Pokahuntas Bell

Named for the Indian princess 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. [The American Monthly Magazine, by Daughters of the American Revolution, 1905] The author Livia Nye Simpson Poffenbarger was a lifetime member of the group. [Charleston Gazette, "Woman Historian, Civic Leader, Dies", October 28, 1937]

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. [Richmond Times-Dispatch, " [http://www.loc.gov/chroniclingamerica/lccn/sn85038615/1907-04-13/ed-1/seq-2 Pokahuntas Bell for Exposition] ", April 13, 1907] The plating had been donated by the United States Navy, in a joint resolution.

Scheduled for presentation for May 18 [Richmond Times Dispatch, ", May 6, 1907] , 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.Richmond Times-Dispatch, "", June 16, 1907]

It was intended for the Bell to be given to the University of Virginia after the close of the Exposition. However shortly after the Governor announced this fact, there was dispute about where it should ultimately be sent. [Washington Herald, ", June 23, 1907]

References

*Halsey, Don. "A History of the Pokahuntas Bell Moulded for Jamestown Exposition". Culpeper: Culpeper Exponent Power Presses, 1909.