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A−History
History · Liberty Township

Liberty Township dates to 1806, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 82% of U.S. towns · #285 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 8 buildings between them. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1906 on.

1806founded
4on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Liberty Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Liberty Township began

When was Liberty Township founded?

1806

Liberty Township dates its founding to 1806 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1834.

2020 census: 21,514220 years

How historic is Liberty Township?

A−

More historic than 82% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1834.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Liberty Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Liberty Township is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #285 of 993 in Ohio. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Liberty Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1806, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194016.3% of homes (±2.8) · typical OH town 14.5% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register4 listings, 12 historic buildings, 5.6 per 10,000 residents · typical OH town 2.9 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 82%
NewerOlder
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 71%

Ohio towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Ohio town has 2.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Liberty Township’s 5.6 sits above most of its state (66% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 12 historic buildings outnumber those of 77% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1806.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.8 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Liberty Township’s past

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

Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Liberty Township, and 10 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19065 editions of the USGS map, 1906 to 1994. Watch Liberty Township change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1806: 220 years of Liberty Township.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Churchill
1834–1903
Sodom
1874–1903
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bel Air Mobile Home ParkBelmont ParkCedar CornersCedar ParkChurchillGrimms Mobile Home ParkHalls CornersKlines CornerLoys CornersSodom
Gone or out of use
Churchill Post Officepost officeLoy SchoolschoolSodom Post Officepost office
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Liberty Township
Belmont ParkChurch HillSeceders Corners

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

Help out

Start Liberty Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewLiberty Township 1856: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Liberty Township on the map, 1906 to 1994

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

Liberty Township on the 1906 USGS mapLiberty Township on the 1954 USGS mapLiberty Township on the 1962 USGS mapLiberty Township on the 1970 USGS mapLiberty Township on the 1994 USGS map1906Youngstown 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 Township.

The story

How Liberty Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Liberty Township.

Read it all →

Liberty Township was formed from the Connecticut Western Reserve. It was established as a township in 1806. The first settler in the township was thought to be Henry Swager in 1798. Four villages grew within its borders: Girard, Churchill, Sodom, and Seceders Corners. In 1860, coal was discovered on Alexander McCleery's farm becoming a major industry in the area for the next forty years.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Liberty Township, 1805 to 1906

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1805Born hereJames Mathews is born here
  3. 1806
    FoundingLiberty Township is established
  4. 1834Post officeThe Churchill post office opens
  5. 1838Born hereSylvester T. Everett is born here
  6. 1856In the archiveLiberty Township 1856
  7. 1874Post officeThe Sodom post office opens
  8. 20th century
  9. 1903Post officeThe Churchill post office closes
  10. 1903Post officeThe Sodom post office closes
  11. 1906On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Liberty Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1850s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s1 item
Liberty Township 18561856Liberty Township 1856
Today7 recent
OH SR 711 sb at mp 3.0, June 20242024OH SR 711 sb at mp 3.0, June 2024OH SR 711 nb approaching I-80, June 20242024OH SR 711 nb approaching I-80, June 2024I-80 wb at OH SR 711 sb, June 20242024I-80 wb at OH SR 711 sb, June 2024I-80 wb approaching OH SR 11 nb and SR 711, June 20242024I-80 wb approaching OH SR 11 nb and SR 711, June 2024Map of Trumbull County Ohio Highlighting Liberty Township2015Map of Trumbull County Ohio Highlighting Liberty Town…MapWells-Clark-Strouss House side building2014Wells-Clark-Strouss House side buildingRichard Garlick House2014Richard Garlick House
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.

Liberty Township 1856
Retake this viewLiberty Township 1856, 1856

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

4 historic places in Liberty Township

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
12
each building in a district counts
first listed
1990
Richard Garlick House
Richard Garlick HouseWells-Clark-Strouss HouseYoungstown Country Club
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Neo-Classical Revival1
Tudor Revival1
Richard Garlick HouseNeo-Classical Revival
All 3 listings
Wells-Clark-Strouss HouseDistrict · listed 1993Youngstown Country ClubDistrict · listed 2024

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Liberty Township

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
J
James MathewsAmerican politician · b. 1805
Sylvester T. EverettAmerican financier · b. 1838
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Youngstown49 historic placesA+Girard1 historic placeA−Weathersfield Township4 historic placesBVienna TownshipIts storyB−Hubbard TownshipIts storyB

Questions about Liberty Township’s history

What year was Liberty Township founded?

In 1806, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Liberty Township’s post office opened in 1834.

How does Liberty Township rank for history?

Liberty Township is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #285 of 993 in Ohio. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Liberty Township?

4 listings: 1 building, among them the Richard Garlick House (listed 1990, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Wells-Clark-Strouss House and the Youngstown Country Club, with 8 contributing buildings. 12 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Liberty Township?

16% of Liberty Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1963.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (8), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.