{"nrhp_refnum":"78002358","name":"Liberty Hall","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1237 W. Broad St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Quakertown","county":"Bucks County","state":"PA","lat":40.44295389300004,"lon":-75.35159390699994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-01-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement","Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Liberty Hall is a single-room, two-story fieldstone building on the main crossroads in the center of original Richland (now Quakertown), Bucks County, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1772 by Abel Roberts as a farmhouse.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is significant as the first permanent building in Richland, a center of social and political activity, and the place where the Declaration of Independence was first read in the town. It is also tied to the hiding of the Liberty Bell behind the building in September 1777, which gave it its name. Its half gambrel roof is described as the only one of its type in Bucks County and probably Pennsylvania.","narrative":"Built in 1772 by Abel Roberts, Liberty Hall is a two-story fieldstone building with one room on each floor, measuring 15 feet wide and 15 feet deep. It was erected on the main crossroads in the center of original Richland, now Quakertown, along the roads to Newtown, Bethlehem, Durham and Philadelphia. It was the first permanent building in the town and served as a center of social and political activity. The Declaration of Independence was first read in Richland from this location. In September 1777, the Liberty Bell was hidden behind the building while being moved from Philadelphia to Northamptontowne, and the building has carried the name Liberty Hall since that event. Its half gambrel roof is described as the only one of its kind in Bucks County and probably Pennsylvania. A farm house and store built nearby in 1805 spared it from later additions. The Borough of Quakertown acquired the building in 1977.","period_of_significance":"1772-1777","architect_builder":"Abel Roberts (builder)","architectural_style":"Simple colonial Quaker construction","criteria":[],"status_note":"In 1952 the building and a small lot were separated from the William Green Store & House and used for commercial purposes; in May 1977 the Borough of Quakertown acquired it.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:30.379936-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/78002358.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002358/275926bc7e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002358/275926bc7e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"PattiParker","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Liberty_Bell_in_Quakertown.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">PattiParker</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Liberty_Bell_in_Quakertown.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"11000200","name":"Quakertown Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/quakertown-historic-district-11000200/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997900","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_Hall_(Quakertown,_Pennsylvania)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6541746"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/bucks-county/liberty-hall-78002358/"}