interesting read!

      1. Oprah Simpson

        Oh No they don’t Karen. Now that you mentioned it I think I’ll encourage them to blog about it.

        1. Yes, I hope they will! Would be a great read and a good way for them to document their memories.

  6. Love this post! I’ll take note of this when I visit the US ♥️

    1. Thank you, Nicka! I hope you get to see at least one of the liberty bells, it’s such a big part of the USA story!

  7. This is such an exciting quest! It’s like in the movies!
    I wish you the best of luck to see all the remaining ones and send you positive vibes!
    Enjoy the experience!!

    1. Thank you! It is indeed a super fun quest. Especially when states try to keep us away from that is rightfully ours 😀 😀 😀
      We easily amuse ourselves.
      Hope to share more liberty bell stories soon, this week has been busy and insane (kind of like most weeks 😀 😀

  8. Oh, wow! I admire your persistence! And I am adding liberty bell replicas to our future road trip plans! This is cool!

    1. Yes, go seek out the liberty bell replicas in your state and on your travels! It is such an unique and cool off-the-beaten path travel, not to mention it might lead to great stories like this 😀

      Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

  9. […] one in Philadelphia, you can actually walk around and touch this one. And unlike the one in Boston, where they locked up their Liberty Bell. It is part of a collection of bells celebrating President Truman’s U.S. Savings Bond Drive […]

  10. […] After the selfie, it was time to find the liberty bell replica which the treasury department donated to Maine during a savings drive in 1950. We are trying to visit all the liberty bell replicas and were happy this one was not locked up, unlike the one in Massachusetts! […]

  11. […] take us long to decide to visit all of them. We were successful in some states, but not in Boston, where they locked up their liberty bell. What a […]

  12. […] Designed by the famous architect Charles Bulfinch, the Massachusetts State House in Boston is worth a visit. Both the exterior and the interior are elaborately decorated. The only drawback is the fact that Massachusetts locked up its liberty bell! […]

  13. […] the liberty bell replicas. So far, we have been successful in most places, but not in Boston because Massachusetts locked up their liberty bell. What a contradiction! So the fact that the Alaska Capitol gives free entry to its liberty bell […]

  14. […] We were happy to have visited another state house, but disappointed that we hadn’t been able to visit the liberty bell replica. We tried security again and the reply was ‘Nobody gets to see the liberty bell!’ which felt like an oxymoron, but we figured we could do some letter writing to our senators or the governor of Massachusetts and come back another day. Find out the ending of the Quest for Liberty Bell Replica #3 in my next post! […]

  15. […] All US Capitols quest, and visited the Massachusetts State House in Boston. After finding out that Massachusetts locked up their Liberty Bell, we went on with our life, not realizing that they have an Old State House too, also in Boston. […]

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