Welcome to the Town of Liberty, North Carolina
"A Great Place to Live"

Welcome to our Town and our community web site. We believe you will find it informative; however, we encourage any and all suggestions to make it even better.

Liberty is a small, quiet, friendly rural Town in the Piedmont region that is convenient to everywhere and everything. We are 20 minutes from Asheboro and the North Carolina Zoo; 20 minutes from Burlington and some great outlet stores; 20 minutes from Greensboro and more excellent shopping and other amenities; 30 minutes from High Point and some fantastic furniture stores and bargains; and, not far from Raleigh, the state capital, Winston-Salem or Charlotte and all these Towns have to offer.

Our mayor, town council, and administrative staff along with the invaluable assistance of the many great citizens who sit on our advisory boards and others who volunteer their time and services, all work diligently to make our community a great place to be in North Carolina. Please enjoy our web site and our town, and feel free to contact town hall at any time. The Liberty Team looks forward to serving you and making Liberty an even better place to live, visit, work and play.

Scroll down to learn more about Liberty

About Liberty
Liberty, North Carolina
(Randolph County)

Some Facts and Figures:

Incorporated:  January 30, 1889
Location:  35.853° N  Latitude  79.572° W Longitude
Elevation:  790 Feet above mean sea level
Land Area:  3.074 Square Miles
Time Zone:  Eastern (Daylight Savings)
Zip Code: 27298
Area Code: 336
Fire “ISO” Rating = 4
Population (July 1, 2004): 2,747 (State Estimate--Ranked 185th in NC for population)

Town Tax Rate: Current (July, 2005) Rate: 51.25 cents/$100 appraised property value.
Randolph County Tax Rate: Current (Jan, 2004) Rate: 52.5 cents/$100 appraised property value; (Plus) Fire Tax: 6.8 Cents/$100 appraised property value (for those living outside Town limits).

Liberty Firsts (A short history):

1663: King Charles of England gave North Carolina to 10 Lords Proprietors as a gift.

1779: Randolph County formed and named after Peyton Randolph, the then President of the Continental Congress in Philadelphia.

1807: "Liberty Oak" is referenced (for the nearby plantation owned by John Leak).

1809: "Publick Square" laid off at crossroads of S. Fayetteville St. and E. Raleigh Ave. The earliest recorded reference to "Liberty" was in deeds (Lots #23 and #24) recorded on December 2, 1809 to Abraham Brower. You will note this date (1809) on the "Liberty Oak" tree, which is part of the town shield/logo.

January, 1884: First train to come through the community; "Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railroad".

October 11, 1884: First church in Liberty was the Christian Church (now United Church of Christ). The deed for the property was made on this date, although some sources list the date of establishment at 1880.

1884: Population of Liberty = 500

May 6, 1885: Liberty Academy, the first school opened (1 teacher and 21 students) at the site of the present Liberty School; in 1899, it was chartered as Liberty Normal College, and in 1909 became Liberty Graded School.

1886: First burial at the town-owned Fairview Cemetery-Sophia Patterson.

1887: "Our Homes" (Liberty's first newspaper) was published weekly; subscription cost 50 cents per year.

1888:Big "devastating" fire in downtown Liberty.

January 30, 1889: Liberty, NC was incorporated and received its charter.Population at time of charter = "about 600 persons".

1889: Wesley Benton was first Marshall of Liberty; later served as (6th) mayor (1907-1914) and his grandson, Paul Henry Smith served as (26th) mayor (1965-1971).

1895: Big "devastating" fire in downtown Liberty.

1896: First two brick store buildings constructed, Brower & Sons Store and Ruth's Dime Store.

1900: Population of Liberty = "about 700".

1903: First bank in Liberty was incorporated.

1907: First telephone service began (Liberty Telephone); later sold and became Randolph Telephone Company in 1950.

1907: Liberty Normal College burned.

1908: First paved sidewalk was built on both sides of the main block of Swannanoa Street.

1910: First manufacturing plant (Picker-Stick and Novelty Company) which became the Liberty Chair Company in 1912. Liberty Chair changed its name to Liberty Furniture Company in 1975.

1917: First electricity in Liberty. The Liberty Chair Company furnished the first electricity for the town. The company actually bought the dynamo in 1916 and sold it in 1922. It was subsequently sold in 1925 to the Carolina Power and Light Company (CP&L) which was later purchased by Progress Energy.

February, 1926: Big fire at Liberty Chair Factory; established a need for deep well water system and a storage tank.

1926 and 1927: First water and sewer lines were laid in town.

1927: The first paved road through Liberty was built; one mile on what is now [Old] Hwy 421 and also one mile on Hwy 49.

1927: First above ground water storage tank erected (located on Swannanoa Street).

1929: First movie theater opened in Liberty (Curtis Theater); new Curtis Theater opened in 1949 across the street from previous theater (current location of Liberty Showcase; formerly Liberty Jubilee, once the "Rand Ol' Oprey".

1941: Liberty Graded School (first public school building) burned.

1942: First Library established in Liberty; Juanita Haynes was the first Librarian (1942-1968).

1958: First full-time Town Clerk hired (J. A. Culberson).

1960: Population of Liberty = 1,438.

1970: Population of Liberty = 2,136.

January 30, 1975: First Town Manager hired (John "Frank" Kime; served until April, 1986).

1990: Population of Liberty = 2,047

2000: Population of Liberty = 2,661

Sources include: The Liberty News/Burrage; Liberty, NC; June 1, 1960; Files of Francine Swaim; et al. W have hopefully provided the most accurate information available about our Town here; however, if you have contradictory information, corrections, additions, changes, updates, etc. and can provide us the source documentation, we would be most grateful.

More about our community:

Streets:

Liberty has just over 30 miles of roadways:  The Town maintains 22 miles (20.29 paved and 1.74 unpaved) of streets while just over 8 miles of roads are maintained by the state within Town limits.

Water:

Nine town wells provide abundant quality drinking water.  Three above ground water storage tanks can maintain a total of 975,000 gallons of water in reserve.  There are 310 fire hydrants connected to our water lines and helping provide the Town with excellent fire fighting service.

Sewer:

Liberty has 12 miles of sewer lines running beneath our streets leading to our .5 million gallons per day (MGD) capacity wastewater treatment plant.   Effluent spray is spread over 160 acres (8 zones) at a rate of around .35MGD.

Parks:  2

• Freedom Park; 19.19 acres with picnic tables, playground equipment, baseball fields, basketball courts, tennis courts, horseshoe pits, soccer fields, walking trail and other amenities.

• Paul Henry Smith Park; 2.19 acres with picnic tables, playground equipment, baseball fields, basketball courts and other amenities.

Climatology:

• The maximum average precipitation occurs in July.
• The average annual snowfall is 8.3 inches.
• July is the average warmest month; Highest recorded temperature was 107°F in 1952.
• January is the average coolest month; Lowest recorded temperature was -11°F in 1985.

 For the current weather in Liberty: 

http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=27298

Distances to Liberty from:

Asheboro, NC                 21 mi
Burlington, NC                21 mi
Greensboro, NC              30 mi
High Point, NC                43 mi
Raleigh, NC                    65 mi
Winston-Salem, NC         54 mi
Charlotte, NC                 108 mi
Washington, D.C.           315 mi
Atlanta, GA                    348 mi
Nashville, TN                  494 mi
Cleveland, OH                523 mi
Chicago, IL                    807 mi

Airports certified for carrier operations nearest to Liberty:

• Piedmont Triad International; About 30 Miles from Liberty in Greensboro, NC
• Moore County; About 45 Miles from Liberty in Pinehurst/Southern Pines, NC
• Smith Reynolds; About 49 Miles from Liberty in Winston Salem, NC

Other public-use airports nearest to Liberty:

•  Hinshaw (Greenacres); About 4 Miles from Liberty, NC
  • (http://www.airnav.com/airport/N610)
• Causey; About 5 Miles from Liberty, NC  
  • (http://www.airnav.com/airport/2A5)
• Kecks; About 6 Miles from Liberty in Julian, NC
  • (http://www.airnav.com/airport/N88)

Hospitals/medical centers near Liberty:

• Chatham Hospital Inc; About 12 Miles from Liberty in Siler City, NC
• Alamance Regional Medical Center; About 15 Miles from Liberty in Burlington, NC
• Kindred Hospital Greensboro; About 19 Miles from Liberty in Greensboro, NC
• Randolph Hospital, About 19.5 Miles from Liberty in Asheboro, NC

  Colleges/universities with over 2000 students nearest to Liberty:

• Elon College (About 22 Miles; Elon, NC; Full-Time Enrollment: 3,993)
• University Of North Carolina at Greensboro (About 24 Miles; Greensboro, NC; F/T Enrollment: 10,868)
• Guilford Technical Community College (About 28 Miles; Jamestown, NC; F/T Enrollment: 4,810)
• High Point University (About 33 Miles; High Point, NC; F/T Enrollment: 2,564)
• University Of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (About 35 Miles; Chapel Hill, NC; F/T Enrollment: 22,324)
• North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (About 35 Miles; Greensboro, NC; F/T Enrollment: 6,970)
• Central Carolina Community College (About 40 Miles; Sanford, NC; F/T Enrollment: 2,400)

Dates:             Mayors:

1889 - 1894     Henry Lilly Brower

1894 - 1899     Rev. P. T. Way

1899 – 1900    Claude G. Pepper

1900 - 1906     Prof. Phillip E. Shaw

1906 – 1907    Lewis Henry Smith

1907 – 1914    Wesley Benton Owen

1914 – 1915    Roy C. Reitzel

1916 – 1918    J. Eugene Stroud

1916 – 1918    J. Samuel Buckner

1923 – 1925    Rev. W. E. Washburn

1925 – 1927    Roy C. Reitzel

1927 - 1927     James T. Underwood – Mr. Underwood resigned on 6-9-1927 due to health reasons

1927 - 1928     Dr. J. D. Gregg – Dr. Gregg was declared elected on 6-9-1927

1928 – 1929    John E. Allen

1929 – 1934    James Thayer Martin

1934 – 1935    Cyrus Shoffner – Mr. Shoffner resigned 6-30-1935

1935 – 1937    B. M. Brower – Mr. Brower was appointed by commissioners on 7-22-1935

1937 – 1938    L. Garrett Martin

1938 – 1939    Daniel C. Holt

1939 – 1947    Barney J. Gregson

1947 – 1949    Thomas A. Johnson, Sr.

1949 – 1955    Dr. R. D. Patterson, Jr.

1956 – 1957    Jack P. Shoffner

1957 – 1963    C. Troy Smith

1963 – 1965    Wilbur Stamey

1965 – 1971    Paul Henry Smith       Managers:

1971 – 1981    Dr. Joseph B. Griffith, Jr.                                  John “Frank” Kime                   30 January 1975 to April 1986

1981 – 1985    John W. Curtis

1985 – 1995    Jimmy S. Parker                                               Darrell McBane                        18 August 1986 to 29 April 1988

G. Michael “Mike” Tardiff        01 August 1988 to 31 December 1993

W. “Todd“ Powell                    01 June 1994 to 7 April 1995

1995 – Pres     John K. Stanley, Jr.                                          David E. “Sonny” Bullard          24 July 1995 to 9 June 2000

Thurman “Chad” Howell           28 August 2000 to 30 March 2004

Jonathan Hobbs                        08 June 2004 to 22 June 2004

David L. “Dave” Oles               09 August 2004 to June 2006

Roger Davis                 09 July 2006 to Pres