BlockBefore

Liberty, South Carolina

17 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1888 and the latest in 1991. It stands in the Liberty census division. It lies in ZIP code area 29657. The Survey maps it on the Liberty quadrangle. 3,366 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,020 feet above sea level.

Liberty within Pickens County

On record in Liberty

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 2 records

Population over time

3 figures

Liberty grew from 3,009 to 3,366 between 2000 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20003,009
20103,269+260 (+9%)
20203,366+97 (+3%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 17 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

233 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 233 fires within 5 miles of Liberty between 1992 and 2020, burning about 584 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 14 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined82
Debris and open burning82
Misuse of fire by a minor25
Arson/incendiarism14
Equipment and vehicle use13
Smoking9
Recreation and ceremony3
Natural2
Railroad operations and maintenance2
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
7 September 1998Debris and open burning3.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
7 September 1995Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
3 September 1999Smoking1.0 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
24 September 2017Arson/incendiarismunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
19 September 1998Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
18 September 1999Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.5 acresSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
18 September 1999Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named
14 September 1998Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreSouth Carolina Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Pickens County

Mines and quarries near this place

6 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Liberty: 3 producers, 2 prospects, 1 occurrence. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Mica, Granite, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Liberty Beverly QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Beverly QuarryGranite, Stone, Crushed/BrokenProducerMetamorphic
Liberty QuarryGranite, Stone, Crushed/BrokenProducer1908
John Walker ProspectMicaProspect
Josie Mcmadden DepositMicaOccurrence
Murphrie DepositMicaProspect

Every working recorded in Pickens County

Storms near this place

37 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Liberty in 37 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 18 thunderstorm wind, 15 hail, 3 tornado, 1 flash flood. The reports record 15 injuries. 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
January 2007Tornado (F1)Liberty15 hurt, $50,000This tornado touched down very briefly in the parking lot of the Liberty Elementary School. Nine vehicles were severely damaged. At least 4 vehicles were lifted off the ground or flipped over by the wind. Some of the vehicles were occupied by parents awaiting school dismissal. Fifteen people received mostly minor injuries, with 5 being transported to the hospital. A shed was also blown over.
July 2003Tornado (F1)Liberty$200,000The first of 2 tornadoes that tracked across Pickens County on the afternoon of the 13th moved from Liberty to the Anderson County line southeast of Liberty. In Liberty, roofs were blown off several buildings, and numerous trees and power lines were blown down. Damage to trees and power lines, and some structural damage continued as the tornado tracked southeast.
July 2003Tornado (F1)Liberty$200,000Another tornado touched down just west of the track of the first tornado, and moved through the Liberty area before moving into Anderson County. The second tornado was also responsible for significant damage to some roofs, as well as widespread damage to trees and power lines.
March 1996Thunderstorm WindLiberty$35,000no account filed
June 2020Thunderstorm WindLiberty$10,000Public reported a tree blown down on a home near Liberty and another tree down near Dacusville.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindLiberty$10,000A tree was blown down, bringing down two power poles.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindLiberty-Public reported trees and powerlines blown down in Liberty and vicinity and a tree blown down across Brushy Creek Rd in Easley.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindLiberty-Utility company reported trees blown down on power lines.
June 2016HailLiberty-Public reported quarter size hail.
May 2014HailLiberty-Public reported up to golf ball size hail off Country Club Rd.
June 2014HailLiberty-Public reported large hail north of Liberty.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindLiberty-Multiple trees were blown down in and around Liberty.
April 2012HailLiberty-Golf ball size hail fell along highway 178 about 2 miles north of Liberty.
August 2011Thunderstorm WindLiberty-Multiple trees were blown down.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindLiberty-Trees and large limbs were blown down in the Liberty area.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindLiberty-Large tree limbs were blown down on Peachtree St and on Campground Rd in and around Liberty.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindLiberty-Trees were blown down from Quarrey Rd to highway 93 and the Davis Rd area, southward to the intersection of Blackbottom Rd and highway 178. One tree fell on and heavily damaged a home in this area.
August 2009Thunderstorm WindLiberty-A tree was blown onto power lines in the Liberty area.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindLiberty-Trees were blown down at Cartee Rd and highway 93.
August 2006Thunderstorm WindLiberty-A tree down on highway 137 and another down on highway 8.
June 2010HailLiberty-no account filed
August 2009HailLiberty-no account filed
May 2006HailLiberty-no account filed
May 2006HailLiberty-no account filed
March 2004HailLiberty-no account filed
December 2004Flash FloodLiberty-no account filed
July 2000Thunderstorm WindLiberty-no account filed
June 1998Thunderstorm WindLiberty-no account filed
June 1998Thunderstorm WindLiberty-no account filed
April 1998HailLiberty-no account filed
May 1998HailLiberty-no account filed
March 1997HailLiberty-no account filed
April 1997HailLiberty-no account filed
May 1996Thunderstorm WindLiberty-no account filed
March 1996HailLiberty-no account filed
March 1994HailLiberty-no account filed
March 1994Thunderstorm WindLiberty-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Pickens County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Shady Grove0.5 miles17
Rosewood Heights0.8 miles17
Traber1.3 miles17
Beverly1.8 miles17
Five Forks2.4 miles17
Whispering Pines2.8 miles17
Norris3.8 miles16
Vista Heights4.2 miles16

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on LibertyAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1979317The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1246350. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.