In 1915, suffragists in Pennsylvania were looking for a way to drum up support for an amendment to the state constitution that would give women the right to vote. A referendum to approve such an amendment would appear on the ballot in the November election, so there was no time to waste to sway public opinion and with it guarantee voting rights to women. They needed to launch a campaign to win the hearts and minds of the male voters who would go to the polls. They needed to create some buzz.
That’s when Chester County activist Katharine Wentworth Ruschenberger came up with an idea. Why not make a replica of the Liberty Bell, one of the nation’s most enduring symbols of freedom, and, quite literally, drive it around the state on a multi-county tour? Throw in a few parades, some brass bands and an assortment of flags and banners, and who wouldn’t sit up and take notice?
The words “Establish Justice” were engraved on the bell and its clapper was chained to its side, not to be rung until women were silenced no more. The original Liberty Bell “announced the creation of democracy,” Ruschenberger said, and “the women’s Liberty Bell will announce the completion of democracy.”
This bell arrived in Crawford County twice during the summer of 1915. In Meadville on June 30th, Mayor John Earle Reynolds (owner at the time of Mount Hope: The Baldwin-Reynolds House Museum) gave a welcome to the bell, its organizers, and over 1,000 local citizens in Meadville’s Diamond Park! That welcome will be read as part of the welcome for our September programs. In Titusville on July 23rd, a similarly sized crowd welcomed the bell just a few weeks later!
All summer and up until Election Day, a detail of suffragists escorted the bell around the state on a truck (Remember, we are talking something closer to a Model T than a Ford F-150!). In town after town, crowds rushed out to witness the unusual spectacle amid fanfare and hype. Surely this gutsy effort would pay off…
To find out how things turned out in more detail – join sponsors – The Crawford County Historical Society, Oil Creek and Titusville Railroad, Titusville Historical Society, Titusville Alumni Association, and Oil Region Alliance, as we welcome Amanda Owen, Executive Director of the Justice Bell Foundation, for not one, but TWO free programs!
Friday, September 11, 2026 at 7:00 PM- Oil Creek and Titusville Railroad Depot, 409 South Perry Street, Titusville, PA, Sponsored by the Crawford County Historical Society, Oil Creek and Titusville Railroad, Titusville Historical Society, Titusville Alumni Association, and Oil Region Alliance
Saturday, September 12, 2026 at 7:00 PM- Crawford County Courthouse Assembly Room, 903 Diamond Park, Meadville, PA. Sponsored by the Crawford County Historical Society.
Both programs and locations will include:
• A reading of the welcome Mayor Reynolds gave the speakers on their visit.
• A screening of Finding Justice: The Untold Story of Women’s Fight for the Vote, a 19-minute award winning documentary
• A Q&A and discussion about Pennsylvania women’s contributions to the suffrage movement with Amanda Owen, Executive Director of the Justice Bell Foundation
• Short program by CCHS on Alice Bentley, first female State Representative in PA (from Crawford)
• A book signing and light refreshments afterwards
Join us to learn about local connections, America’s struggle for the women’s right to vote – and how this history is all around us today, 250 years after our nation’s birth!
For more information, please visit crawfordhistorical.org or call 814-724-6080.
