On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Liberty is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Liberty’s overall grade.
Pennsylvania towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Pennsylvania town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Liberty’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (25% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1912.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.0 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (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’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Peaked at 3,624 in 1960; 2,355 people lived here in 2020.
11 censuses, 1920–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Liberty’s Wikipedia page.
On the map
Liberty on the map, 1904 to 1993
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Liberty. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1904Pittsburgh 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.
The story so far
Liberty, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Liberty yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Liberty is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,355 at the 2020 census. Liberty does not have its own post office. The zip code is 15133, and mail is addressed to the city of McKeesport. Liberty is part of the South Allegheny School District, along with Glassport, Lincoln, and Port Vue, and is home to the district's high school and early childhood center. Liberty was at one time part of Port Vue but gained its "liberty" from Port Vue in 1912, thus the origin of the name of the town. Locals tend to refer to the town as "Liberty Borough" or "Liberty Boro," rather than just as "Liberty."
Liberty was established in 1912. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,551 to 2,355 (-8%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Liberty in 1889
Passages that mention Liberty, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania1889 · page 488Read the page →
Read the text
ured below Ewalt's some distance, perhaps as far as the military lots, and laid them out and staked them. We then returned, and again took Ewalt's house and laid out Market street and the Diamond, and continued Market street to a certain point. We then commenced and laid oflf Liberty street. After we had laid out Liberty street, we again commenced at Ewalt's, and measured up the river on Water street to Wood street, which we laid out sixty feet wide, running from Water street parallel with Market street through to Liberty street. We then laid out the blocks between Wood and Market streets, through from Water street to Liberty street. We then measured up Water
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania1889 · page 665Read the page →
Read the text
that day the strikers were strung out along the railroad tracks, between the Union depot and the stockyards, in the East End, the greatest gatherings being at Torrens station and East Liberty, and at the outer depot, near Twentyeighth street. The local military organizations called out were the Fourteenth and Eighteenth regiments of the National Guards, the Jefferson cavalry and Hutchison's battery. Tbe cavalry and artillery were stationed in the low part of the threatened district, and the infantry upon the hill-slope above Twenty-eighth street. A local paper says:
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Liberty, 1904 to 1960
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
In 1912, according to Wikidata. the census of 1920 counted 601 people here.
How does Liberty rank for history?
Liberty is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns. 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.
How old are the homes in Liberty?
13% of Liberty’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.0 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1954.
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 the Library of Congress (6), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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