Liberty is a city in northwestern Missouri, USA. Covering 28.9 sq mi (74.8 sq km), it has a population of 30,000 people (2011 estimate). The city is the county seat of Clay County.

Jesse James Bank Museum, Liberty, MissouriJesse James Bank Museum, Liberty, Missouri
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clay-savings.png
Author: Americasroof
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Liberty traces its history to early European settlement in 1822. It was here that two lawyers, David Rice Atchison and Alexander William Doniphan, set up a law office often defencing the Mormon settlers who have moved into the area. In 1838, they were ordered to arrest Mormon prophet Joseph Smith Jr. Instead Doniphan defended Smith and won him a change in trial venue. En route to the new venue, Smith and his followers made their escape and formed a new Mormon settlement in Nauvoo, Illinois.

In 1849, William Jewell College was established in Liberty. The people in the town were sympathetic to the Confederacy, and during the 1860 Presidential Election, no one in Clay County voted for Abraham Lincoln. Even after the Civil War, the Liberty City Hall refused to fly the US flag until the start or World War I.

Gano Chapel, William Jewell College, LibertyGano Chapel, William Jewell College, Liberty
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gano_Chapel_at_William_Jewell.jpg
Author: Cara Dahlor


Today Liberty is one of the most populous suburbs of Kansas City. It is located to the northeast of downtown Kansas City.

Visiting Liberty

Interstate 35 is the main highway connecting Liberty to Kansas City and the rest of the country.

Places of Interest in Liberty

  1. Clay County Museum & Historical Society
    Located on Historic Square, the museum occupies a former drug store erected in 1865. Displays celebrating the history of Clay County is spread over three floors.

  2. Jesse James Bank Museum
    The former Clay County Savings Bank building, where the James-Younger Gang committed a robbery in 1866.

  3. Martha Lafite Thompson Natural Sanctuary
    A protected wilderness area in Liberty.

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