Goessel, Kansas, has its own Liberty Bell to visit. This one is made of wheat 14%
By Beccy Tanner0%
7/2/2026, 9:00:00 AM
BS Summary: This article contains 24 faulty reasoning types, including Post Hoc (False Cause), Attempt to Sell a Product or Service, and Biased Writer Voice, with Unattributed Quote as the most egregious example at 22.8% saturation with 256 hits. Analysis detected 1,682 faulty-reasoning hits from 1,123 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 30.1% and a BS Rank of 14% (19,001 of 21,886 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 86.80% of the article peer group.
As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary, there are few symbols of freedom as iconic as the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia’s Independence Hall.
That bell rang out on July 8, 1776, encouraging locals to hear the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence.
Kansas own rendition of the Liberty Bell is on display at the Mennonite Heritage and Agricultural Museum in Goessel.
Goessel’s bell is more than twice the size of Philadelphia’s but weighs only 80 pounds.
It has a circumference of nearly 20 feet.
And Goessel’s bell is made from Turkey Red wheat, so it doesn’t make a sound.
Could they make a bell?
The story of how Goessel ended up with the unique bell is best explained by Fern Bartel, director of the Mennonite Heritage and Agricultural Museum.
“In 1876 there was a bell … that (contributing) Kansas (towns and counties) made out of different grains and grasses,” Bartel said.
That bell was then displayed at the Centennial Exposition, highlighting the first official World’s Fair, in Philadelphia that year.
Fast forward to the nation’s Bicentennial in 1976.
“I guess that’s where the Smithsonian got the idea that … we should ask Kansas whether they have the skills to do that again,” Bartel said.
“The Smithsonian called the Wheat Commission in Kansas and asked whether – their first request was just bundles of wheat.
We accomplished that.
And then, they asked … could we have a bell made out of Turkey Red Wheat?”
The Mennonites, who were part of the Anabaptist movement, came to Kansas in 1874.
The Anabaptist movement actually began in the 16th century.
It means rebirth — and the belief is that baptism could not occur until a person was an adult and could voluntarily make a confession of faith.
Followers also believe in pacifism and nonviolence.
Other branches of the Anabaptist movement that settled in Kansas include the Old German Baptist Brethren, the Brethren and Amish.
In Kansas, they are also known for farming some of the best farmland in the state.
Other Kansas communities and counties known for their Mennonite heritage include Marion County, Hillsboro, Harvey County – Newton and North Newton, and Hesston; Reno and Meade Counties and Garnett in eastern Kansas.
“Our group, our Mennonite group, traveled from where they originated in the 1600s in Holland.
There was persecution there of the Anabaptist movement, and so they moved to what is now the Poland area, which was then West Prussia,” Bartel said.
“They were there for about 200 years in Mennonite villages.
Then, our group moved to west South Russia, (now Ukraine) with about 30 Mennonite villages.”
Their village was Alexanderwohl.
On the Ukraine prairie, Turkey Red Wheat was introduced to these Mennonite farmers.
It was a game changer and thrived on the prairie soil.
When the Mennonites faced religious persecution in Russia, many brought Turkey Red wheat berries with them to plant when they found new homes and land in America.
“The Ukraine prairie had the same climate as Kansas,” Bartel said.
“There were railroad agents that actively recruited our ancestors to come to Kansas because it was the same … soil type.”
The families came on the railroad to Newton and then traveled the Chisholm Trail to the land where Goessel would be founded in 1895.
“I found a newspaper article from the Newton Kansan in 1874 that said about 600 Mennonites got off the train and they purchased lots of stuff from different farmers, so they had equipment and horses when they came to this area.
They lived in immigrant houses.
There were two houses and there were about 60 some families, so about 30 families lived in one immigrant house.
“It was an advantage to come as a group, as a village because they knew each other.”
Wheat weaving became part of the folk traditions passed from generation to generation.
So in 1975-1976, the Mennonites of Goessel and surrounding areas made a bell — and not just any bell.
The creation of the wheat bell
First, there was the matter of growing the Turkey Red Wheat — which the museum did on their own grounds.
Then, it was cut with a McCormick reaper.
Each stalk, according to museum records, was cleaned individually.
It took 200 people, ages 10 to 80 working 2,000 man hours from September 1975 to January 1976 weaving strands of wheat.
The wheat woven bell was formed around chicken wire and hydraulic tubing.
Wheat berries, outlined in black thread form the clapper, which is 66 inches long.
Total cost to make the bell?
$51.00 in 1976 money; about $300 today with the rise of inflation.
The Kansas Liberty Bell then was displayed for two years in the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. before returning to Kansas.
But before it left for the Smithsonian, Bartel said, there were reports that as many as 11,000 visitors came to the museum over a six week period for a sneak peak of the bell.
Today, it’s earned a special glass enclosed exhibit in the museum’s Wheat Palace building.
To protect it, pest strips line the floor’s enclosure.
There’s even a mirror to look up inside the bell.
Bartel welcomes people to come take a look.
“People can come and visit and it’s on the map of (Roadside Attractions) you can see in Kansas,” she said.
“If people come just to see the bell, we don’t charge admission.
I’m like, ‘they made this special trip.’
I’ve heard that it’s much more interesting than the Ball of Twine … I’ve never seen the big Ball of Twine.
It’s not my personal opinion.
But somebody said it.”
The Bell, the celebrations, the museum, Bartel said, are all done to honor not only the Mennonite Heritage but how a certain type of wheat changed the Kansas landscape.
“It changed life here,” she said, “and made Kansas the breadbasket.
My understanding is that our ancestors that came to the Goessel area basically brought small sacks and jars of it.”
Planning to make a trip
This year, to celebrate the 250<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the nation, the Goessel museum does not have quite so elaborate plans as to make another Liberty Bell.
But they are hosting an ongoing scavenger hunt.
Visitors can request a scavenger hunt sheet and explore the museum complex to earn prizes.
And, for the past 53 years, the museum hosts “Threshing Days,” a two-day event that includes a parade, a Low German meal, sawmill demonstrations, antique farm machinery displays and demonstrations on how to thresh wheat.
This year’s Threshing Days are July 31 and Aug.
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<i>The museum is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.</i>
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