Liberty, Missouri

Liberty is a city in Clay County, Missouri. At the 2000 census the city had a total population of 26,232. It is the county seat of Clay County{{GR|6}}.

History

Liberty was settled in 1822, and shortly later became the county seat of Clay County.

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In 1830, David Rice Atchison established a law office in Liberty. He was joined three years later by colleague Alexander William Doniphan. The two argued cases defending the rights of Mormon settlers in Jackson County, served Northwest Missouri in Missouri's General Assembly, and labored for the addition of the Platte Purchase to Missouri's boundaries. In October 1838, the two were ordered by Governor Lilburn Boggs to arrest Mormon prophet Joseph Smith Jr. at the Far West settlement in Caldwell County. Immediately after the conclusion of the Mormon War, Smith and other Mormon leaders were incarcerated at the Liberty Jail for the winter as Doniphan labored for a quicker trial date.

Related Topics:
1830 - David Rice Atchison - Alexander William Doniphan - Jackson County - Platte Purchase - 1838 - Lilburn Boggs - Joseph Smith Jr. - Far West - Caldwell County - Mormon War - Liberty Jail

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Atchison relocated to Plattsburg in Clinton County, as Doniphan continued to make his name in Liberty. Doniphan would join a company of Clay County men and command the 1st Missouri Mounted Volunteers Regiment during the Mexican War. The wartime fervor was covered by the Liberty Tribune, founded in April 1846.

Related Topics:
Plattsburg - Clinton County - Mexican War - Liberty Tribune - 1846

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In 1849, Liberty became the home of William Jewell College.

Related Topics:
1849 - William Jewell College

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During the Civil War, sympathies for the Confederacy were prevalent in Liberty. In the 1860 Presidential Election, no votes in Clay County went to Abraham Lincoln. Liberty saw its fair share of battles, including an attack on the Liberty Arsenal, the September 1861 attack on Lexington, and the August 1862 siege of Independence. Southern sentiment remained in the city long after the Civil War—city hall reportedly refused to fly the United States Flag until the start of World War I.

Related Topics:
Civil War - Confederacy - 1860 Presidential Election - Abraham Lincoln - 1861 - Lexington - 1862 - Independence - United States Flag - World War I

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Liberty was the site of the first daytime bank robbery in the United States during peacetime, on February 13, 1866. The gang led by Jesse James was purportedly responsible for the robbery and death of one William Jewell student.

Related Topics:
February 13 - 1866 - Jesse James

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Education opportunities blossomed in the latter half of the 19th Century. Liberty High School was chartered in 1890, the county's oldest four-year institution. Liberty Ladies College opened on a hill due west of Jewell that same year. The school burned down in 1913, resulting in its merger with Jewell. Liberty also housed many privately owned boarding schools. At one operated by Professor Love, a complacent student named Carrie Nation was driven to tears when she was unable to formulate an argument for a class debate concerning animal sentience.

Related Topics:
1890 - Liberty Ladies College - 1913 - Carrie Nation

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Also in 1913, Liberty was connected to Kansas City by way of the Interurban rail system. Transportation links between the growing metropolis and Liberty increased with the addition of State Route 10 in 1922 and its conversion to U.S. Highway 69 in 1926. The electric railway ceased operations in 1933. The addition of Interstate 35 in the 1960s along portions of US-69 brought new expansion to Liberty, creating car-filled suburban neighborhoods oriented toward Kansas City.

Related Topics:
1913 - Kansas City - 1922 - U.S. Highway 69 - 1926 - 1933 - Interstate 35

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