Saturday
June 29, 2024 
Once again on the Fourth of July, the sharp, resounding voice of a big bell will ring out for this nation’s freedom, thanks to the Richland Historical Society.
At precisely 2 p.m. next Thursday, a Colonial-costumed Robert Beck will ask for volunteers to start Ringing the Bell for Freedom at the Shelly School.
As each person steps forward to tug at the rope, Beck will call out the name of one of the original colonies, a touching tribute to America’s daring declaration of independence.
Similar ceremonies will take place in communities across the country in a program founded by President John F. Kennedy the year he died. The historical society has taken part in the tradition since 1998, according to Evelyn Gerhart, its curator. This year the society is also marking the 65th anniversary of its founding.
The big bell is situated between the restored 1885 schoolhouse and its barn and museum/library on Route 212. It is not the bell that summoned students to the one-room schoolhouse, but it did hang in the belfry of the 1908 Richland High School until the school was closed.
The bell ringing will conclude a celebration that will feature tours of the school and museum and a welcome from Arvil Ray Erwin, the society’s new president. Erwin, obviously proud of the society’s work and fascinated by its history, pointed to a light spot on the red brick wall near the door. “See that?” he said. “That’s where the kids cleaned the erasers.”
Ethan DeAngelo, a rising senior at Quakertown Community High School, will read an abbreviated version of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “Paul Revere’s Ride.” DeAngelo was selected to read the poem because of his interest in American history, even though he leans toward stories of the westward expansion years.
Beck, the society’s vice president, is a history buff who revealed that, despite the beloved poem taught in the schools, other riders were sent out to warn citizens that the British were coming.
“Revere,” he said, “was the one who rode to Lexington and Concord to alert the Minutemen.”
Beck actually attended another one-room schoolhouse in New Britain Township.
The Shelly School is the only fully restored one-room school in Upper Bucks. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as well as the Bucks County Register of Historic Places.
In 1917, Pennsylvania had almost 10,000 one-room schoolhouses, each with a single teacher.
Forty years later, the Richland area schools were consolidated into the Quakertown Community School System and the last of the one-room rural schoolhouses closed. The historical society purchased the Shelly School in 1959 and has been restoring it and upgrading a collection of historic items since.
Last year the society reorganized, established a website, recruited an amazing 30 new members and took part in several community events. Anyone interested in membership may contact the curator at 215-538-7349.
Kathryn Finegan Clark is a freelance writer who lives in Durham Township. She can be reached at kathyclark817@gmail.com.
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