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–Not graded
History · Liberal Township

Liberal Township dates to 1888, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1968 on, and the census since 1900.

1888founded
0on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Liberal Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Liberal Township began

When was Liberal Township founded?

1888

Liberal Township dates its founding to 1888 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 426 in 19002020 census: 699138 years
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓

What stands out about Liberal Township’s past

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

A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers, 1890–1944.
★ What stands out · By decade

Liberal Township, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s1 item
Hardware store, managed by Mr. Clarence Y. Martin, father of Glenn L. Martin, in the early days of Liberal, Kansas1890Hardware store, managed by Mr. Clarence Y. Martin, fa…
1900s–1920snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1930s10 items
Dust Storms; Turtle Studio; "Dust Storm in Liberal, Kansas"1935Dust Storms; Turtle Studio; "Dust Storm in Liberal, K…Leveling fields to prevent wind erosion on project near Liberal, Kansas1936Leveling fields to prevent wind erosion on project ne…Fence almost completely buried under drifts of soil. Near Liberal, Kansas1936Fence almost completely buried under drifts of soil. …The wind fills up the ditches in this "chiseled" field near Liberal, Kansas1936The wind fills up the ditches in this "chiseled" fiel…Soil blown by "dust bowl" winds piled up in large drifts near Liberal, Kansas1936Soil blown by "dust bowl" winds piled up in large dri…Shifting drifts of dust will soon force this farmer to abandon his home near Liberal, Kansas1936Shifting drifts of dust will soon force this farmer t…A farmer's son playing on one of the large soil drifts which threaten to cover up his home. Liberal, Kansas1936A farmer's son playing on one of the large soil drift…The winds of the "dust bowl" have piled up large drifts of soil against this farmer's barn near Liberal, Kansas1936The winds of the "dust bowl" have piled up large drif…A farmer listing his fields under the wind erosion control program. He receives twenty cents an acre for the work. Libe…1936A farmer listing his fields under the wind erosion co…A farmer listing his fields under the wind erosion control program. He receives twenty cents an acre for the work. Libe…1936A farmer listing his fields under the wind erosion co…
1940s1 item
Liberal Army Air Field, Third War Loan Drive (NBY 8711)1944Liberal Army Air Field, Third War Loan Drive (NBY 871…
1950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
The story

How Liberal Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Liberal Township.

Read it all →

Early settler Seymour S. Rogers built the first house in what would become Liberal in 1872. Rogers became famous in the region for giving free water to thirsty travelers. Reportedly, Liberal gained its name from the common response to his acts of kindness, "That's very liberal of you." In 1885 Rogers built a general store, and with it came an official U.S. Post Office. Rogers named the post office 'Liberal'. After the railroad was built close by, a plan for the town site was created in 1888. A year later the population was around 800.

Drought caused some farmers to give up and look for more fertile territory; however, when the nearby Indian Territory was opened, more settlers headed to the cheap land that would become Oklahoma.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Liberal Township, 1888 to 1968

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888
    FoundingLiberal Township is established
  3. 1890In the archiveHardware store, managed by Mr. Clarence Y. Martin, father of Glenn L. Martin, in the earl…
  4. 20th century
  5. 1935In the archiveDust Storms; Turtle Studio; "Dust Storm in Liberal, Kansas"
  6. 1944In the archiveLiberal Army Air Field, Third War Loan Drive (NBY 8711)
  7. 1968On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
On the map

Liberal Township on the map, 1968 to 1985

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Liberal Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Liberal Township on the 1968 USGS mapLiberal Township on the 1985 USGS map1968Liberal NW sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Liberal Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Hardware store, managed by Mr. Clarence Y. Martin, father of Glenn L. Martin, in the early days of Liberal, Kansas
Retake this viewHardware store, managed by Mr. Clarence Y. Martin, father of Glenn L. Martin, in the early days of Liberal, Kansas, 1890

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Liberal Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Liberal Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 20,525

Between 426 and 20,525 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Liberal Township’s Wikipedia page.

Help out

Finish Liberal Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewHardware store, managed by Mr. Clarence…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Fargo TownshipIts storyC−Seward TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Liberal Township’s history

What year was Liberal Township founded?

In 1888, according to Wikidata. the census of 1900 counted 426 people here.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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 (2), the Library of Congress (10), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.