Liberal
Liberal is a town in southwest Kansas, very close to the Oklahoma border.[1] It is the county seat of Seward County. In 2014, the population was just above 21,000.[2]
Geography
U.S. 83 terminates there, and becomes U.S. 270, while U.S. 54 passes through from east to west. Most of the housing and development is west of U.S. 83 and north of U.S. 54, including the Liberal Mid-America Regional Airport. Most of the streets there form a grid, bound on the west by Western Ave, and split in the middle by Kansas Ave. The east-west streets are numbered, notably 2nd St, 8th St, and 15th St. South of U.S. 54 (nicknamed Pancake Boulevard), there are no numbered streets. Pine Street is an east to west street found south of Pancake Blvd.
Pancake Blvd and Kansas Ave are the primary meridians of the town, and many cross streets use them to determine the "northern" and "southern" or "eastern" and "western" sections.
Zip codes in Liberal are 67901 and 67905. Their local newspaper is called the Liberal Leader and Times.
Features
Besides the regional airport, one can find a number of points of interest in Liberal.
Dorothy's House
Dorothy's House & Land of Oz is a historical museum dedicated to the writer, L. Frank Baum. It is named for Dorothy, the main character in his famous children's novel, The Wizard of Oz. Admission is required for a complete tour and simulation of the movie.[3]
Seward County Community College
Seward County Community College is the local community college of Seward County. Their congregation and sports teams are called the Saints.[4]
Mid-America Air Museum
The Mid-America Air Museum was ranked the #1 place to visit in Liberal. While it does hold a Vietnam Huey helicopter and a Boeing 727-200, it is not exclusively an air museum, and exhibits vintage bicycles and other stuff.[5]
Liberal service
The Liberal Police department consists of 42 officers and 15 other personnel. The Chief of Police is Al Sill.[6] Crime is lessening in Liberal, and there has not been any gambling.[7] There is also a neighborhood watch program.
The Liberal Fire Department consists of 21 full-time employees and 20 volunteers. It operates out of 2 stations.[8]
Explanation of name
The town was first built in pioneer days, and as many, it was built around a well. The town founder permitted a lot of frivolous, or "liberal" usage of the water from this well. The word "liberal," later became the name of the town.[9]
City website
- ↑ Google Maps.
- ↑ http://www.city-data.com/city/Liberal-Kansas.html
- ↑ http://www.dorothyshouse.com/about-us.html
- ↑ http://www.sccc.edu/
- ↑ http://www.midamericaairmuseum.org/about.html
- ↑ http://www.cityofliberal.org/245/Police-Department
- ↑ http://www.cityofliberal.org/252/Crime-Statistics
- ↑ http://www.cityofliberal.org/152/Fire-Department
- ↑ Encyclopedia Britannica.