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Clearing, TheClearing, The · Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0
AHistory
History · Liberty Grove

19% of Liberty Grove’s homes were built before 1940

More historic than 88% of U.S. towns. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 3 old photos and papers and maps from 1982 on.

4on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

About Liberty Grove’s history

How historic is Liberty Grove?

A

More historic than 88% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Liberty Grove’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Liberty Grove is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Liberty Grove’s overall grade.
Founding eraThere’s no founding date for Liberty Grove we can vouch for, so age doesn’t count here–Homes built before 194019.1% of homes (±4.9) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register4 listings, 13 historic buildings, 59.2 per 10,000 residents · typical WI town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 88%
NewerOlder

Wisconsin towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Wisconsin town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Liberty Grove’s 59.2 sits above most of its state (90% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 13 historic buildings outnumber those of 77% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.9 points).

Founding year: our sources. 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 Grove’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Liberty Grove, and 5 old place names are still on the map.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Liberty Grove’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBotrychium multifidum Garrett Bay Wisco…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

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

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

North Bay
1870–1873
Ellison Bay
1873–today
Rowleys Bay
1878–1904
Gills Rock
1902–1904
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Ellison BayGills RockNorth BayNorthportRowleys Bay
Gone or out of use
Hill Road Airportairport
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Liberty Grove
Ellison BayLiberty GroveLittle SisterRowleys BaySister Bay MoravianTrinity Lutheran

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

On the National Register

4 historic places in Liberty Grove

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
13
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Clearing, The
Clearing, TheWilliam Zachow FarmsteadBOAZ (schooner) ShipwreckSunshine Shipwreck (Scow Schooner)
BuildingsSites

Architectural styles listings

Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals1
Clearing, TheSite
All 4 listings
William Zachow FarmsteadBuilding · listed 1997BOAZ (schooner) ShipwreckSite · listed 2023Sunshine Shipwreck (Scow Schooner)Site · listed 2023

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

The story

How Liberty Grove came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Liberty Grove.

Read it all →

Liberty Grove was formed from the northern Gibraltar Township in 1859. The state of Wisconsin was less than a decade old at the time. The early settlers at the time harvested the quality timber, fished the fish, and planted the cheap farmland. Some import early settlers in Liberty Grove include, Allen Bradley, Daniel Rice, and Andrew Weborg.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Liberty Grove, 1870 to 1982

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870Post officeThe North Bay post office opens
  3. 1873Post officeThe North Bay post office closes
  4. 1873Post officeThe Ellison Bay post office opens
  5. 1878Post officeThe Rowleys Bay post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1904Post officeThe Rowleys Bay post office closes
  8. 1940In the archiveBotrychium multifidum Garrett Bay Wisconsin
  9. 1958In the archivePoa compressa Hotz Memorial Town Park Wisconsin
  10. 1982On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Liberty Grove, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1940s to the 1950s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s–1950s3 items
Botrychium multifidum Garrett Bay Wisconsin1940Botrychium multifidum Garrett Bay WisconsinBotrypus virginianus rattlesnake fern Garrett Bay Town of1940Botrypus virginianus rattlesnake fern Garrett Bay Tow…Poa compressa Hotz Memorial Town Park Wisconsin1958Poa compressa Hotz Memorial Town Park Wisconsin
1960s–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
Today15 recent
Pedicularis canadensis Ellison Bluff Wisconsin2010Pedicularis canadensis Ellison Bluff WisconsinNorthern Wild Comfrey Cynoglossum boreale Ellison Bluff Wisconsin2010Northern Wild Comfrey Cynoglossum boreale Ellison Blu…Mitchella repens partridgeberry2010Mitchella repens partridgeberryLyrate Rock Cress Arabidopsis lyrata Europe Bay Woods Wisconsin2010Lyrate Rock Cress Arabidopsis lyrata Europe Bay Woods…Large-flowered Bellwort Uvularia grandifloria Ellison Bluff Wisconsin2010Large-flowered Bellwort Uvularia grandifloria Ellison…Downy yellow violet Viola pubescens Ellison Bluff Wisconsin2010Downy yellow violet Viola pubescens Ellison Bluff Wis…Common sowthistle Sonchus oleraceus Mink River Estuary Door County Wisconsin2010Common sowthistle Sonchus oleraceus Mink River Estuar…Common reed Phragmites australis North Bay Door County Wisconsin2010Common reed Phragmites australis North Bay Door Count…Close up of Northern Wild Comfrey Cynoglossum boreale Ellison Bluff Wisconsin2010Close up of Northern Wild Comfrey Cynoglossum boreale…Canada Mayflower Maianthemum canadense Ellison Bluff Wisconsin2010Canada Mayflower Maianthemum canadense Ellison Bluff …American Starflower Trientalis borealis Europe Bay Woods Door County Wisconsin2010American Starflower Trientalis borealis Europe Bay Wo…Aerial view of Gills Rock, Garrett Bay, and the upper Mink River, Door County, Wisconsin 20102010Aerial view of Gills Rock, Garrett Bay, and the upper…WashingtonIslandWisconsinFerryWIS422008WashingtonIslandWisconsinFerryWIS42Porte des Morts Passage2007Porte des Morts PassageWIMap-doton-Liberty Grove2004WIMap-doton-Liberty Grove
On the map

Liberty Grove on the map in 1982

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Liberty Grove.

Liberty Grove on the 1982 USGS map1982Washington Island SW 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 Liberty Grove.

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.

Botrychium multifidum Garrett Bay Wisconsin
Retake this viewBotrychium multifidum Garrett Bay Wisconsin, 1940

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Liberty Grove

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

See all →
A
Arthur GardnerProducer and actor from the United States · b. 1910
Tom PetriAmerican politician · b. 1940
John HubleyAmerican animation director, art director, prod… · b. 1914
Tom BissellAmerican journalist · b. 1974
A
Arthur G. HansenAmerican philanthropist · b. 1925
M
Mary Maples DunnAmerican historian · b. 1931
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Ephraim7 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBaileys Harbor9 historic placesBWashington8 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGibraltar8 historic placesB+

Questions about Liberty Grove’s history

How does Liberty Grove rank for history?

Liberty Grove is more historic than 88% 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.

What is on the National Register in Liberty Grove?

4 listings: 1 building and 3 sites. 13 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Liberty Grove?

19% of Liberty Grove’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.9 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1979.

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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, 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.