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In 1792, Charles Williamson blazed a trail from Williamsport north to the Bath, New York area in order to provide a southerly access to the holdings of the Pultney Land Company. His trail, which soon became known as the Williamson Trail/Road, came through the wilderness to Trout Run, then over Laurel Hill to Liberty (known then as Blockhouse), and continued north.
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It
is believed that a blockhouse was first constructed in Liberty to shelter
the women and children of the expedition while the men forged ahead
to the northern destination. A few women and children, it is thought,
perished during their sojourn at the blockhouse, and were buried in
the center of town - probably where Route 15 is now located.
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 In 1896 this replica of the Blockhouse was constructed for a Centennial Celebration |
Then in 1826, the Blockhouse was opened as a hotel by a French soldier named Anthony. That year, too, the first Post Office was opened in Liberty. From 1826 to 1840 Blockhouse (Liberty) was a major stopover point for stagecoaches.
Liberty Hotel at the
end of the street, located on the original sight of the BlockHouse
In succeeding years Liberty grew steadily until it finally became a borough in 1893. There was a dispute about where the borough boundaries should be. C. A. Miller and Dr. Z. E. Kimble proposed on November 28, 1892 that the borough include 800 acres. But, G. R. Wheeland and other farmers opposed to the boundaries, feeling that farmland did not belong in the borough. They contended that the benefits they would receive would not compensate for the increased taxes they would be obliged to pay. The dispute continued until March, 1893, when it was brought before Judge John Inscho Mitchell of Tioga County. He ruled that he would not grant a charter for the borough as proposed but that if they would modify the proposed size he would consider it. The applicants accepted the terms and agreed to the borough size being only 270 acres. Liberty became a borough on July 3, 1893.
| BUSINESS: Liberty became a borough amidst the prosperity of a business-industrial boom. More businesses were opening, coal mining and lumbering were prospering, and more railroads were being built. There were efforts by the oil industry to drill for oil, but they never succeeded. After a flood in 1889 the town had sufficiently recovered to support many businesses. After the flood, Elmer Keagle opened a restaurant; Levi H. Ferguson, a furniture store; James W. Gurnsey, a blacksmith shop; and, Charles A. Miller, a general merchandise and drug store. Alfred Sempsey erected another hotel and he was granted a tavern license. William W. Bastian operated a combination market and undertaker business. There were also butchers, dressmakers, barbers, harnessmakers, gristmill and cider mill operators. | INDUSTRY: "Oil" was a cherished word in the 1890's, and hope for a major strike reached the Liberty area in 1893 when a Northern Central Oil and Gas Company spokesman described "the indications for oil as very favorable despite some drilling problems." But after a great deal of drilling and much broken machinery, the oil effort was abandoned. |
TELEPHONE:
Between 1901 and 1906 telephone lines were established
between Liberty and surrounding towns. At the turn of the century, the
world was expanding technologically due to numerous inventions. The telephone
and telegraph made it easier to communicate with people from great distances.
Traveling time from city to city and from city to country was cut sharply:
railroads provided transportation to all parts of the United States, and
automobiles were quietly but quickly developing. As a result, Liberty
was less and less isolated Several rural telephone lines were established from Roaring Branch to Liberty via East Point, Ogdensburg, and Grover. Lines were also connected with Blossburg and Williamsport. The first switchboard was installed in the rear of Bill Bastian's Meat Market about the turn of the century. The Linck Brothers living near Nauvoo, were connected with the Morris exchange and they strung a wire from their home to a phone booth which was placed in the center of Miller's Store in Liberty. Anyone wishing to call long distance, rang Linck's home and were then connected with the Morris operator who had a line into Wellsboro. Now with the switchboard in Liberty a person who couldn't go to Miller's store could talk to the Liberty switchboard who in turn could relay messages. |
ELECTRICITY: In the early 20's electricity was first introduced to Liberty by Amos Sawyer when he set up three Delco plants with storage batteries to generate power for lighting for 42 residences and stores. With the building of the East Smithfield Milk Plant in 1926 there was a greater need for electrical power so it was brought in by the North Penn Power Company of Mansfield. With the new power, many more houses in the community were wired and electrical appliances appeared in the stores. |
| Local farmers were happy when the Liberty Valley Creamery was opened in 1893. By 1901 the creamery was receiving 70,000lbs. of milk daily . In 1904, it was making 450lbs. of butter daily, and by 1908, 600lbs. of butter were manufactured daily. |
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INVENTORS: Liberty even produced some inventors - Walter Gurnsey invented an automatic wagon brake and J. W. Gurnsey invented an adjustable draft equalizer.
The
Jackson - Liberty Library which
later became the Liberty Community Hall, in 1966 opened it's doors in industry
as Liberty Lingerie with 12 women employees manufacturing baby and teenage lingerie.
It increased to 70 employees with no more room and moved to a new building in
1970 across from the Liberty High School employing over 150 women in the area
for several years until it closed it's doors to industry in the Liberty area
and moved on to assemble it's wares in another country.
The Community Hall later became a place of worship, which it remains today.
The development and use of the automobile sort of revitalized Liberty as a stopover point for travelers going north and south. Just as the Williamson trail had been a major north-south route of traveling in the day of the horse, the Williamson Road (paved about 1922 and called the Susquehanna Trail) became a major route in the new day of the automobile. By-passes in the era of train transportation, Liberty was once again passed through in the era of car and truck transportation. In 1924 the Daughters of the American Revolution marked the site of the Old Blockhouse. They recalled that Liberty originated as a place to stop and rest in one's travels into the northern wilderness.
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