Editing Liberty, South Carolina (section)

===Early history (to 1890)===
Liberty today sits on land that was once part of the [[Cherokee|Cherokee Indians']] hunting ground.  The Otarre, or Lower Hill Cherokees, had several thriving villages along the riverbanks in the area; perhaps the most notable example being the village of Keowee, located near the modern day Oconee and Pickens County line.  Cherokee tribesmen, who often survived by growing crops, and tended to live in small villages, were in many ways more domesticated than other Native American tribes.  The Cherokee also hunted game, believing that the foothills were a sacred hunting ground for deer, buffalo, and other large animals.<ref>McFall, Pearl. It Happened in Pickens County. Pickens, SC: The Sentinel Press, 1989. 8-11.</ref>

Tradition holds that [[Hernando DeSoto]] and his group of Spanish explorers were the first Europeans to travel through the area around year 1540.<ref>McFall, Pearl. "It Happened in Pickens County," 7.</ref>  The first Englishmen to venture into the area were traders who often travelled up from [[Charleston, SC|Charles Town]] and [[Savannah, GA|Savannah]] to exchange their guns, horses, cloth, and liquor with the Cherokee for animal skin and fur.<ref>McFall, Pearl. "It Happened in Pickens County," 15.</ref>  In 1753, British colonists built Fort Prince George, the first white settlement in Pickens County.<ref>McFall, Pearl. "It Happened in Pickens County," 21.</ref>  During the [[American Revolution]] the Cherokee chose to support the loyalists.  South Carolinian patriots, angered at the Cherokee for supporting the Redcoats, forced them to cede much of their territory with the [[Treaty of DeWitt's Corner]] in 1777.<ref>Woodson, Julia. "Liberty." 1.</ref>  American settlers did not start moving into the area in large numbers until the mid-1780s.

Much of the history of the Liberty area in the late 18th century is unknown.  By 1800, Liberty—then called Liberty Spring—was included in the newly formed Pendleton District, which included most of modern-day Anderson, Oconee, and Pickens Counties.  During the [[History of the United States (1789–1849)|Antebellum]] period, most people living in Liberty Spring were subsistence farmers: farmers who grew only what they needed to survive.  Few in the area could afford to own slaves like the wealthier planters in the Lowcountry, and almost every farmer was forced to work the land himself.  Even for those who wished to trade with other towns, the poor roads made the effort to transport goods cost more than those goods were often worth.  Outside of church, residents had few opportunities to socialize with each other.  By 1826, the Pendleton District had split up into Pickens and Anderson Districts, with Liberty becoming part of the new Pickens District, which included both Pickens and Oconee Counties.