Because Port Vue Borough was not sharing improvements for which tax money was paid, the residents in the present Borough of Liberty petitioned the Quarter Sessions, Court of Allegheny County in 1912 to be separated from Port Vue and form a new borough. The major item of disagreement was the financing of new water lines in Port Vue Borough from real estate taxes paid by all residents. These water lines were not extended into this section of the borough and therefore our residents complained of paying for this improvement and at the same time were not receiving the benefits of it.
They obtained their water from their own wells. The name of Liberty Borough was decided upon by these residents since they were attempting to obtain their liberty from the Borough of Port Vue. Charles Weissert and John McClure were two of the many residents that led the request for separation from Port Vue Borough.
On September 7, 1912, Quarter Sessions, Court of Allegheny County approved the petition of the residents and Liberty Borough was legally incorporated. The court appointed the following officials until the date of the first election in the fall of 1913:
Burgess: Charles Weissert
Council: John McClure, President David Dannenhauer, Richard Miller, Robert Butler, Charles Snyder, Collian Thompson, John Owens
Nathan Robinson was the first secretary.
School Board: Harry L. Kier, George L. Sinn, Robert B. Kaler, John W. Minear and William A. Wunderley
When Liberty was first incorporated in 1912, it was considered the smallest borough in the state since it contained only 100 residents. At the time of separation from Port Vue in 1912, the School District of Liberty Borough was also created and consisted only of the legal limits of the Borough of Liberty.
Of general interest to the early residents will be the memory of a picnic grove called Dale Grove. This grove was located on a plot of ground bordering the Youghiogheny River near where Heaths’ Run empties into the river. This grove was named for the Dale Brothers who owned the land. This shaded grove was the scene of quiet family picnics and Sunday School outings. The McKeesport Tin Plate Company later erected their plant on this site.
Many early residents will also long remember the Sunday School picnics on Sinn’s Farm as well as the old German Church park area which was located near Owens Avenue and "E" Street. The entrance to Liberty Borough through Port Vue was once known as "Merry England" because of its predominately English populace. It was also and still is known as the "slip." Many people who call this area the "slip" may not know how this name originated. The McKeesport Tin Plate Company was in need of railroad sidings and began to excavate the dirt from the hillside that extended out close to where the railroad tracks are now located. As this work progressed, the hillside began to slide. There were a number of homes up on the hill above and many who remember, say that these houses could be seen gradually slipping down over the hill. Approximately five or six houses slipped over the hill at that time. A stone wall was built along Liberty Way where it joins Port Vue Avenue in order to prevent further slipping of the hillside and it still stands as a silent reminder of this past occurrence. Hence, the name "slip" was originated.
At one time the main road into Liberty was not up Liberty Way hill in the manner now familiar to us. The main inlet at that time was along the river road to the bottom of Latrobe Street and then up Latrobe Street to Liberty Way. This road is still usable but a sign is now posted warning residents to travel at their own risk.
In the early days of our borough, there were dairy farms operated by Mr. Sinn, Mr. Hibbs, Mr. Phillip and Mr. Robinson. These men distributed their milk and dairy products to the residents by means of horse and buggy. Another well known farm was the Firestone Farm.
The mode of travel in the early days of our borough was by horse and buggy. Many thankful horses and riders alike quenched their thirst at a watering trough which was located at a point where Liberty Way intersects with Latrobe Street. Water was supplied by a spring which came out from under the old Butler House. This is the house which is better known today as the "castle." It was in this same watering trough that many dunkings occurred. One person who can still remember being a victim of a number of dunkings is William Waldbaum.
The oldest existing home in Liberty is believed to be a stucco and shingled house located at 3216 Liberty Way. It is believed this house started as a log cabin and was improved over the years.
Perhaps one of the most familiar characteristics of Liberty Borough is the use of letters A, B, C etc., for street names. However, years ago Liberty Way was known as 7th Street; "F" Street was 6th Street and "A”" Street was known as 1st Street. With the beginning of mail delivery through the McKeesport Post Office, the names of the streets were changed to their present names since McKeesport already had streets by number in their city.
In the year 1927 the construction of the first water lines was completed in Liberty Borough and many of the residents were no longer required to obtain their water from wells.
During the depression years, three enterprising young brothers, William, Louis and John Wunderley built a greenhouse dubbed the "Wunder Box." They made a living raising and selling potted plants, flowers and vegetable plants.
When horses were replaced with motorized transportation, the time spent traveling between McKeesport and Liberty Borough was considerably less. There were many instances, however, when bus transportation seemed to increase the traveling time. These were the times when the bus service provided by Mr. Rudberg of Bryn Mawr either broke down or for some other reason failed to arrive or depart. As a result the residents were forced to request a public hearing with the P.U.C. and backed the application made by Carl A. Boe to have the franchise transferred to him. The P.U.C. approved the transfer of the franchise and in January, 1945, the Ridge Lines began operation in Liberty Borough and Port Vue Borough.
One of the major early improvements in Liberty Borough was the elimination of a very bad curve located at the old stone bridge which crossed Heaths’ Run at the dividing line between Liberty and Port Vue. This bad curve together with the poor bus service at that time seriously hindered the future growth of our community. Burgess William H. Dougherty was responsible for starting the move to eliminate the curve and he convinced the County Commissioners that they should undertake this project. The work on this project was completed in 1940 and the curve was eliminated.
Many of our residents will long remember the tornado that swept through the Fritchie Plan section of our borough in June, 1944. Several homes were destroyed and many were damaged. David Dannenhauer, one of our early residents, died while assisting the residents whose homes were damaged or destroyed during this tornado.
Another important project that contributed to the growth of our community was the filling of the valleys and wasteland with slag from the steel mills in the area. The slag began pouring into Liberty Borough during the early 1940’s and especially during World War 11. The February 7, 1947, issue of the Daily News contained a full page article which showed our community as a home building site. At that time 19 modem brick homes located on Owens Avenue were already in the process of construction and the housing boom was started. Some of the major housing projects were located in the Liberty Manor, Memory Lane, Owens Avenue, Elizabeth Street, "H" Street and Valley Street sections of the borough. The major contractors during this housing boom were John M. Wunderley, the Late Glenn Sinn and Charles Wills.