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History · Liberty

Liberty dates to 1822, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

1822founded
0on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Liberty began

When was Liberty founded?

1822

Liberty dates its founding to 1822 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1833.

2020 census: 543204 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1833.The full story ↓

What stands out about Liberty’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Liberty are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1822: 204 years of Liberty.Old housesHalf of Liberty’s homes were built before 1962.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Liberty’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Liberty’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Liberty came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Liberty.

Read it all →

Liberty Township began with the first settlement made on Section 28, by Daniel Lile, in the spring of 1822, and many old settlers followed about the same time. The first regular preacher was George Wolfe of the Dunkard denomination. First horse mill was built by Daniel Lile. The first marriage was that of Jacob Waggle to a Miss Hunsaker, by the Rev. George Wolfe, at the house of the bride's father. The first birth and death, was an infant child of Mr. Kimbrick. The first Supervisor was David Wolfe.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Liberty, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Liberty Illinois2023Liberty IllinoisLiberty Illinois2023Liberty IllinoisPotawatomi Trail of Death Marker in2021Potawatomi Trail of Death Marker in

Questions about Liberty’s history

What year was Liberty founded?

In 1822, according to Wikidata. Liberty’s post office opened in 1833.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikipedia, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.