Mathias Family Archives
Places Called Liberty & Tate

Email:   dennis@mathiaslink.com

Wednesday, May 24, 2000

Modified:

All Photographs and text and sound copyright ©2000 Dennis Mathias

Harlan Mathias talks about Liberty Nebraska in the old days.

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Liberty Nebraska
The Liberty Presbyterian Church was one of many in the small town of Liberty in Gage County Nebraska.  This was one of the closest towns to where the Mathiases settled.

The land that would one day be Liberty was being settled by 1857.  There was a trading post near Liberty at that time and as more and more people moved to the area, Liberty grew.  The founder of the town, David Palmer, drowned in a nearby river in 1876.  Also known as "string-town" Liberty grew along the railroad that eventually went through village.  At one time there was a restaurant, meat market, livery, dry goods store, hotel, law office, hardware store, lumber yard and barbershops.  Liberty now has a population of less than 100.

Tate Nebr ChurchThis church at Tate Nebraska serviced many of the families near when the Mathiases farmed.  Donald Mathias was born in the town of Tate and it held an important place in the structure of farming families both Welsh and other immigrant nationalities in the area.  While at one time having a healthy population Tate no longer exists--except here and history books.