Pokahuntas Bell

Named for the Indian chief's daughter Pocahontas, the Pokahuntas Bell was created in 1907 to hang in the Kentucky Building, a recreation of Fort Boonesborough, at the Jamestown Exposition.[1]

The push to create the bell was led by the Pocahontas Bell Association, created by Anna S. Green of Culpeper, Virginia.[2] The author Livia Nye Simpson Poffenbarger was a lifetime member of the group.[3]

Crafted in the McShane Foundry in Baltimore, Maryland, it contained a melted-down spur from Confederate Major John Pelham, a bracelet from Chief Pugallop, an armour plate from the CSS Virginia warship and nails from Libby prison.[4] Edith Wilson, the future First Lady of the United States, gave a key to her New Jersey home to include in the cast.[5] The plating had been donated by the United States Navy, in a joint resolution.

Scheduled for presentation for May 18,[6] the bell was formally presented on June 15, at a ceremony hosted by Virginia governor Claude A. Swanson. The Exposition's general counsel T. J. Wool and Major Hunter were both present.[7]

It was intended for the Bell to be given to the University of Virginia after the close of the Exposition.[7] However shortly after the Governor announced this fact, there was dispute about where it should ultimately be sent.[8]

References

  • Halsey, Don. "A History of the Pokahuntas Bell Moulded for Jamestown Exposition". Culpeper: Culpeper Exponent Power Presses, 1909.
  1. ^ "A History of the Pocahontas Bell". National Bell Festival. 2023-07-28. Retrieved 2023-07-31.
  2. ^ American Monthly Magazine, by Daughters of the American Revolution, 1905
  3. ^ Charleston Gazette, "Woman Historian, Civic Leader, Dies", October 28, 1937
  4. ^ Richmond Times-Dispatch, "Pokahuntas Bell for Exposition", April 13, 1907
  5. ^ "Every Piece of Metal that Went into Making the Pocahontas Bell". National Bell Festival. 2023-07-29. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
  6. ^ Richmond Times Dispatch, "Pokahuntas Bell, May 6, 1907
  7. ^ a b Richmond Times-Dispatch, "Pokahuntas Bell: Pleasant Presentation at Fort Boon on Exposition Grounds", June 16, 1907
  8. ^ Washington Herald, "In Memory of Pocahontas, June 23, 1907
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