Pokahuntas Bell
Named for the Indian chief's daughter Pocahontas, the Pokahuntas Bell was created in 1907 to hang in the Virginia Building at the Jamestown Exposition.
![]() |
Wikisource has original text related to this article: |
The push to create the bell was led by the Pocahontas Bell Association, created by Anna S. Green of Culpeper, Virginia.[1] The author Livia Nye Simpson Poffenbarger was a lifetime member of the group.[2]
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.[3] The plating had been donated by the United States Navy, in a joint resolution.
Scheduled for presentation for May 18,[4] 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.[5]
It was intended for the Bell to be given to the University of Virginia after the close of the Exposition.[5] However shortly after the Governor announced this fact, there was dispute about where it should ultimately be sent.[6]
References
- Halsey, Don. "A History of the Pokahuntas Bell Moulded for Jamestown Exposition". Culpeper: Culpeper Exponent Power Presses, 1909.
- https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Memories_of_Virginia/The_Pocahontas_Memorial_Bell |
Works related to Fully transcribed book is located on Wikisource.org This links specifically to the story of the Pokahuntas/Pocahontas Bell. at Wikisource
- American Monthly Magazine, by Daughters of the American Revolution, 1905
- Charleston Gazette, "Woman Historian, Civic Leader, Dies", October 28, 1937
- Richmond Times-Dispatch, "Pokahuntas Bell for Exposition", April 13, 1907
- Richmond Times Dispatch, "Pokahuntas Bell, May 6, 1907
- Richmond Times-Dispatch, "Pokahuntas Bell: Pleasant Presentation at Fort Boon on Exposition Grounds", June 16, 1907
- Washington Herald, "In Memory of Pocahontas, June 23, 1907