The Liberty Bell Trail is a suburban rail trail under construction in southeastern

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. When complete it will cover in suburban southeastern

, traveling from East Norriton Township in Montgomery County to Quakertown in

Bucks County Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the English ...

. It was proposed in 1996, and partially follows the former path of the now defunct Liberty Bell Trolley Route, which had been operated by the

Lehigh Valley Transit Company The Lehigh Valley Transit Company (LVT) was a regional transport company, headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, that began operations in 1901 as an urban trolley and interurban rail transport company. It operated successfully into the 1930s, ...

from around 1900 to 1951. The

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

route was named by the company for the Liberty Bell because a branch of it followed

Bethlehem Pike Bethlehem Pike is a historic long road in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that connects Philadelphia and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It began as a Native American path called the Minsi Trail which developed into a colonial highway called the King ...

, the road along which the bell was transported in September 1777 when it was being moved from

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

to Northamptontown (now

Allentown Allentown may refer to several places in the United States and topics related to them: *Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California *Allentown, Georgia, a town in Wilkinson County *Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Taze ...

) for safekeeping shortly before the British occupation of Philadelphia during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. The trail has been named for both the trolley route and the bell. The route passes through 15 municipalities (from south to north): * East Norriton Township * Whitpain Township * Upper Gwynedd Township * Lansdale Borough * Hatfield Township * Hatfield Borough * Franconia Township * Souderton Borough * Telford Borough * West Rockhill Township * Hilltown Township * Sellersville Borough * Perkasie Borough * Richland Township * Quakertown Borough

References

External links

Liberty Bell Trail homeMaps of the route
Rail trails in Pennsylvania Protected areas of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Protected areas of Bucks County, Pennsylvania {{US-trail-stub

See also

References

External links