Liberty Township, one of thirteen in Butler County, is in the east-central part of the county, just south of the city of Monroe. With an area of about twenty-eight square miles it is smallest of the thirteen townships and had a population of 22,819 in 2000, up sharply from 9,249 in 1990. It was named for Liberty, Pennsylvania, at the suggestion of John Morrow, the brother of Governor Jeremiah Morrow and a resident of the township at the time of its formation in 1803, who came from that place. The first settler was John Nelson, who arrived in 1796, seven years before Ohio became a state.

The northwest corner of the township has been annexed into the city of Monroe, the sole municipality in Liberty. Unincorporated places are Bethany, Hughes Station , Kyles Station , Jericho , and Princeton .

Erected in 1803

One of the original five townships of the county, it was erected by the Butler County Court of Quarter Sessions on May 7, 1810 with these boundaries:

Beginning at the southeast corner of section No. 14 of the second township in the second entire range on the south boundary line of the county: thence north to the Great Miami; thence northeastwardly up the Miami to the northern boundar of fractional section No. 10 of the second township in the third of military range; thence east to the eastern boundary of the county; thence south with the eastern boundary of the county ot the southeast corner thereof; thence west with the southern boundary of the county to the place of beginning.

The original boundaries included what is now West Chester Township, which was separated from Liberty Township by the Butler County Commissioners on June 2, 1823. It is presently bounded on the south by West Chester Township, on the west by Fairfield Township, on the north (across the Great Miami River) by Madison Township, on the north by Lemon Township and the city of Monroe; and on the east by the Warren County townships of Turtlecreek and Deerfield Townships and the city of Mason.

Government

The township is governed by a three-member board of trustees, who are elected in November of odd-numbered years to a four-year term beginning on the following January 1. Two are elected in the year after the presidential election and one is elected in the year before it. There is also an elected township clerk, who serves a four-year term beginning on April 1 of the year after the election, which is held in November of the year before the presidential election. Vacancies in the clerkship or on the board of trustees are filled by the remaining trustees.

Transportation, utlities, and schools

The Miami and Erie Canal passed through the northwest corner of the township. The Dayton Short Line , now the Norfolk Southern, ran through the township.

The old Cincinnati and Dayton Turnpike, later Dixie Highway and United States Highway 25 , and now Cincinnati-Dayton Road connected the township to Monroe to the north and Sharonville to the south. Major highways today include the Butler County Regional Highway , which runs connects I-75 to Hamilton through the southern tier of the township, State Route 4 (which links Hamilton to Middletown, and State Route 129. While I-75 runs through the eastern edge of the township, there are no exits in the township.

Most of the township is in the Bethany telephone exchange. The Middletown and Hamilton post offices serve most areas of the township, but a part is served by the West Chester post office.

All of the township except the northeast corner is in the Lakota Local School District. The remainder is in the Monroe Local School District.

Historic population figures

• 1900--1,024
• 1910--986
• 1920--1,024
• 1930--1,481
• 1940--1,628
• 1950--2,195
• 1960--3,143
• 1970--3,736
• 1980--6,506
• 1990--9,314

References

• Bert S. Barlow, W.H. Todhunter, Stephen D. Cone, Joseph J. Pater, and Frederick Schneider, eds. Centennial History of Butler County, Ohio. Hamilton, Ohio: B.F. Bowen, 1905.
• Jim Blount. The 1900's: 100 Years In the History of Butler County, Ohio. Hamilton, Ohio: Past Present Press, 2000.
• Butler County Engineer's Office. Butler County Official Transportation Map, 2003. Fairfield Township, Butler County, Ohio: The Office, 2003.
• A History and Biographical Cyclopaedia of Butler County, Ohio with Illustrations and Sketches of Its Representative Men and Pioneers. Cincinnati, Ohio: Western Biographical Publishing Company, 1882. [1]
• Ohio. Secretary of State. The Ohio municipal and township roster, 2002-2003. Columbus, Ohio: The Secretary, 2003.