Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.
“North Liberty Historic District is a national historic district located at North Liberty, Indiana. The district encompasses 14 contributing buildings in the central business district of North Liberty.”
Wikipedia article North Liberty Historic District, CC BY-SA 4.0.
One of 101 National Register listings published here for St. Joseph County · listed in 2014 · category: District.
Sources: the Wikipedia article · the National Register database, National Park Service
The chapter on Liberty Township in History of St. Joseph County, Indiana :, published 1880 names North Liberty. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.
Liberty township formerly embraced the territory included iu Lincoln township, but being inconvenient for the settlers that resided in (now) Lincoln township to attend elections, in June, 1866, according to petitions of Lincoln settlers, it was detached and made an independent township. Liberty is generally known as being among the first settled townships in St. Joseph county. The first settlements were made iu 1833 near North Liberty, by John Kane, John and Jacob Earhart and Isaac Townsend. But few other settlers came into the township till 1836. John Rupel came in January, tliis year, soon followed by David Rupel, Jas. Cole, Jacob Rupel and Joseph Liggett.
Passage source: History of St. Joseph County, Indiana :, published 1880.
In May, 1837, the township was organized by the following persons: Daniel and James Antrim, John and David Rupel, Samuel Loring, James Cole, Jacob Rupel and Joseph Liggett. The first election was held the same spring, in North Liberty, at the house of Jas. P. Antrim, who was elected Justice of the Peace. In 1838 Mr. AValdsmith, father of Geo. Waldsmith, a present resident of Liberty township, settled on section 30.
Passage source: History of St. Joseph County, Indiana :, published 1880.
Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.
Read the whole chapter on Liberty Township - 6,497 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of North Liberty Commercial Historic District: 1 producer, 1 past producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bills Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Futa Marl Quarry | Stone | Producer |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names North Liberty, the town this property stands in, in 25 storm reports between 1996 and 2024: 15 thunderstorm wind, 8 hail, 1 flash flood, 1 flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2016 | Flash Flood | North Liberty | $5,100,000 | Emergency management officials reported widespread flooding and flash flooding across portions of the county from North Liberty into the South Bend/Mishawaka area to the state line. The most extensive, and in some cases life threatening, flash flooding occurred in the city of South Bend where over a dozen roads were closed due to a foot or more of water flowing over the roads. Several homes were impacted by flood waters with basement/foundation damage to at least 2 homes that required evacuation/rescue of the homeowners. Many others were displaced across the city and outlying county areas. The flood waters lifted a local media outlets car off the road and onto a rail along the road, allowing the occupants to escape before it flipped over. Rainfall reports of 4 to 8 inches were recorded in a short period of time as precipitable waters of over 2.2 inches advected into the area. Many roads remained closed for several days as flood waters were slow to recede. Damage totals were $5,100,000. Under FEMA guidelines, a total of 845 homes were affected. Of those 300 suffered significant damage and 180 were deemed catastrophic. |
| February 2018 | Flood | North Liberty | $1,100,000 | Extensive flooding occurred across the county as all area waterways exceeded their limited, reaching record levels in some spots. Residents had to be evacuated along many of the rivers with numerous homes and businesses suffering varying degrees of damage. In addition, numerous roads were closed due to high water for several days including portions of US 331, 20 and 6 as well as several state routes. Washouts were reported in some areas. Damage estimates totaled at least 1.1 million dollars. |
| March 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Liberty | $25,000 | A building collapsed in North Liberty. This building was damaged by a fire in February. |
| March 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Liberty | $5,000 | The roadway was blocked due to a downed tree. |
| June 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Liberty | $5,000 | A picture was submitted of a large 12 to 18 inch diameter tree blown down onto a home and metal fence, but the base of the tree was rotten. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Liberty | $3,000 | Broadcast media reports several trees down in North Liberty. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Liberty | $1,500 | Tree snapped in half on IN-23 in North Liberty at the intersection with Market Street. Time estimated by radar. |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Liberty | $1,000 | Large tree down across State Route 4. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Liberty | $1,000 | Report of power lines down in North Liberty. |
| July 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Liberty | - | Limb down of unknown size. |
| May 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Liberty | - | Local media reported trees wre blown down onto power lines. |
| August 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Liberty | - | A tree was blown down onto a house with power lines also down in the area. |
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Liberty | - | The public reported a tree was blown down onto County Road 4. |
| June 2014 | Hail | North Liberty | - | The public reported hail to the size of nickels just north of North Liberty on State Route 23. |
| June 2014 | Hail | North Liberty | - | Amateur radio operators relayed reports of hail ranging from the size of quarters to golf balls in an area from North Liberty to three miles north of North Liberty. |
| June 2014 | Hail | North Liberty | - | A trained spotter reported half dollar size hail north of North Liberty. |
| June 2013 | Hail | North Liberty | - | Several reports were relayed by local media of hail ranging from the size of quarters to half dollars. |
| June 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Liberty | - | Local media outlets reported scattered trees and tree limbs down across the city of North Liberty, including near the intersection of Wolf and State Route 23. Several tents at local festival were also picked up. No injuries were reported. |
| July 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Liberty | - | Numerous trees reported down in and near the city of North Liberty. |
| May 2014 | Hail | North Liberty | - | no account filed |
| May 2014 | Hail | North Liberty | - | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Hail | North Liberty | - | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Hail | North Liberty | - | no account filed |
| May 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Liberty | - | no account filed |
| January 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Liberty | - | no account filed |
No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.
Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.
| Photograph | Property | Distance | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
 | North Liberty Park | 0.2 miles | 2007 |
| Walkerton Historic District | 5.7 miles | 2021 | |
 | Lakeville High School | 7.9 miles | 1991 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 14000077 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| St. Joseph County | All 101 listed properties in this county. |
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