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Liberty (Milepost CF 92.7)

Liberty, altitude 790 feet, is a town in northeast Randolph County.   It was incorporated in 1889 and was named for the nearby plantation of John Leak who settled there in 1807. The area ws first occupied by the Catawba Indians, a branch of the eastern Sioux tribe.  During pre-Revolutionary War days, German, Scotch-Irish and English colonists settled in this area.  Early references to a town called "Liberty" are mentioned in land transactions in the year 1809 to be found in preserved official records on file at Randolph County Courthouse 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. A rich part of Liberty's history is contained in the educational life of the community.  As early as 1886 the Liberty Academy began operation. The school was supported by tuition paid by the students. At this time Liberty was known as an educational center and farming community. The railroad was the vital link that turned Liberty into a town, and the Cape Fear & Yadkin Valley Railway in its 1889 publication referred to Liberty as a place "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."

 In 1943, Liberty's tracks had a capacity for 28 cars and had yard limits and a telephone. One industry in Liberty served by the A&Y was the Liberty Chair Company, established in 1910.

Here is a photo of the Liberty station in 1962, 12 years after the A&Y was formally absorbed into the Winston-Salem division of the Southern Railway. Recently, the station at Liberty was moved from it's original site to the other side of the tracks and a preservation effort has begun.

This is a contemporary photo of the station in its new location.

Here's some shots of the dowtown near the station and tracks. This first shot is of the Liberty Hardware store.

Another structure, this one is trackside but south of the station. It looks like it could have been there in the 50's.

Tthe water tower certainly looks like it could be from the middle of the century when the A&Y was still active.

This website is copyrighted 1998-2008 by David M. Bott.  Images appearing on this website may be protected by U.S. Copyright Law, donor restrictions, and other rights or policies. The Railroad Roman font used in the title was bought from Ben Coifman. Persons who contemplate copying and using font or images should obtain all necessary permissions pertaining to use. Authorization to use images credited to the North Carolina Collection, University of N.C. Library at Chapel Hill should be sought from the Collection at CB#3934, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27514-8890. Telephone 919-962-7992. Images credited to the North Carolina State Library Photo Archives are considered in the public domain.  Images credited to others or unknown are subject to copyright restrictions and permission for use should be obtained.

This page  last edited Friday, January 04, 2008