York Liberty Bell
North York, York County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Old bell originally hung in Provincial Courthouse; now in the vestibule of this church. Announced the signing of Declaration of Independence and sessions of Congress when it met in York.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
This old bell once hung in York's Provincial Courthouse, where the Continental Congress met during the Revolution. Tradition holds that it rang out to announce the signing of the Declaration of Independence and to summon the delegates to their sessions when the seat of government stood in York. It now rests in the vestibule of this church.
Why it matters
Like its more famous Philadelphia cousin, York's bell became a cherished symbol of the moment a scattered people declared themselves a nation.
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Related events
- · Continental Congress at York
- · Signing of the Declaration of Independence
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Philip Livingston
North York, PA · est. 1949
Philip Livingston, a wealthy New York merchant, put his name to the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and continued to serve in the Continental Congress until his death in June 1778, while Congress was meeting in York. He was buried here, hundreds of miles from home, a casualty of the demands of wartime public service. His grave lies about 300 feet west of this spot.
McClean House
York, PA · est. 1949
For roughly nine months in 1777–1778, York stood in for Philadelphia as the capital of the United States after the British seized the larger city. Archibald McClean, who surveyed lands for the Penn family and served as a county officer, was a committed patriot whose home is remembered as a place where the fledgling nation's treasury was kept during that anxious interlude.
Articles of Confederation
York, PA · est. 2001
In 1777, with the Revolution's outcome still uncertain and Philadelphia in British hands, the Continental Congress met in the York County Courthouse. There, on November 15, they adopted the Articles of Confederation — the young nation's first written constitution, binding the thirteen states into a single government. The Articles carried the United States through the war and the difficult 1780s until the present Constitution replaced them in 1789.
Hall & Sellers Press
York, PA · est. 1949
On this site stood the first printing press west of the Susquehanna River, operated by the firm of Hall and Sellers. When the Continental Congress fled to York from September 1777 to June 1778, this press turned out government publications and Continental currency for the struggling revolutionary cause. It was during Congress's stay here that the Articles of Confederation were adopted, making York briefly the seat of the young nation.