Wednesday · November 11, 2026
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19151776 Club

Liberty Bell boards a westbound train; Philadelphia vows it will never leave home again

Souvenir hunters have already chipped away more than one percent of its weight; the bell is bound for San Francisco's Panama-Pacific Exposition, its first trip west of St. Louis.

By 1915, the Liberty Bell had survived six trips out of Philadelphia since 1885, and souvenir hunters had already chipped away more than one percent of its weight. In 1915, it left again anyway, loaded onto a special train bound for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. The journey covered thousands of miles, with the bell traveling by train to the West Coast and back on a different route., with the city ultimately agreeing to let it travel since it had never been west of St. Louis. Philadelphia's custodians made clear this would be the last time the bell left home…

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More from July 5
1814

Scott's regulars break Riall's line at Chippawa; the British general had taken them for militia

After 25 minutes of volley fire on open ground near the Niagara, the Right Division's lines collapse and American regulars prove they can stand against British veterans.
1775

Congress sends King George a loyalty oath and a list of grievances; the delegates call it their olive branch

Hancock and the full Congress sign the petition in Philadelphia, and envoys Richard Penn and Arthur Lee are bound for London with the appeal.
1859

Captain Brooks claims a mid-Pacific atoll for the United States; he calls it the Middlebrook Islands

The sealing ship Gambia raised the flag under the Guano Islands Act, planting a U.S. claim a third of the way between Honolulu and Tokyo.
18521776 Club
Speaking the day after Independence Day at Corinthian Hall, he calls slavery "the great sin and shame of America" before a mostly white crowd invited by the Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society.
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More from Gilded Age & Progressive Era
1890

Harrison signs the bill; Yosemite becomes a national park

The valley floor stays under state control, but the wilderness around it is now federal ground.
1908

Ford puts a car within reach of the middle class: the Model T sells for $825

Fifteen thousand orders arrive within two days of the announcement.
1888

The elevator starts running, and the Washington Monument finally opens to everyone

Nearly four years after its dedication, the world's tallest structure gets a working lift and an open door.
1906

San Francisco orders Japanese and Korean pupils into the city's "Oriental School"

Tokyo's newspapers call it an insult to national honor, and Washington takes notice.
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