Liberty Historic District - Liberty, WA
Posted by: 
B+L
N 47° 15.217 W 120° 40.000
10T E 676547 N 5235989
Originally established as Williams Creek in 1850, renamed Meaghersville in 1897, and named Liberty in 1916, it is the oldest mining townsite in Washington.
Waymark Code: WM3X1V
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 05/28/2008
Views: 15
The historic townsite is located on a mining claim called the New Discovery Placer. Liberty was never incorporated or properly platted and it was never chartered by the county, state, or federal governments. As a result, Liberty has a turbulent history.
In 1981, the residents of Liberty finally became the official owners of their land after spending nearly seventy years resisting the efforts of several mining companies, aided by the federal government, to disband the town and throw the inhabitants out of their homes.
Liberty still has a number of permanent residents and there is quite a bit of present-day mining activity. The two-story house at the eastern end of town is the former Meaghersville hotel that dates from the 1890's. The area around Liberty contains many miles of mine tunnels and shafts. Large herds of elk can often be seen in the prairie on the way into town.
Liberty is located almost exactly on the geographic center point of the state.
Street address:
Liberty Road
Liberty, WA USA
98922
County / Borough / Parish: Kittitas County
Year listed: 1974
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering
Periods of significance: 1850-1874, 1875-1899
Historic function: Commerce/Trade, Domestic
Current function: Domestic
Privately owned?: yes
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]
Season start / Season finish: Not listed
Hours of operation: Not listed
Secondary Website 2: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
|
Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.