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The Town of Liberty, NC

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by
Liv

Published on Fri Dec 15, 2006 10:24 pm
Rift: Greensboro
  
About Liberty, NC (From their website)
North Carolina's back country is home to many diverse Communities, each with its own distinct qualities. But few reflect North Carolina's Charming & friendly personality like The Town of Liberty, NC does.
Today we our a community rich with cultural diversity, beauty, & history. Have you been searching for that interesting place to visit? A thriving area to run your business? Perhaps, just a quiet, relaxing city to retire in? No matter what your looking for the answer is here, in Liberty North Carolina.

Reputed as the most historical small town in North Carolina, with Century old neighborhoods beckoning the skyline of the townscape. Preserved in time our history and its past guide our journey into the future. Heritage, & traditions of yesterday, combined with technology & innovation of tomorrow have established a progressive community of friendship & family values.

Nestled in the heart of North Carolina, among the rolling foothills & the timeless forests. Liberty, NC welcomes travelers on US-421 to Randolph County, The Piedmont Triad region, and Greensboro. With the amenities & services that make every visit a memorable experience, make sure you next road trip includes a stop to Liberty, NC for some great food & alot of fun!

Offering you more to see & do on your next vacation, weekend getaway, or Sunday drive...

Discover Liberty & Discover The real North Carolina.

"Picture Perfect": Offering unrivaled possibilities with pristine skies to acres of beautiful parks.

"A Nice Place To Live": From the rolling hills to the euphoric views, our warm Atlantic climate & wonderful quality of life are the reasons to call Liberty, NC home.

"Time & Again": Amazing stories, Historic Architecture, & a Rich heritage offers unbridled memories to both residents & visitors.



Liberty History

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It all began, before Scotch-Irish and English colonists settled in this area, Liberty was primarily inhabited by the Catawba Indians, a branch of the eastern Sioux tribe. Fertile crops, bountiful hunting grounds, and nearby river made Liberty a virtual garden of Eden for its original residents.

Around the year 1750 The future of this area would change forever. A mass migration was underway. 'The Great Wagon Road' as it was nicknamed, brought immigrants from the north with their dreams of affordable land. Traveling by wagon train, crossing the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia, thousands of colonists descended upon the Piedmont.

The Town of Liberty, once part of Orange county, and later Guilford County would eventually become part of Randolph county after succession in 1779. Only three years earlier the Declaration of Independence was signed throwing the town of liberty and nearby counties into ground zero for the Revolutionary War. While populations of the entire county was less then 1000 people, a few small plantations, and farms made up the area called Liberty. During the war soldiers camped out in what is now Liberty. A large Oak tree in the center of the camp was used as a make shift town square, meeting place, and ultimately a place to hang war time criminals. The Soldiers called it the Liberty Oak, after the Boston "Liberty Tree" a national symbol of individual Liberty & Anti-Tyranny; popularized by the "Sons of Liberty" and the hanging of tax collectors during the 1765 British Stamp Act Imposition.

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In 1807, it was that same tree that John Leak, Liberty's first official resident would build his plantation around and later give the town its first official name of "Liberty Oak"

It is obvious even by the year 1809 people began to call the town Liberty from preserved official land transactions now located in historical archives in Asheboro. It is because of these findings that Liberty's town seal bears a picture of the "Liberty Oak" and has 1809 as a founding date, although the charter date is 1889.

In 1886 The Liberty Academy, a tuition paid school began in Liberty. The town quickly gained a reputation as an educated, upper-class area. With bright minds flowing its streets. Access to Liberty was easy due to the railroad and local depot. In 1889, the Cape Fear & Yadkin Valley Railway in a publication referred to Liberty as a town "where many contemplated and actual improvements evince a spirit of progress and enterprise. A fine school is established here, which for discipline and curriculum of study has already taken high rank among educational institutions of that section."

During the 20th Century Liberty eventually evolved into a textile and manufacturing Mecca thanks to the railroad and its convenience to the center of town. Liberty eventually gave birth to the Liberty Chair Company remarkably employing more workers then the town had citizens.

During the 60's encompassed in the civil rights movement. While the nearby town of Greensboro was bringing news of the Woolworth's sit-ins- Liberty laid metaphorically split into two different towns. Liberty & West Liberty.

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Eventually Liberty began to fuse again into a single town many years later. The downtown Curtis theater which posted segregated bathrooms and balcony at one time would be transformed into a musical-arts outlet giving way to several other artistic venues, from which the town now is known for. Today Liberty is diverse composite of various races, cultures, & people who have moved here from all over the world to call it their home.

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Patterson Cottage Museum
One of Liberty's most noticeable landmarks is the Patterson House Museum. Originally constructed in 1885 By Dr. Armstead Jackson Patterson as a retirement home for his parents; it is now a museum located near the town hall. When first built the home was located in what today is downtown, some two blocks to the north of its present location. Remarkable this same area of town was ravaged by fire in 1895, but the house would survive the disaster, and later be relocated in 1974. In 1976 the building was restored. Today Artifacts and relics of the past can be found within the museum. With hosted tours, and guides, the museum continues to serve visitors and residents to the town of Liberty.


    Liberty, NC Time-line
    "Here's a red-letter date in the history..."
    # 1753 - Orange County is Created. Within it Future Liberty.
    # 1770 - Liberty, NC of Orange County Becomes Part of Guilford County
    # 1775 - Sandy Creek Baptist Church Established Just Outside of Liberty
    # 1779 - Randolph County Succeeds From Guilford County
    # 1809 - The Town of Liberty is Officially Born as Liberty Oak
    # 1809 - A Town Square is formally established.
    # 1884 - Locomotive travel and transportation begins in Liberty.
    # 1884 - The Congregational Christian Church, Liberty's 1st Church Begins
    # 1886 - Fairview cemetery is opened.
    # 1886 - The Liberty Academy Begins Operation
    # 1889 - Liberty Is Officially Chartered
    # 1894 - The Liberty Herald, Liberty's 1st Newspaper Begins
    # 1895 - Fire Ravages Liberty Business District
    # 1903 - Liberty's First Bank begins operation.
    # 1907 - Liberty Telephone Begins Operation.
    # 1917 - Electricity Begins to Flow Through Liberty.
    # 10/06/1922 - Joe Frazier Professional Baseball Player is Born in Liberty
    # 1926 - Liberty Establishes Water Works & sewer.
    # 1927 - Liberty's Landmark Water Tower: "Freedom Tower" is erected.
    # 1927 - Paving of town streets begins.
    # 1929 - Runa Curtis Greenleaf, opens Liberty's First Theater
    # 1934 - The Liberty News Begins Publishing
    # 1942 - First Town Library Established
    # 1949 - Town Theater Moves To Current Location as The Curtis Theater.
    # 1949 - Liberty Purchases First Fire Truck From Elmira, N.Y
    # 1966 - Library is relocated to current location
    # 1966 - Randolph High School of Liberty Is Closed
    # 1968 - Killer's Three Starring Dick Clark Filmed in Liberty.
    # 1971 - Paul Henry Smith Park Established
    # 1975 - The Town Hall is added to the Library Complex
    # 1976 - Patterson Cottage Museum Restored
    # 1976 - Freedom Park Established
    # 1978 - The Former Town hall, is renovated into the Roy Reitzel Center.
    # 07/21/1991 - Stephen King's Children of The Corn 3 Filmed in Liberty
    # 1995 - Liberty Resident Craig Kirkman Wins World Championship
    # 06/25/2001 - Liberty Heritage Wall Unveiled
    # 06/25/2001 - Liberty is Designated As A National Historic District
    # 03/05/2003 - Local Newspaper, The Liberty News suspends publication.
    # 09/01/2003 - TheTownofLiberty.com - Liberty's First Website Goes Live
    # 11/22/2004 - Town Council Adopts centennial Flag as Town Flag

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