Homesteading in Seward County
Liberal
A post office was established on
June 14, 1886, a mile west of the present site, and a store and
a school were built within a few months. After the Rock Island
railroad came to the area, the town was moved one mile east and
was platted by the Kansas Town and Land Company in April 1888.
The town was named after a saying that folks would say when S.
S. Rogers, a rancher, offered them free water - "well, that's
right liberal".
Because of its location on the
railroad, Liberal became a major trading and shipping point and
it grew rapidly. Its citizens wanted the county seat, and in the
last election held for the county seat in 1892, Liberal was the
winner.
The ethnicity of its settlers is
unknown.
Sources
Seward County Historical Society,
Inc. "Seward County Kansas". Liberal, KS: K.C. Printers,
1979.
Fitzgerald, Daniel. "Ghost
Towns of Kansas". Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1988.
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