The most popular—though probably mythical—story regarding the reason the area was named Liberty was put forth by Mrs. Annie Craig in 1936: "At the close of the Revolutionary War a religious meeting was being held at a church close to a spring near the present town of Liberty when the word came that Cornwallis had surrendered and the colonies had gained their independence.

Liberty today sits on land that was once part of the Cherokee Indians' hunting ground.

Cherokee tribesmen, who often survived by growing crops, and tended to live in small villages, were in many ways more domesticated than other Native American tribes.

[8] Tradition holds that Hernando DeSoto and his group of Spanish explorers were the first Europeans to travel through the area around year 1540.

[9] The first Englishmen to venture into the area were traders who often travelled up from Charles Town and Savannah to exchange their guns, horses, cloth, and liquor with the Cherokee for animal skin and fur.

[10] In 1753, British colonists built Fort Prince George, the first white settlement in Pickens County.

South Carolinian patriots, angered at the Cherokee for supporting the Redcoats, forced them to cede much of their territory with the Treaty of DeWitt's Corner in 1777.

Few in the area could afford to own slaves like the wealthier planters in the Lowcountry, and almost every farmer was forced to work the land himself.

[13] Though it is generally accepted that the first shot of the Civil War occurred when the Union ship Star of the West was fired upon by state troops at Morris Island on January 9, 1861, an old legend claims that a resident named William Mauldin fired upon the Union ship from Fort Moultrie a few hours earlier, making him the first shot of the War.

Several companies of infantry and cavalry were formed in Pickens District before being dispatched to serve under one of the state regiments.

The men who either refused to enlist or deserted in battle were often thought upon with scorn by their neighbors for the rest of their lives, and even their descendants were often ostracized for years afterward.

[15] After the war, Pickens District, like the rest of the South, was placed under martial law by Union troops.

[17] Reconstruction officially ended in South Carolina around the year 1877, not long after former Confederate General Wade Hampton III was elected governor under the Democratic ticket.

[18] Liberty's official recognition as a town came soon after the Charlotte-Atlanta Airline Railway was completed in the early 1870s.

[19] Former Confederate General William Easley, a lawyer working for the railroad company, negotiated to have the tracks laid through the southern part of Pickens County.

John T. Boggs set up the new Liberty Post Office that same year, and was named the town's first postmaster.

[20] Liberty was formally chartered on March 2, 1876, with the future town center being located on the former lands of Mrs. Templeton.

The marshall, a forerunner to today's chief of police, was satirized in a Pickens Sentinel article that claimed, "there was nothing for him to do, except to look after the cows that go astray.

Several schools were already in operation by this time, with most being privately funded, and sponsored either by the community or by the local churches.

[23] Reports indicate the Church had a congregation as early as year 1802, when they met at an old log house north of the present-day town.

The growth of cotton mills in the area brought about a major shift in the way people lived.

By 1928, demand had increased to the point that Mr. Smith decided to sell his assets to Duke Power, which established a small office downtown.

[30] The former Mohawk Carpet plant is currently occupied by Southern Vinyl Windows & Doors, a major employer in the area.

[31] According to the United States Census Bureau, the town had a total area of 4.3 square miles (11 km2), all of it land.

The council acts as a legislator and enact ordinances, levy taxes, adopt a budget and set compensation.