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History · Liberty

Liberty dates to 1827, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Old Post Office. Below: maps from 1916 on and the census since 1830.

1827founded
1on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Liberty began

When was Liberty founded?

1827

Liberty dates its founding to 1827 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1830.

First census: 676 in 18302020 census: 934199 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.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1850 and 1960, then more than doubled.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Liberty, and 3 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19164 editions of the USGS map, 1916 to 1973. Watch Liberty change.
★ 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.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Liberty, census by census

02004006008001,0001,20018501900195020001,116 in 1850Low: 458

Lost half of its people between 1850 and 1960, then more than doubled.

20 censuses, 1830–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Liberty’s post office has been open since 1833. Another post office, South Liberty, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Liberty
1833–today
South Liberty
1856–1905
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Clarks CornerShermans CornerSouth Liberty
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Liberty
FishGoveHannonHunts Memorial

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Liberty came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Liberty.

Read it all →

The first European (English) people moved into the area in and around Liberty in the late 18th century. The first settlement was then known as Davistown Plantation, which is incorporated into neighboring Montville in the early 19th century. Mills in Liberty produced materials that were used in the shipbuilding industry that thrived in nearby coastal towns, such as Waldoboro, during the early 19th century.

In 1827, Liberty separated from Montville and was incorporated as a town.

The middle to late 19th century saw a decline in population and goods produced. This correlates with the decline of the shipbuilding industry.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Liberty, 1827 to 1916

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1827
    FoundingLiberty is established
  3. 1833Post officeThe Liberty post office opens
  4. 1850CensusPopulation peaks at 1,116
  5. 1856Post officeThe South Liberty post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1905Post officeThe South Liberty post office closes
  8. 1916On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Liberty, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Liberty, Maine2012Liberty, MaineLiberty, Maine2012Liberty, MaineLiberty, Maine2012Liberty, MaineLiberty, Maine2012Liberty, MaineLiberty, Maine2012Liberty, MaineLiberty, Maine2012Liberty, Maine
On the map

Liberty on the map, 1916 to 1973

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

Liberty on the 1916 USGS mapLiberty on the 1942 USGS mapLiberty on the 1961 USGS mapLiberty on the 1973 USGS map1916Liberty sheet · 1:62,500

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

On the National Register

1 historic place in Liberty

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Old Post Office
Old Post Office
Buildings
All 1 listings
Old Post OfficeBuilding · listed 1973

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Liberty

Nobody well known was born in Liberty itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Conrad Heyer(1749-1856) American soldier and centenarian · b. 1749
Elijah Parish LovejoyAmerican minister, journalist, and abolitionist · b. 1802
Owen LovejoyAmerican politician · b. 1811
Eli PariserAmerican author, activist, and entrepreneur · b. 1980
Henry H. GoddardAmerican psychologist · b. 1866
Charles F. JohnsonAmerican politician, Maine · b. 1859
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Montville3 historic placesAPalermoIts storyC−Appleton4 historic placesAWashingtonIts storyC+

Questions about Liberty’s history

What year was Liberty founded?

In 1827, according to Wikidata. Liberty’s post office opened in 1833, and the census of 1830 counted 676 people here.

What is on the National Register in Liberty?

One place: the Old Post Office (listed 1973).

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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via 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.