Old Liberty began with a love story. Lydia Sackett was the sweetheart of John Flanagan Cellar. Cellar’s family was one of the first pioneer families settling in Liberty Township. Lydia and John courted until he was called to serve in the War of 1812. John promised to marry her after the war, but when he returned he found Lydia on her deathbed with a fever from whooping cough. She died before they could be married. He buried her beside the river along this Indian trail. Hers was the first grave in our churchyard. John’s father gave the grounds, and John and his brother built this church to God in honor of his darling Lydia, so others could later gather under these same old oak trees. John died at age 87, and was buried in this same cemetery. “Their time on earth was cut short, but they were finally united again in heaven,” said one researcher.

This frontier church was officially formed by the Presbyterian Church in 1810. The original Historic Chapel for Liberty was built in 1820 and is surrounded by historic gravestones. The Chapel is now on the National Register of Historic Sites. Every Sunday we ring the Chapel bell to call us into worship.

We continue to seek to be led by God's Holy Spirit in the present, and to share the story of Jesus Christ.