Liberty, New York

Liberty, New York
Liberty is a town in Sullivan County, New York, United States. The population was 10,159 at the 2020 census. The village is bisected by New York State Route 52 (NY 52) and NY 55, and is crossed by NY 17.
History
Today the town covers 85 square miles. The largest community within the town is the village of Liberty, which was incorporated on September 17, 1870.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 80.7 square miles (209.0 km2), of which 79.6 square miles (206.2 km2) is land and 1.1 square miles (2.8 km2) (1.36%) is water.
Communities within Liberty
Cooley – a location near the northern town line.
Ferndale (formerly Liberty Falls) – a hamlet south of Liberty village on Route 17. The Ferndale School, Manion's General Store, and Shelburne Playhouse are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Grossinger – a hamlet south of Liberty village on Route 17. Formerly this was the site of Grossinger's Catskill Resort Hotel
Liberty – village on Route 17.
Loomis – a hamlet west of Liberty village.
Parksville – a hamlet north of Liberty village on Route 17. The Tefereth Israel Anshei Parksville Synagogue was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
Revonah Lake (formerly Brodhead Pond) – a lake northwest of Liberty village, that was probably the first settlement site in the town.
Swan Lake (formerly Stevensville) – a hamlet near the southern town line, located at the eastern end of a lake called "Swan Lake."
White Sulphur Springs (formerly Robertsonville) – a hamlet in the southwestern part of the town on Route 52. The Jewish Community Center of White Sulphur Springs was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 9,632 people, 3,711 households, and 2,263 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 5,350 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 83.70% white, 9.19% black or African American, 0.37% Native American, 1.43% Asian, .01% Pacific Islander, 3.76% from other races, and 1.54% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.9% of the population.
There were 3,711 households, out of which 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.7% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.0% were non-families. 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.08.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.7% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.2 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $32,022, and the median income for a family was $37,689. Males had a median income of $31,088 versus $24,655 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,565. About 12.1% of families and 17.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.0% of those under age 18 and 11.4% of those age 65 or over.
Education
The Liberty Central School District has three schools in Liberty.
The Catholic schools in closest proximity to Liberty are Our Lady of Mount Carmel Elementary School in Wallkill and St. John Elementary School in Goshen. St. Peter's Regional School, the final remaining Catholic school in Sullivan County, closed in 2019. At the time it had 42 students. It was the final remaining Catholic school in Sullivan County. The school became an early learning center in 2016 after an earlier plan to close the school was canceled.
Notable people
Allan Bérubé, historian, activist, and award-winning author
Alan Gerry, founder of Cablevision Industries
Robert Y. Grant, Justice of the Peace from 1849 to 1855; supervisor of the town of Liberty in 1854 and 1859; postmaster of Liberty from 1855; and a member of the New York State Senate (9th D.) in 1860 and 1861.
Taylor Jardine, lead singer for Sainte and We Are The In Crowd
Zoe Leonard, artist
Maurice Martin, Basketball Player
Kaseem Sinceno, former NFL player and graduate of Liberty High School
Film
Liberty is the setting of David Cross's film Hits. The film was also used as the setting for the 2018 drama Nancy.
References
External links
Official site
Short history of Liberty
Collection of Photographic Prints Related to Liberty, N.Y. ca. 1900 (finding aid) at the New York State Library, accessed May 18, 2016.
Towns in Sullivan County, New York
Towns in New York (state)