Liberty STREET marked the outskirts of the western limit of the village of New Haven (now Independence). It intersected at the north end with a street named Independence. Stage coaches traveled this road to Waterloo and Sturgis Falls (now Cedar Falls). The village of New Haven became part of Independence by an act of the General Assembly of Iowa on Jan. 25, 1857.
The street named Independence ended at the New Haven Mill (now Wapsipinicon Mill) becoming Main Street across the bridge E. to the village of Independence.
The Burlington, Cedar Rapids, and Minnesota (the north-south railroad) bought Liberty Street from the city of Independence in the 1870’s. This railroad later sold and in 1876 reorganized under the name of Burlington, Cedar Rapids, and Northern Railroad. The rail track became the “Postville Branch” coming from Oelwein, Hazleton, across the Wapsipinicon River to Independence, then on to Rowley, Cedar Rapids and Chicago.