Pokahuntas Bell

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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 was 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

  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. 1 2 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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