Los Gatos Liberty Bell

After moving to Los Gatos, California as an adult, I developed a passion for exploring our rich local history.  While researching Oak Meadow Park, I came across old newspaper articles detailing the "Los Gatos Liberty Bell" - a historic bell that was supposed to be permanently mounted in the park.  Having never seen it there, my curiosity was piqued.  This website is dedicated to uncovering the history and sharing the story of this town bell and tradition.

The story of the Los Gatos Liberty Bell begins with an act of Congress.  On June 26, 1963, with President John F. Kennedy in office, Congress passed Concurrent Resolution No. 25, declaring that the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence should be observed each July 4th by the ringing of bells throughout the United States.

Los Gatos answered that call.  The local Junior Chamber of Commerce, or Jaycees, co-sponsored by the Los Gatos Times-Saratoga Observer, borrowed a three-foot bronze bell from San Francisco for a "Freedom Ring" ceremony at Oak Meadow Park on July 4, 1963.  The Jaycees formed a brilliantly named "Ding-a-ling committee" to locate the bell and arrange its transport to Los Gatos for the event.  Hundreds turned out, and the response was so enthusiastic that townspeople set about making it permanent.

A grassroots fundraising campaign launched by the newspaper the following day raised over $364 in just a few weeks - dollar by dollar, from residents as young as two and as old as 91.  Each contributor received a "shareholder's certificate" as a keepsake.  With the funds raised, the bell was purchased and "permanently" mounted above the Oak Meadow Park bandstand, where it was formally dedicated on July 4, 1964.

The bell rang each Independence Day at 11 a.m. for many years, joining communities across the nation in marking the holiday.  Longtime Los Gatos residents may well remember the tradition fondly.  By 1967 the bell was stored throughout the year by the parks department for safekeeping, and by 1971, it was stored at the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad (BJWRR) in Oak Meadow Park when not in use for Fourth of July events.

On July 4, 1976, the Los Gatos Liberty Bell rang in Oak Meadow Park to celebrate the Bicentennial.  That year, President Gerald R. Ford proclaimed that bells should ring for a full two minutes to signify two hundred years of independence.  The mayor and Jaycees member ringing the bell "fell short of the two minute period specified for the bellringing and two boy scouts came to the rescue tolling the bell for the two minute period specified."

Local newspaper digital archives run through 1990, where the bell is last mentioned being rung in the Town Plaza alongside the town's much larger, historic antique fire bell.  (The fire bell was displayed in the Town Plaza from 1987 to 2002 and now resides at the Los Gatos Veterans Memorial).  Exactly when the Liberty Bell faded from public view and stepped out of the annual Fourth of July traditions remains unclear to me.

In April 2026, on Arbor Day, I attended a tree planting event the Town of Los Gatos hosted in Live Oak Manor Park.  There I met the Town's Director of Parks and Public Works, and almost as an afterthought asked if she knew what came of the Los Gatos Liberty Bell.  She didn't know, so that weekend I dug up more newspaper articles about it (presented below).  I emailed the information to the Town of Los Gatos and the BJWRR inquiring  about the whereabouts of the bell.  The Town said they would look into it, and I was delighted to receive this reply from the railroad:  "Your timing is absolutely amazing! We just so happen to have a bell that certainly looks a lot like the one in your picture, and it just so happens none of us are sure where it came from! I was just asking some of my volunteers about it last week, trying to figure out if it was a locomotive bell, and if so, how it ended up at Billy Jones.  It has been living comfortably in the carousel building for as long as I can remember. [...] Thank you for reaching out and uncovering this long lost treasure that had been right in plain sight."

The Los Gatos Liberty Bell will ring again on July 4, 2026 in Oak Meadow Park, to celebrate America's Semiquincentennial.  I was deeply honored when the Town and BJWRR invited me to ring the bell this year for America's 250th celebration in Oak Meadow Park!

At the very bottom of this webpage, you'll find a document detailing the pre-Los Gatos history of the bell from its steam engine railroad days.  Special thanks to Ken Middlebrook for researching, writing, and sharing the document.

If you have any memories, stories, or photos associated with the Los Gatos Liberty Bell, I'd love to hear from you!  My email address is below.

Published: July 1, 2026

1963

1963-06-26 - Declaration of Independence to be observed by the ringing of bells throughout the United States.

In 1963, with President John F. Kennedy in office, Congress passed a concurrent resolution declaring that bells should be rung July 4 at 2pm Eastern Daylight Time to celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  Sources and full text below:

 https://www.bells.org/blog/independence-day

https://www.jfklibrary.org/archives/other-resources/legislative-summary/general-government

1963-06-27 - Los Gatos Freedom Ring slated July 4

The Los Gatos Junior Chamber of Commerce (Jaycees) will provide a three-foot bell at Oak Meadow Park 

1963-07-03 - Freedom Ring to be sounded throughout area at 11 o'clock

Los Gatos Junior Chamber of Commerce brought this bronze bell from San Francisco to Los Gatos to be used in the "Freedom Ring" at Oak Meadow Park.

1963-07-05 - Buy a share in the Liberty Bell for Oak Meadow park!

Start of fundraising campaign to purchase the bell

1963-07-08 - Liberty Bell Fund at half-way mark

1963-07-09 - Liberty Bell fund growing

1963-07-15 - Bell donations soar over $300

"The 'Ding-a-ling committee' of the Los Gatos Junior Chamber of Commerce located the bell in San Francisco and arranged for it to be brought to Los Gatos".

1963-07-18 - Bell pledges hit $364

1963-08-06 - The Los Gatos Liberty Bell is temporarily put in place

1964

1964-05-12 - July 4 picnic at Oak Meadow Park announced

1964-06-12 - The Los Gatos Liberty Bell has been permanently mounted above the bandstand in Oak Meadow Park

1964-06-26 - Bells tune up for ringing

1964-07-01 - July 4 picnic at park

1964-07-03 - July 4th picnic tomorrow in park - at 10:30am the Los Gatos Liberty Bell will be dedicated

1964-07-06 - Bell rung by representatives of local youth organizations

1967

1967-07-03 - Ready to ring out

"For safekeeping the bell is guarded throughout the year by the Los Gatos Park Department and returned to Oak Meadow Park to be sounded at precisely 11 a.m."

1970

1970-06-30 - Picnic plans finalized

1970-07-07 - Freedom bell rings

1971

1971-06-22 - Fourth of July picnic planned

1971-06-25 - Traditional welcoming rings will be heard from the Los Gatos Liberty Bell

1971-06-29 - Proved so popular the townspeople wanted to make the bell ringing an annual event

1971-07-02 - Bell stored at the Billy Jones Railroad roundhouse

1972

1972-06-29 - Ready to ring on July 4th 

1972-07-12 - Ringing the Liberty Bell

An article about World War I veteran and 1972 bell ringer, Retired Col. A. E. Merrill, from his hometown newspaper.

1973

1973-06-26 - Liberty Bell ringing to launch 4th picnic

1973-06-30 - Polishing up the town's Liberty Bell in preparation

1973-07-10 - The town Liberty Bell brought out of storage at the Billy Jones Roundhouse

1976

1976-06-29 - Proclamation 4446—Bicentennial Independence Day

President Gerald R. Ford proclaimed that bells should be rung for two minutes on July 4, 1976, signifying two centuries of independence.  A relevant portion of the proclamation is in the screenshot below; also see it along with his talking notes at this link: https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/sites/default/files/pdf_documents/library/document/0122/1252940.pdf

1976-07-06 - Boy Scouts came to the rescue 

1976-07-17 - Bicentennial celebration

1977

1977-06-23 - State Senator to address July 4th picnickers

I believe the "17-year Town tradition" is a typo, and that with its first ringing in 1963, it was a 14 year tradition in 1977.

1977-06-30 - Ceremonial liberty bell ringing will take place at 11 a.m.

1977-07-05 - Town bell peels out on Fourth

1980

1980-06-17 - Fourth of July picnic, an annual event in Los Gatos featuring the ringing of the Los Gatos Liberty Bell

1987

1987-06-30 - Bell, voices to greet Fourth

The article says 37th year in a row, which I think is a typo - in 1987 I think it should read 24th year in a row.

1990

1990-07-04 - Ringing of the bell in Town Plaza

This is the last newspaper article I could find referencing the tradition; it calls the bell the "Los Gatos Jaycees Bell".  The 1990 ceremony took place in the Town Plaza, not Oak Meadow Park, and included ringing the Antique Fire Bell, which was on display in the Town Plaza for a period of time.

2026

2026-04-27 - Current photos of the Los Gatos Liberty Bell

These photos are credit to Will Whitney, General Manager of the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad

2026-05-20 - Railroad history of the Los Gatos Liberty Bell

Special thanks to Ken Middlebrook who researched, wrote, and shared the following history of the bell's railroad background.

Bonus - The Philadelphia Liberty Bell almost came to Los Gatos in 1909 - California Town Had Descendant of Maker of Historic Chime

In this 1909 article, it described preparations for THE Liberty Bell to trvel from Philadehlpia to California, with its first stop in Los Gatos on May Day.  "It may not be generally known that Los Gatos has a direct descendant of th emaker of the bell.  Prof. Silas Wentwork of Los Gatos is a descendant of the maker, George Wentworth of London, Eng."

From what I've read, the Liberty Bell never made that trip in 1909, though it did travel to San Francisco in 1915 for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition  https://postcardhistory.net/2019/11/proclaim-liberty-throughout-the-land-literally/

This historical footnote is a fun coincidence regarding the actual, original Liberty Bell in Philadelphia and has no physical connection to the steam-engine railroad bell purchased by Los Gatos residents in 1963