Nestled among the rolling hills and valleys of Adams County, Liberty Township is a quiet and peaceful rural community with large apple and fruit orchards, many cattle, and a few horses. Under our supervisors’ diligent guidance, the township has grown slowly and steadily, keeping a comfortable spacing of no fewer than two acres between properties.

In the 1730s, Maryland officials granted to the Carroll family a parcel of land of approximately 2,850 acres, most of which was in what is now Maryland. The Adams County portion, located south of Fairfield and just east of Zora, was at that time called “Carrollsburg.”

Liberty Township was officially established on August 25, 1800, carved from Hamiltonban Township as part of the structuring of the Adams County government to meet the needs of residents. At this time Adams County was divided into five election districts, with Hamilton and Liberty being the fifth.

Near the end of the 1800s, Liberty voted in its first supervisor(s) to oversee township business.
When the first census was taken in 1810, Liberty Township had a population of 1,053. In 1838 Liberty yielded land to create Freedom Township, which, according to the 1840 census, reduced Liberty’s population to 773.

Liberty showed little growth until 1870. That year’s census showed that the township population had grown to 1,075.
In the 1970s, part of Liberty Township became Carroll Valley. In 1980, after much legal contesting, Carroll Valley was established. After that the census reported Liberty Township’s population to be 823.

Submitted by Patricia Storrs