Liberty Bell

In 1950, to promote the sale of U.S. Savings Bonds, 54 replicas of the Liberty Bell were cast in Annecy le Vieux, France, and distributed to the states by the U.S. Treasury Department. Abandoned at the Illinois State Fairgrounds for 25 years, the 2,000-pound bell was resurrected in 1976 and toured every county as part of the Secretary of State’s Illinois bicentennial exhibit. The bronze reproduction, which has the same cast inscription as the original bell in Philadelphia and the famous crack hand-painted, was moved to the Capitol grounds on April 28, 1977.