The Illinois Freedom Bell is located in Mount Morris, Illinois , United States, and is the official freedom bell of the U.S. state of Illinois . The bell was created for a church in Lake Geneva , Wisconsin as a replica of the Liberty Bell in 1862. In 1910, while it was being moved across the frozen Geneva Lake following a fire at the church, the ice cracked and the bell sank to the bottom of the lake. It was salvaged in 1960 and the village of Mount Morris acquired it in 1966. The Illinois Freedom Bell is rung during the annual Let Freedom Ring festival, and it can be found beneath a gazebo on the village square. The bell has been credited with starting an Independence Day bell-ringing tradition across the United States. The bell was designated the official Illinois Freedom Bell in 1971.
23-961: Mount Morris may refer to: Places [ edit ] United States [ edit ] Mount Morris, Illinois Mount Morris, Michigan Mount Morris (New York) , a mountain Mount Morris (town), New York Mount Morris (village), New York Mount Morris, Pennsylvania Mount Morris, Wisconsin , a town Mount Morris (community), Wisconsin , an unincorporated community Mount Morris Township, Ogle County, Illinois Mount Morris Township, Michigan Mount Morris Township, Minnesota Other places [ edit ] Mount Morris (Antarctica) People [ edit ] Mount Etna Morris (1900-1988), U.S. politician Other [ edit ] Mount Morris College , Illinois Mount Morris Dam , New York Mount Morris Park Historic District , Harlem, New York city Topics referred to by
46-473: A female householder with no husband present, and 35.6% were non-families. 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.86. In the village, the population was spread out, with 23.8% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 22.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age
69-662: A reality. The Illinois Freedom Bell is annually rung in unison, at 1 pm CDT (18:00 UTC ) on the Independence Day, July 4, with other bells across the United States. Thousands of people gather in the village to hear the bell each year on Independence Day. In Mount Morris, the annual event is known as the Let Freedom Ring festival. The Mount Morris festival and bell ringing has been attended by several notable individuals. In 1973, future Illinois Governor and member of
92-511: A skating park, a pavilion, and the playground equipment that was donated and relocated by the school after the Rahn Elementary School fire. As of the census of 2000, there were 3,013 people, 1,259 households, and 810 families residing in the village. The population density was 2,585.1 inhabitants per square mile (998.1/km ). There were 1,337 housing units at an average density of 1,147.1 per square mile (442.9/km ). The racial makeup of
115-406: A total of 18 lustrons. The houses were built here to meet a shortage of housing for a local printing company. Parks include Dillehay Park, Mounder Park, and Zickuhr Park. Dillehay Park is located in the southeast portion of the village. Zickuhr Park is located in the western part of town, and has one softball diamond, basketball courts, and an array of playground equipment. Mounder Park houses
138-408: A wealthy resident of Lake Geneva decided to surface the bell in 1960. The resident located the bell, and surfaced it with great difficulty, intent on making the future Illinois Freedom Bell the focal point of his new home. After the bell was salvaged he decided it did not suit his purposes. A young farmer from Johnsburg purchased the bell, and it was again kept in storage. In 1966, an article
161-548: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Mount Morris, Illinois Mount Morris is a village in Mount Morris Township , Ogle County , Illinois , United States . The population was 2,998 at the 2010 census, down from 3,013 in 2000. Mount Morris is located at 42°2′51″N 89°26′2″W / 42.04750°N 89.43389°W / 42.04750; -89.43389 (42.047614, -89.433972). According to
184-429: The 9/11 Commission , James Thompson attended the festival and bell ringing. A year later, in 1974, Richard Blake, a noted Abraham Lincoln impersonator, appeared at the festival to speak as Lincoln. Several times the Let Freedom Ring festival has been broadcast nationally. During the 1964 festival, Governor Otto Kerner was the speaker at the bell-ringing observance, and his address was transmitted via telephone to
207-532: The poverty line , including 13.2% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over. Illinois Freedom Bell The Illinois Freedom Bell is located in Mount Morris, Illinois , and was cast as a replica of the Liberty Bell in 1862. Following its casting, the bell was transported to Lake Geneva , Wisconsin , where it was kept in the belfry of a church along the north shore of Geneva Lake . In 1910,
230-469: The 2010 census, Mount Morris has a total area of 1.5 square miles (3.88 km ), all land. The village is crossed from east to west by Illinois Route 64 . Route 64 continues eastward to Chicago and westward into Iowa , where it keeps its numeric designation. Mt. Morris is home of the Illinois Freedom Bell , which is located in the town square. The area that is now the town square used to be
253-647: The Illinois pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair . The 1965 bell-ringing was broadcast over the public address system at Wrigley Field in Chicago . Over the years, the committee for the festival requested that the bell-ringing be part of the Illinois Sesquicentennial, the U.S. Bicentennial , and the Statue of Liberty Centennial celebrations, all of which were allowed. The "Let Freedom Ring" celebration hosts
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#1732852153348276-592: The Rahn Elementary School was lost to fire. This resulted in the reorganization of the Oregon School District. The former Oregon city elementary and middle schools were merged into a single elementary school. The Mt. Morris Highschool has since been used as the middle school for the district. The town is also home of a very large group of lustron homes in IL. These can be located on First street (5 houses), Hannah avenue (3 houses), and Sunset lane (5 houses). The town has
299-469: The article, they suggested that every July 4, all bells in the country ring for four minutes, and radio stations broadcast the ringing for two minutes. Readers across the country took the advice of the magazine's editor, and contacted local officials in support of a nationwide bell-ringing observance. Concurrently, a resolution was proposed in Congress by Connecticut Senator Abraham Ribicoff that called for
322-607: The bell for US$ 500. By July 4, 1966, the Illinois Freedom Bell hung from the gazebo in its current location, and the two writers who first suggested bell ringing as an annual Independence Day ceremony, Eric Hatch and Eric Sloane were on hand for its dedication. Five years later, in 1971, the bell was designated the Official Freedom Bell of the State of Illinois by Illinois Governor Richard B. Ogilvie . A plaque
345-528: The campus of one of Illinois' first institutes of higher learning, Mount Morris College . It was first a Methodist school and was later affiliated with the Church of the Brethren . The college closed due to hard economic times. The village's old Junior High School, while undergoing demolition, caught fire and burned forcing the school district to be merged with the Oregon School District in 1993. On February 12, 2004,
368-438: The church was destroyed by a fire; the bell fell during the fire but was undamaged; following the fire, the bell was put into storage. The church members then decided to reconstruct the church on the south side of the lake. During the winter, as a group of men attempted to drag the bell across the frozen lake, the weight of the bell cracked the ice and it sank to the bottom. The bell remained submerged for over 40 years before
391-669: The first Mount Morris freedom bell, which now hangs at the Veterans' Memorial Fountain. The first freedom bell was a small 16 inch (40.6 cm) bell. Later, as U.S. President in 1984, Reagan was presented with a replica of the official Illinois Freedom Bell in the Oval Office by U.S. Representative Lynn Morley Martin . The first national bell-ringing took place on July 4, 1963; Mount Morris also participated in that ringing. Even though many states sponsored bell-ringings, Hatch and Sloane both credited Mount Morris with making their suggestion
414-520: The ringing of bells nationwide at 2 p.m every July 4. Eastern Daylight Time . The bill passed both the Senate and House of Representatives later that year. Meanwhile, the village of Mount Morris had already decided to hold their own bell-ringing during the village's annual Independence Day festival, the "Let Freedom Ring". Subsequently, on April 30, 1963, Illinois native and rising Republican political star Ronald Reagan visited Mount Morris to dedicate
437-421: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Mount Morris . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mount_Morris&oldid=1154289626 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
460-405: The village was 97.15% White , 0.17% African American , 0.20% Native American , 0.43% Asian , 0.13% Pacific Islander , 1.00% from other races , and 0.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.75% of the population. There were 1,259 households, out of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.8% were married couples living together, 10.6% had
483-412: Was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.0 males. The median income for a household in the village was $ 41,333, and the median income for a family was $ 51,019. Males had a median income of $ 39,323 versus $ 20,840 for females. The per capita income for the village was $ 20,326. About 6.0% of families and 6.9% of the population were below
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#1732852153348506-547: Was added to the tower on July 4, 1972 with an inscription from Governor Ogilvie that reads: On this occasion of the first official ringing of the Freedom Bell at Mount Morris, let this message be heard by all Americans: "Let us be one nation dedicated as never before to the realization of the promise of freedom for all." On February 17, 1963, an issue of This Week contained an article, "Make Freedom Really Ring", written by two Connecticut writers, Eric Hatch and Eric Sloane. In
529-542: Was published about the bell's submersion and resurfacing at Geneva Lake. The article interested the people of Mount Morris, Illinois, and they sent 12 members of their Fourth of July Committee to investigate the bell in Johnsburg. The people of Mount Morris decided to purchase the bell; a committee was formed and obtained a loan from the Mount Morris VFW . The group also collected donations from local residents to purchase
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