"When a fugitive slave arrived in Buxton through the Underground Railroad, the large bell in the Mission school rang to celebrate their arrival and new found freedom. The 550 pound bell was given to the academy in Raleigh, Canada West in 1850 by the African American community in Pittsburgh. Upon learning about the promise of the Canadian safe-haven of Buxton, a resolute group of blacks determined to express their encouragement by donating a lasting symbol of freedom. The original bell now hangs in the steeple of St. Andrews United Church, which was built in 1858. This replica of the Buxton Bell was created in 2007 and is dedicated to the courage and accomplishments of those who chose Buxton as their home. The bell can be viewed and rung at the Buxton National Historic Site & Museum."
-Text taken from www.cic.gc.ca/english/games/museum/2.asp (
visit link)
This replica bell is now located just outside the Buxton Museum at the Buxton National Historic Site.
There are a number of plaques at the site which provide information about this bell. One plaque reads:
CAST BY A. FULTON. PITTSBURG PA. 1850
PRESERNTED TO THE REV WM KING BY THE COLOURED INHABITANTS OF PITTSBURG. FOR THE ACADEMY AT RALEIGH C. WEST
The Liberty Bell
In 1851, the Black citizens of Pittsburg donated the Liberty Bell to the Buxton Academy. It called children to school, families to church, and heralded the arrival of each new refugee to this "land of liberty".
(note that the section above in uppercase is also cast on the bell itself)
Another plaque reads:
The Buxton Liberty Bell was a gift in 1850 from the coloured inhabitants of Pittsburg to Rev. William King and the coloured settlers at Raleigh, Canada West. The original bell now hangs in the steeple of St. Andrews Church South Buxton.
This replica was created for the Buxton Historical Society by sculptors Brett Davis of Holland Marsh, Ontario.
It is said that the "Buxton Liberty Bell" rang out each time a fugitive reached safety in Buxton. This replica is dedicated to the courage and to the accomplishments of our ancestors who made Buxton their home.
Probably the most poignant items on display here are the two plaques which contains the text from letter sent between those who provided the bell, and the recipients. The first of these plaques reads:
Pittsburgh, 12 Nov., 1850
To the Colored Settlers at Raleigh, C. West
Dear Brethren,
We have heard with great pleasure from Dr. Burns and the Rev. Wm King of your settlement at Raleigh. We rejoice that you have met with Christian friends who cheer and encourage you in your efforts to improve your social conditions.
You are now in a land of liberty, where the rights and privileges of freeman are secured to you by law. Your future position in society will depend very much on your own exertions. We sincerely hope that by your industry and good conduct you will put to silence those who speak evil of you, and show yourselves worth of the respect and confidence of the members of the "Elgin Association", who have nobly advocated your cause.
We feel a deep interest both in your temporal and spiritual welfare. As a lasting memorial of our kindness, we send to the Rev. William King, a Bell for the Academy, that when we shall be mouldering in our coffins, will call your children to the house of instruction. While your children are brought up under the blessing of a Christian education, we trust that in the land of your adoption you will not forget the God of your fathers. Love and serve Him; remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy; and when the bell, with all its solemn tones, calls you to the house of God, remember your brethren who are in bonds; and let your prayer ascend to God, that He may, in Him own good time, break every yoke and let the oppressed go free; that he may turn both the heart of the Masters and Servants from the bondage of Satan to the service of the one living and true God.
J.C. Peck
J.B. Vashon
On Behalf of the Committee.
The second plaque reads:
Raleigh, C.W. Dec., 1850
To the Coloured Inhabitants of Pittsburgh
Dear Brethren: -
We have received your letter dated the 23rd of Nov., and the bell presented to the Rev. W. King for the Academy at Raleigh. We are delighted at all times to hear from the friends that we have left in a land of pretend freedom, and although separated in body, we are present with you in spirit, and we fondly hope that our prayers often meet before the throne of God for mutual blessings. We will endeavor to observe and practice the advice which you have given us, by loving and serving God and obeying the laws of our Sovereign. We will not cease to implore the Divine Blessing on the Government which has given us liberty not only in name but in reality. The bell has been raised to the place erected for it, and for the first time the silence of our forest was broken on the last Sabbath morn, by its joyful peals inviting us to the house of God. We would return to you our sincere thanks for this memorial of your kindness and we trust that while its cheerful peal invites us to the house of prayer, we will then remember our brethren who are in less favourable circumstances; and our constant prayer will be that the Bible, the gift of God to man, may no longer be withheld from you by the unrighteous acts of professed Christian legislators; that the power of the oppressors may be broken, and that those who have long been held in bondage may be set free.
Isaac Riley
William A. Jackson
On behalf of the Coloured Inhabitants of Raleigh.