By Benjamin Franklin,Michaela Althouse

Copyright phillyvoice

Philadelphia’s oldest church is restoring a bell connected to the first celebrations of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Gloria Dei Episcopal Church – also known as Old Swede’s — received a $569,367 grant from the National Park Service Historic Preservation Fund. The funds are being used to repair its roof — which once held lightning rods installed by Benjamin Franklin — and restore the bronze bell ahead of next year’s semiquincentennial celebrations honoring America’s 250th birthday.

Citing oral history, Gloria Dei says its original bell was among those that rang on July 8, 1776 after the Declaration of Independence was read to the public for the first time. That bell, which dated to 1643, was taken to Allentown when the British occupied Philadelphia during the American Revolution, but it cracked on its way back. Its metal later was melted down and used to cast the current bell.

During the restoration process, the bell will be disassembled and receive a new yoke and steel mounting plate, said Amy Grant, president of the Historic Gloria Dei Preservation Corporation. The bell’s clapper — the part that strikes the bell — also will be replaced, if necessary. The bell will be painted and remounted with new framing members, allowing it to be rung again. Structural issues currently prevent the church from ringing it.

Grant said the church building’s cedar roof is damaged and in urgent need of repairs. Leaks are causing structural damage to the building’s framing, roof decking and interior plaster, threatening some of the building’s historic finishes, Grant said.

“We are incredibly grateful to the National Park Service for funding its repair at this critical juncture,” Grant said in an email. “This work will make it possible for current and future generations to experience Gloria Dei’s deep cultural and historical significance.”

The National Park Service is offering Semiquincentennial Grants to sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places that commemorate the founding of the nation, a period the NPS defines as ending in 1815. The funds can be used to preserve or restore sites and structures.

Gloria Dei, considered the oldest church in Pennsylvania, was founded in 1646 in what is now Tinicum Township, Delaware County. In 1677, its leaders moved to its current location at Christian Street and Delaware Avenue in Philadelphia, and built the permanent structure in 1698.

In 1942, the church and its four acres of grounds were designated a National Historic Site, six years before Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell and Congress Hall was established as Independence National Historical Park. In 2013, volunteers created the Historic Gloria Dei Preservation Corporation nonprofit to raise support for additional work needed to preserve the site.

Last fall, the church rolled out an app for guided walking tours of its historic cemetery in hopes of expanding tourism opportunities ahead of 2026. Grant and other volunteers plan to add an audio option before next year, too.

Arch Street Meeting House in Old City also has been awarded a Semiquincentennial Grant of $365,313 grant to install an HVAC system. The Quaker worship space and its burial grounds date back to Philadelphia’s earliest years. William Penn deeded the land to the Religious Society of Friends in 1701. The meeting house was built in the early 1800s.