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.

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
  1. American Monthly Magazine, by Daughters of the American Revolution, 1905
  2. Charleston Gazette, "Woman Historian, Civic Leader, Dies", October 28, 1937
  3. Richmond Times-Dispatch, "Pokahuntas Bell for Exposition", April 13, 1907
  4. Richmond Times Dispatch, "Pokahuntas Bell, May 6, 1907
  5. Richmond Times-Dispatch, "Pokahuntas Bell: Pleasant Presentation at Fort Boon on Exposition Grounds", June 16, 1907
  6. Washington Herald, "In Memory of Pocahontas, June 23, 1907


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