Historic South Jersey bell to ring Sunday to celebrate independence festival

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On Sunday, June 14, a bell will ring at the Historic Olde Courthouse in Mount Holly, New Jersey, as part of a festival to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary.

In the summer of 1776, officials rang the same bell at the courthouse in Burlington City, the seat of Burlington County at the time, after the Declaration of Independence was signed.

The bell was moved to Mount Holly in 1796 when that city became the Burlington County seat.

Marisa Bozarth, Burlington County’s museum curator of history, said courthouse bells were rung in the 1700s to signify that something important was taking place.

“They would have rung it when there was a large court case of any significance, when the jury was coming back, so people knew to return to the courthouse to hear the verdict,” she said. “The bell was also rung any time there was any public reading of any sort of important document. It was their way to get the information out to the masses quickly.”

After the wording of the Declaration of Independence was finalized and the document was signed, every state received a copy so it could be shared with the people living there. At the time, some Burlington County residents wanted to remain loyal to Britain, while others supported the movement for independence, Bozarth said.

“I would think it was a bit of a scary time because when the Declaration of Independence was finally signed and then presented, it meant we were really going to war,” she said. “We were declaring our independence, but we weren’t officially an independent nation yet. It meant a scary time was coming because Britain wasn’t going to accept that and just let us walk away.”