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Early border town, prominent trading and outfitting center, and one of the farthest northwest of U. S. towns to be based on southern culture and economy. Settled about 1820, mainly by southern pioneers, the town became the seat of justice for Clay County, 1822.
Many settlers of northwest Missouri and the far West outfitted here, as did caravans during the '49 Gold Rush. Liberty Landing, 4 miles south, was an important Missouri River port. Nearby is Liberty Bridge.
The Mexican War, 1846-1848, with promise of southwest territory and trade, was popular in Missouri and the State raised 1358 troops. Alexander W. Doniphan of Liberty led the First Regiment of Missouri Volunteers on a brilliant expedition covering 3,600 land and 2,000 water miles in 12 months, highlighted with victory at Battle of Sacramento, 1847. Doniphan's grave is in Fairview Cemetery.
William Jewell College was chartered, 1849, under Baptist sponsorship. On the school's "Campus of Achievement" is Jewell Hall, a fine example of Classic - Revival architecture. The College maintains a museum.
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The site of the U. S. Arsenal at Liberty Landing, raided in 1855 by pro-slavery men, recalls the Kansas-Missouri border disputes over the extension of slavery. The arsenal was raided again, April 1861, constituting the first civilian Civil War hostility against the Federal government in the State. During and after the War, the area suffered greatly from guerrilla and outlaw depredations.
Jesse James (1847-1882), America's most fabulous outlaw, was born near Kearney, 10 miles northeast. Jesse and his brother Frank were members of Quantrill's Confederate guerrilla band.
Excelsior Springs, founded in 1880, famous spa of the Midwest, with its unusual Hall of Waters, is 15 miles northeast. North Kansas City, an industrial expansion, founded, 1912, by a development company, is 12 miles southwest. Near Excelsior Springs is the pre-Civil War Watkins Woolen Mill, and near Liberty is "Multnomah" home of Indian agent Major John Dougherty (1791-1860).
In Liberty is the site of the jail where Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith was held, 1838.
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