Liberty is a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
in
Sullivan County,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, United States. The population was 9,885 at the 2010 census. The town contains a
village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...
also named
Liberty
Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom.
In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
. The village is bisected by
New York State Route 52
New York State Route 52 (NY 52) is a state highway in the southeastern part of the state. It generally runs from west to east through five counties, beginning at the Pennsylvania state line in the Delaware River near Narrowsburg, cr ...
(NY 52) and
NY 55, and is crossed by
NY 17.
History
The town of Liberty area is credited with providing 303 men who fought in the Revolution. Liberty was carved originally from the then large township of Lumberland and was itself at this time so large that it included the present Towns of Callicoon and Fremont. The Town today covers 85 square miles.
When the first settlers came to this area, known as the Blue Mountain country, they settled to the Northwest of the present village at the existing Revonah Lake formerly known as Broadhead Pond. The early settlers came here from Connecticut and some of the oldest remains left in the Town are the laid up stones in the outlet of Revonah Lake which were probably placed there in 1797 for the purpose of building the first sawmill in the area.
As the land was cleared of the dense dark hemlock forest that the early settlers found, the area went through various stages of development. After the farms were cleared one of the earlier forms of industry to be established was the tanneries which ran through the Civil War era. Following this, the dairy farming came into its own, to be followed by the taking in of “summer boarders” which gradually led to the founding of the large hotels: the Wawonda, Liberty House and many others.
It was along about 1900 that the large Loomis Sanatorium was established for the care of TB or tubercular patients and Liberty in general went through another stage of its development which lasted until other cures beside the fresh air and rest were found.
It was also early in the century that the Workmen's Circle, a leading Jewish fraternal order, built a sanatorium east of Liberty: the property now occupied by the County Home and Infirmary and also the site of the Social Service Buildings.
Then, the town in general fell back to its dependency upon the tourists and its so-called summer season. Being blessed with an abundance of rural beauty and nearness to the metropolitan area provides many advantages in this respect.
As the years went by, and different settlements began to develop, they eventually became the Village and Hamlets that we know today. Some of the old settlements either changed their names or were lost in the ways of progress. Doubtenville, Glen Cove, Egypt and Red Brick are just a few of the lost communities.
Still remaining within the confines of the Town of Liberty today are the Village of Liberty and the smaller hamlets of Ferndale, Parksville, Swan Lake and White Sulphur Springs.
The Village of Liberty, incorporated on September 17, 1870, is by far the largest of the Town's communities, being located at the crossroads of the Quickway (Route 17) and State Highway Route 52.
Liberty can boast of its tanneries, of the old Liberty Normal Institute, established in 1847, its famous Coaching Day Parades, and its hotels of the 1900 era. The Liberty House was the greatest and was the site of many Lincoln Dinners and reunions of the Grand Army of the Republic.
Of the smaller hamlets, Parksville is the only one to maintain its original name. Even before the formation of the Town of Liberty there were people in this area. The Martins and the Halls were early settlers, arriving in 1804. At a later date the Parks family came to the area and proved to be extremely active and productive and through their efforts came the name Parksville; otherwise, it more than likely would have been known as “Martinsville.”
White Sulphur Springs was originally called Robertsonville, being named for Bradley Robertson, who left Connecticut and settled in the area in 1809, and later fought in the war of 1812.
The Hamlet has always been a rural area. At one time it was surrounded by many small dairy farms and had a cheese factory operating within its bounds.
In the 1890s and early 1900s it was doing a thriving hotel and Boarding House business. It was during this period of time that a large hotel, called the White Sulphur Springs House was built. The hotel took its name from the Sulphur Spring whose waters were supposed to have medicinal benefits which were obtainable either by drinking or bathing in it.
In December, 1890 Robertsonville officially changed its name to White Sulphur Springs, no doubt to further help the promotion of the tourist trade.
In later years many additional hotels were constructed in the Hamlet and the business flourished in the summer for many years.
Ferndale, originally known as Liberty Falls, was settled by Roswell Russell in 1807. During the Civil War era, it had thriving tanneries within its confines. The tall brick chimney of one of the tanneries stood until sometime in the 1950s, when it was taken down for its bricks.
The name was changed from Liberty Falls to Ferndale by the NYO&W Railway because of a mix up of the mails.
The name Ferndale covers a much larger area than the hamlet itself.
Ferndale is credited with having the
Grossinger Resort Hotel within its boundaries. This large layout all started by the Grossinger family taking in a few summer boarders to help meet expenses in 1914.
Swan Lake originally called Stevensville, was named after the Stevens brothers, who built a large sole leather tannery there. The tannery was in existence until about 1873.
Since the 1880s, the Swan Lake area has been noted for its hotel and tourist industry. Many of the local farm girls found jobs there in the early 1900s. The lake has always had an abundance of fish and brings sportsmen into the area.
Alden S. Swan arrived there from New York about 1895 and by the time of his death in 1917 owned much of the land and all of the lake. The name was changed to Swan Lake in January 1927.
The Swan estate was purchased by Siegel and Kretchmer, and the Siegels went on to build the Commodore and Stevensville Hotels: the latter developing into a large,sprawling hotel run by the Dinnerstein family.
Hometown hero Brendan Siegel was awarded all-state in baseball for Liberty High in 2015. He now resides at House Aldrew of the Sixteen Acres.
Liberty was a mainstay, with
Grossinger's Hotel and several other Borscht Belt attractions, but, once their doors closed, so ended the lifestyle which made Liberty desirable to tourism.
Several grants were issued for the revival of historic Liberty: for example, the Liberty movie theater project.
In 2012, a man named William Barboza received a ticket for speeding through the town. When he paid his fine, he wrote a vulgar statement on the ticket. He also replaced the village's name, Liberty, with "Tyranny." The police in Liberty charged him with a crime for the scrawling.
During the second week of September 2015, United States District Judge Cathy Seibel ruled that Mr. Barboza's First Amendment rights were violated by the charge, which was dismissed prior to this ruling. She said Barboza's phrase was crude and offensive to some but "did not convey an imminent threat and was made in the context of complaining about government activity." As of September 18, 2015, Mr. Barboza has filed suit against the Town of Liberty, but no decision has yet been reached.
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the town has a total area of 80.7 square miles (209.0 km
2), of which 79.6 square miles (206.2 km
2) is land and 1.1 square miles (2.8 km
2) (1.36%) is water.
Demographics
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2000, there were 9,632 people, 3,711 households, and 2,263 families residing in the town. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was 121.0 people per square mile (46.7/km
2). There were 5,350 housing units at an average density of 67.2 per square mile (25.9/km
2). The racial makeup of the town was 83.70%
white
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 9.19%
black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
or
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.37%
Native American, 1.43%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, .01%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 3.76% from
other races, and 1.54% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 10.9% of the population.
There were 3,711 households, out of which 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.7% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.0% were non-families. 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.08.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.7% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.2 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $32,022, and the median income for a family was $37,689. Males had a median income of $31,088 versus $24,655 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the town was $17,565. About 12.1% of families and 17.1% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 19.0% of those under age 18 and 11.4% of those age 65 or over.
Communities and locations in Liberty
*Cooley – a location near the northern town line.
*
Ferndale (formerly Liberty Falls) – a
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
south of Liberty village on Route 17. The
Ferndale School
Ferndale School, also known as District 6 School, is a historic one-room school located at Ferndale in Sullivan County, New York. It was built about 1850 and is a one-story, wood-frame building with clapboard siding surmounted by a gable roof wit ...
,
Manion's General Store
Manion's General Store is a historic general store and post office located at Ferndale in Sullivan County, New York. It was built before 1908 and is a large, frame building. It is two and one half stories tall, five bays wide and three bays d ...
, and
Shelburne Playhouse
Shelburne Playhouse is a historic theatre located at Ferndale in Sullivan County, New York. It was built in 1922 as part of a small resort known as the Shelburne Hotel and used as the hotel social hall. It is a long, rectangular wood-frame build ...
are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
.
*Grossinger – a hamlet south of Liberty village on Route 17. Formerly this was the site of
Grossinger's Catskill Resort Hotel
Grossinger's Catskill Resort Hotel was a resort in the Catskill Mountains in the Town of Liberty, near the village of Liberty, New York. One of the largest Borscht Belt resorts, it was a kosher establishment that catered primarily to Jewish client ...
*
Liberty
Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom.
In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
– village on Route 17.
*Loomis – a hamlet west of Liberty village.
*
Parksville – a hamlet north of Liberty village on Route 17. The
Tefereth Israel Anshei Parksville Synagogue
Tefereth Israel Anshei Parksville Synagogue is a historic synagogue on Dead End Street in Parksville, Sullivan County, New York. It was constructed in about 1907 and is a -story, wood-frame building on a deep stone building and built into the sid ...
was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
*Revonah Lake (formerly Brodhead Pond) – a
lake
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...
northwest of Liberty village, that was probably the first settlement site in the town.
*
Swan Lake
''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...
(formerly Stevensville) – a hamlet near the southern town line, located at the eastern end of a lake called "Swan Lake."
*
White Sulphur Springs (formerly Robertsonville) – a hamlet in the southwestern part of the town on Route 52. The
Jewish Community Center of White Sulphur Springs was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
Education
The Liberty Central School District has three schools in Liberty.
The Catholic schools in closest proximity to Liberty are Our Lady of Mount Carmel Elementary School in
Wallkill and St. John Elementary School in
Goshen.
St. Peter's Regional School, the final remaining Catholic school in Sullivan County, closed in 2019. At the time it had 42 students. It was the final remaining Catholic school in Sullivan County. The school became an early learning center in 2016 after an earlier plan to close the school was canceled.
[
]
Notable people
* Robert Y. Grant, Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...
from 1849 to 1855; supervisor of the town of Liberty in 1854 and 1859; postmaster of Liberty from 1855; and a member of the New York State Senate
The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate.
Partisan com ...
(9th D.) in 1860
Events
January–March
* January 2 – The discovery of a hypothetical planet Vulcan is announced at a meeting of the French Academy of Sciences in Paris, France.
* January 10 – The Pemberton Mill in Lawrence, Massachusett ...
and 1861
Statistically, this year is considered the end of the whale oil industry and (in replacement) the beginning of the petroleum oil industry.
Events
January–March
* January 1
** Benito Juárez captures Mexico City.
** The first steam-p ...
.
* Taylor Jardine, lead singer for Sainte and We Are The In Crowd
* Maurice Martin
Maurice "Mo" Martin (born July 2, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player. He played at Saint Joseph's University from 1982 to 1986 and was an Associated Press honorable mention All-American in his senior year. The 1986 Atla ...
, Basketball Player
* Alan Gerry
Alan Gerry (born December 24, 1929)
Tuesday June 06, 2000 is an Am ...
, founder of Cablevision Industries
Spectrum is a trade name of Charter Communications, used to market consumer and commercial cable television, internet, telephone, and wireless services provided by the company.
The brand was first introduced in 2014; prior to that, these serv ...
* Allan Bérubé
Allan Bérubé (pronounced BEH-ruh-bay; December 3, 1946 – December 11, 2007) was a gay American historian, activist, independent scholar, self-described "community-based" researcher and college drop-out, and award-winning author, best known ...
, historian, activist, and award-winning author
* Kaseem Sinceno
Kaseem Tyrone Sinceno (born March 26, 1976) is a former American football tight end who played four seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Bears. He played college football at Syracuse University an ...
, former NFL player and graduate of Liberty High School
Liberty in film
Liberty is the setting of David Cross
David Cross (born April 4, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, director, and writer known for his stand-up performances, the HBO sketch comedy series ''Mr. Show'' (1995–1998), and his role as Tobias Fünke in the Fox/Netflix sitcom ...
's film ''Hits''. The film was also used as the setting for the 2018 drama ''Nancy''.
References
External links
Official site
at the New York State Library
The New York State Library is a research library in Albany, New York, United States. It was established in 1818 to serve the state government of New York and is part of the New York State Education Department. The library is one of the largest ...
, accessed May 18, 2016.
{{authority control
Towns in Sullivan County, New York