America250: Catching up with the Liberty Bell at McCoole's in Quakertown

We will kick off our year-long America250 celebration with a return to the scene of our very first meetup, which also happens to be one of the most historic taverns in our area.

So join us for drinks, food and conversation at McCoole's at the Red Lion Inn in Quakertown. McCoole's dates to about 1747, when it was opened as a colonial-era tavern by Walter McCoole. Thirty years later, the tavern likely played some role in the evacuation of the Liberty Bell (then the State House bell) from Philadelphia to Allentown ahead of the British Army's capture of the former. In September 1777, the bell, along with several Philadelphia church bells, was sheltered overnight at what is today Liberty Hall, cattycorner from McCoole's on Broad Street. Soldiers escorting the bells to Allentown were housed and fed at McCoole's. The painting above depicts this moment in history.

So we'll track the Liberty Bell's journey from Philadelphia to Allentown, try to answer the question why the Revolution didn't fail even after the colonies' capital city fell and look at the events that led to the bells' triumphant return to Philadelphia a year later and the eventual defeat of the British. And did you know that all of the bells evacuated from the city in September 1777 are still in use today?

While the focus of this meetup will be on the Revolutionary War, we'll also talk about the pivotal role this tavern (then known as Enoch's Tavern) played during the Fries Rebellion in 1799 and its history as a stop on the Underground Railroad in the 19th century.

See you there.