Provo's Liberty Bell

Despite the patriotic name, this is a warship's bell, not a replica of Philadelphia's. It hung aboard the USS Wasatch, the amphibious command ship from which Vice Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid ran the Seventh Fleet through the 1944 return to the Philippines — the nerve center offshore during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval clash in history. Utah Senator Wallace F. Bennett secured the bell for Provo's Fourth of July committee, which presented it to the city on Independence Day, 1972 — a patriotic monument now standing in a town far from any ocean.

What the plaque says

This ship's bell is from the valiant USS Wasatch, flagship of the Seventh Fleet under Admiral Thomas C. Kincaid. the ship is famous for its outstanding service in the South Pacific during World War II. Official Navy records state that during the Battle of Leyte, "Admiral Kincaid's flagship was the hub around which the sea, land, and air campaign raged." Through the efforts of U.S. Senator Wallace F. Bennett, the ship's bell was obtained for the Provo July Fourth Celebration, Inc., a civic group which organized Provo's Independence Day activities from 1939 to 1952. As a patriotic monument, the bell was presented by this group to the people of Provo and the Wasatch Front on July 4, 1972.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Bridal Veil Falls — 8.1 mi
  A dramatic double waterfall cascading 607 feet into Provo Canyon
• Sundance Mountain Resort — 12 mi
  Robert Redford's intimate, arts-minded ski resort on the slopes of Mount Timpanogos, in the North Fork of Provo Canyon.
• Aspen Grove — 12 mi
  The mountain-base trailhead for Mount Timpanogos and Stewart Falls
• Alpine Loop Summit — 13 mi
  The 8,000-foot high point of the Alpine Loop, face to face with Mount Timpanogos

More markers nearby

• Brigham Young Academy — steps away
• Provo Woolen Mills — 0.2 mi
• Old Tabernacle Lintel Stone — 0.3 mi
• The Knight Block — 0.3 mi