West Chester and the Justice Bell: 1915 and Today

 

The Justice Bell in 1915
On October 30, 1915, the jubilant but exhausted suffragists arrived at the courthouse in West Chester, Chester County, with their Justice Bell, its clapper chained and silenced until women had the right to vote. They had begun their journey on June 23, 1915, in Sayre, Bradford County. Now, at their final stop, they would wait for the November 2 election results to learn whether the men of Pennsylvania had voted to give the state’s women the right to vote.

West Chester was filled with symbolism. It had been the site of the state’s first women’s rights convention in 1852, just a few years after the Seneca Falls Convention, where the Declaration of Sentiments, modeled on the Declaration of Independence, had been written. And, it was the home county of Katharine Wentworth Ruschenberger.

Suffragist Spotlight
Katharine Wentworth Ruschenberger

"The bell signifies justice, and justice is the most important thing in the world today.” —Katharine Wentworth Ruschenberger
Louise Hall, the tour’s director, called Katharine Wentworth Ruschenberger their “fairy godmother.” A suffragist from Strafford in Chester County, Ruschenberger was the visionary who conceived of the Justice Bell, and paid for both the bell and the autotruck that carried it across Pennsylvania. Between 1913 and 1915, she tirelessly promoted the Justice Bell as a symbol of women’s suffrage. In 1915, she led the Chester County Woman Suffrage Party’s publicity efforts, and that same year at the age of sixty-two, she accompanied the Justice Bell during much of its statewide tour.

Returning in 2026
More than a century later, we returned to West Chester on March 19, 2026, as part of the Justice Bell Foundation’s 2026 statewide tour retracing the bell’s historic route across Pennsylvania. At the invitation of West Chester University’s Women’s Commission and the Cottrell Entrepreneurial Leadership Center, we gathered at Phillips Autograph Library for a lunchtime networking event.

Our program included a screening of Finding Justice: The Untold Story of Women’s Fight for the Vote, followed by a discussion about Pennsylvania women’s leadership in the suffrage movement and a book signing. Patricia Diggin, executive director of the Cottrell Entrepreneurship Center, hosted the event, and Nicole Stephenson of Narrativa Consulting introduced me and gave a wonderful introduction to the film. A highlight of the day was having Linda Texter Hall at the event. She is suffragist Louise Hall’s descendant-by-marriage and has been devoted to ensuring Louise’s contributions are acknowledged and celebrated.

It was wonderful to share the story of the Justice Bell with students, faculty, and community members who gathered at the library.

Highlights from the Event

  

  

1. Poster of event 

2. Amanda Owen and Linda Texter Hall, Louise Hall's descendant

3. Nicole Stephenson and Amanda Owen 

4.  Amanda Owen and Pattie Diggin

4. Tammy Williams and Amanda Owen 

5. Audience members watching the film

Continue the Journey
Our next stop, sponsored by the Lower Macungie Historical Society, will be at the Lower Macungie Township Community Center in Lehigh County on March 21st.

Follow the 2026 Justice Bell Tour
Learn more about the tour on our website.

• Learn about our 2026 Tour Blog 
• View the Justice Bell Foundation tour page
• See the full schedule of events 
• Learn more about the documentary Finding Justice: The Untold Story of Women’s Fight for the Vote 
• Explore the book The Justice Bell: Tracing the Journey of a Forgotten Symbol

Join us as we follow the path of the Justice Bell and explore the remarkable history it represents in Pennsylvania’s fight for women’s suffrage.

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Retracing the Justice Bell’s Journey Across Pennsylvania

In 1915, a one-ton bronze bell traveled across Pennsylvania with its clapper chained and silenced—a striking symbol of women’s exclusion from the democratic process. As the Justice Bell visited town after town, it drew large crowds, generated extensive newspaper coverage, and helped rally support for women’s voting rights in the years leading up to the Nineteenth Amendment.

I’m Amanda Owen, executive director of the Justice Bell Foundation. In 2026, as Pennsylvania marks the America’s 250th anniversary, I will visit the communities where the Justice Bell once stopped, sharing the stories of the bell and the women who traveled with the bell across the Commonwealth.

At each location, the Justice Bell Foundation will present a program, Pennsylvania Women and Their Fight for the Vote, which includes a screening of our 19-minute documentary, Finding Justice: The Untold Story of Women's Fight for the Vote, a discussion about Pennsylvania women’s leadership in the fight for the vote, and a book signing. These events highlight the role local communities played in this pivotal chapter of American history.

This blog will follow the tour, sharing information about the Justice Bell’s original 1915 visits along with photographs and newspaper accounts, as well as highlights from our 2026 events, including photos, videos, and local news coverage.

Our first stop will be at West Chester University on March 19.

Follow the 2026 Justice Bell Tour

Learn more about the tour on our website.

• View the Justice Bell Foundation 2026 tour page
• See the full schedule of events
• Learn more about the documentary Finding Justice: The Untold Story of Women's Fight for the Vote
• Explore the book The Justice Bell: Tracing the Journey of a Forgotten Symbol

Join us as we explore the path of the Justice Bell and the remarkable history it represents in Pennsylvania’s fight for women’s suffrage.

Sign up to follow our blog here and we'll notify you when a new post is published.

(Ignore the below "Subscribe to: Comment atom." That link does not work.)