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North Liberty is an incorporated town in Liberty Township, in the southwest of St. Joseph County, Indiana, standing where State Road 23 — its Main Street — crosses State Road 4, on ground the Potawatomi ceded in 1832. It was laid out by the Antrim family in 1836 or 1837 — the record carries both years and this build prints both — grew up around a gristmill on Potato Creek, was incorporated on 8 June 1894, and for two generations was the junction of two railroads, both now abandoned. Its 2020 census population is 1,623. This spine carries the town's course whole, from the first settlements of 1833 to the present month. The town's government is dug in the government section; the taking of its ground, instrument by instrument, in the land and tribes sections.
The frame: a town in Liberty Township, on the SR 23 corridor
Frame as of November 2026
The town in its frame. North Liberty is a town under Indiana law in Liberty Township, St. Joseph County. Its federal identifiers are GNIS feature ID 2396821 and FIPS place code 18-54918 (Census GEOID 1854918; the Census Bureau's…
The township frame: Liberty organized, 1837
2 May 1837 · 7 June 1866
Liberty Township was carved out of Greene by a county-board order of 2 May 1837. Howard prints the order's territory whole: beginning at the northwest corner of section 20, township 36, range 2 east, west to the Kankakee River…
First settlements: 1833, near the site of the town
1833–1836
The first settlements in the township were made in 1833, near the present townsite. The two county histories agree on the year, the place, and the men. Chapman: "The first settlements were made in 1833 near North Liberty, by John…
The plat: the Antrim ground, 1836 or 1837
12 January 1836 · 1837 — conflict printed whole
The town was laid out on the Antrim ground at the corner of four sections — in 1836 by the dedication Howard prints, in 1837 by Chapman's account. Howard prints the dedication itself: "This is the plat of the Town of North…
First houses, first store, the mills on Potato Creek
1837–1880s
The town's first things cluster in 1837: the first house, the first store, and the gristmill. Chapman: "soon after its location James Downey built a house; the same year four other houses were built." The first store was Daniel…
The town Chapman counted, and the industry that followed
1865–1880
Chapman's 1880 census of the town's business is the fullest picture of North Liberty before the railroads. He prints the place at "a population of nearly 400" — against the federal census of the same year, which counted 346; both…
Two railroads, 1893 and 1894 — and none today
1893–1989
North Liberty was served by two railroads, built one year apart; both are abandoned, and no rail line serves or passes the town today. The town's own 2015 Comprehensive Plan states the frame: the town "is located along two former…
Corridors: State Road 23, State Road 4, and the tested U.S.-highway claim
1930–present
State Road 23 is the town's Main Street, and no U.S. highway touches North Liberty — a claim tested and found negative. SR 23 runs from SR 10 in Starke County north through Grovertown and Walkerton, then northeast through North…
The National Register listings in the town
Listed 2007 · 2014
Two National Register listings stand in the town. North Liberty Park, at 309 North Jefferson Street, was listed 29 March 2007 under reference 07000211 — a historic district of New Deal and Works Progress Administration resources…
Potato Creek State Park: township ground, not town ground
1969 · 1977 · 1983
Potato Creek State Park stands about three miles east of the town, in Liberty Township — not in North Liberty, and it prints here at township strength. The park, addressed 25601 State Road 4, North Liberty, holds 3,840 acres …
The bank item: Community State Bank
1943–1987
The Community State Bank of North Liberty was chartered in 1943 and merged into 1st Source Bank in 1987 — it did not fail, and it is not independent. Community State Bank, FDIC Certificate 15942, headquarters carried as "Main…
The census line, 1870–2020
1870–2020
The town's first separate census return is 1870, not 1880: 223 people. The decennial line, as the Census Bureau's published series carries it: 1870, 223; 1880, 346; 1890, no figure — the published table prints a dash, and the…
The modern frame
As of November 2026
The modern town is a community of 1,623 people whose hall stands at 300 South Main Street. Town Hall: 300 South Main Street, P.O. Box 515, North Liberty, IN 46554, telephone (574) 656-4447. The town's adopted vision, from its…