Liberty Highway

{{Infobox road

| country = USA

| type = Trail

| route = Liberty Highway

| map = {{maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=290|frame-height=200|type=line|from=Liberty Highway.map}}

| map_custom = yes

| map_notes = Map of the Liberty Highway

| established = 1918

| terminus_b = New York City

| direction_b = East

| terminus_a = Cleveland, OH

| direction_a = West

| length_mi =

| length_ref =

| states = Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey

}}

The Liberty Highway was an auto trail in the United States linking New York City with Cleveland, Ohio.{{cite web|date=October 26, 1998|title=Liberty Highway|url=http://www.marion.ohio-state.edu/fac/schul/trails/national/liberty.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060901133816/http://www.marion.ohio-state.edu/fac/schul/trails/national/liberty.html|archive-date=September 1, 2006|access-date=January 16, 2013|work=National and Multi-State Auto Trails|df=mdy-all}} It passed through Binghamton, New York; Elmira, New York; Jamestown, New York; and Erie, Pennsylvania. First signed in 1918, it was named after the village of Liberty, New York.{{cite journal|last=Johnston|first=R. J.|date=April 4, 1918|title=The Liberty Highway: Touring and Driveaway Route Between Cleveland and New York|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vVgfAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA2-PA73|journal=Motor Age|volume=33|issue=14|pages=72–75|access-date=January 16, 2013}}

Through New Jersey and New York, the route of the Liberty Highway was designated as Route 17. Today, much of these routes have been bypassed by freeways, most notably by Interstate 86. Throughout much of the Catskills and the Southern Tier of New York, old portions of the road are still named Liberty Highway or Old Route 17.

History

The moniker "Liberty Highway" was first given by R. H. Johnson, who was the manager of the New York branch of the White Motorcar Company. Because well-known highways like the Liberty Highway were clogged with traffic, he studied maps and found a more direct route through the Southern Tier, which was better maintained and far less traveled. He christened it after Liberty, New York, through which the route travels, and to the "spirit of the times".

Johnson first published his route in Motor Age Magazine. Further publicity was brought by other publications, and a film commissioned by Johnson.{{Cite web|date=2014-06-19|title=The Liberty Highway: Buffalo to New York|url=https://newyorkalmanack.com/2014/06/the-liberty-highway-buffalo-to-new-york/|access-date=2020-07-16|website=New York Almanack|language=en-US}} The Liberty Highway Association was formed in 1919 to further promote the route.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xq4pn55ZLt0C&pg=RA3-PA48|title=Motor Age|date=1919|publisher=Class Journal Company|language=en}}

Beginning with the designation of Route 17 over the highway in New York in 1924, the Liberty Highway label began to fall out of fashion, though it was still being advertised as late as 1928 by the AAA. When Route 17 began to be upgraded to a freeway, the Liberty Highway was long forgotten.

First routing

{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J5FPAAAAYAAJ|title=Official Automobile Blue Book 1923: Volume Two (Middle Atlantic and Southeastern)|publisher=Automobile Blue Book Publishing|year=1922|location=Chicago|pages=}}{{page needed|date=November 2023}}

File:Map of Liberty Highway.png

= Manhattan =

Dyckman Street, 10th Avenue to Englewood Ferry

= New Jersey =

Henry Hudson Drive, Englewood Ferry through Englewood Cliffs
County Route 505, Englewood Cliffs to Englewood
Bennet Road
Englewood Avenue
Bergen County Route 37
Bergen County Route 64 into Teaneck
Queen Anne Road
Bergen County Route 60 into Hackensack
Bergen County Route 62, Hackensack to Ho-Ho-Kus
County Route 507, Ridgewood to New York line at Mahwah

= New York =

== Rockland County ==

U.S. Route 202, New Jersey line at Suffern
New York State Route 59, Suffern to Hillburn
New York State Route 17, Hillburn to Orange County Line

== Orange County ==

New York State Route 17, Rockland County Line to Harriman
New York State Route 17M, Harriman to Fair Oaks
Main Street through Harriman
Main Street, Hambletonian Avenue, Ward Road through Chester
Old Chester Road, Church Street, Main Street through Goshen
Denton Hill Road, Sly Place through New Hampton
Academy Avenue and North Street through Middletown

== Sullivan County ==

Sullivan County Routes 170-179, Fair Oaks to Rockland
Old Liberty Road through Rockland

== Delaware County ==

Delaware County Route 17, Rockland to Hancock
Cooks Falls Road through Cooks Falls
New York State Route 17, Hancock to Deposit Town
Bush Hilltop Road through Deposit
Lower Hale Eddy Road through Deposit
Hale Eddy Road through Hale Eddy
New York State Route 8, Deposit Town into Deposit
Oak Street, Pine Street, through Deposit, Deposit Town
Second Street, from Deposit, Deposit Town to Deposit, Sanford Town

== Broome County ==

Broome County Route 28, Deposit, Sanford Town to West Windsor
Quickway through Kirkwood
Foley Road, West Windsor to Kirkwood
U.S. Route 11, Kirkwood to Binghamton
Industrial Park Road, Barlow Road through Kirkwood
New York State Route 17C, Binghamton to Tioga County Line
Watson Boulevard, River Road, Pelican Lane, Kent Avenue through Endicott

== Tioga County ==

New York State Route 17C, Broome County Line to Waverly
Belknap Road, Owego
Tioga County Route 106, Waverly to Chemung County Line

== Chemung County ==

Chemung County Route 60, Waverly to Elmira Town
New York State Route 17, Elmira Town
New York State Route 352, Elmira
Madison Avenue, Lake Street, Elmira to Horseheads
New York State Route 17, Horseheads
Chemung County Route 64, Horseheads to Big Flats
New York State Route 352, Big Flats to Steuben County Line

== Steuben County ==

New York State Route 352, Chemung County Line to Corning Town
Old State Avenue, College Avenue, Corning Town to Corning
Market Street, Pine Street Bridge, Center Way, Corning
New York State Route 415, Corning to Painted Post
New York State Route 417^†, Painted Post to Jasper
Steuben County Route 79, Gang Mills
Old State Road, Old State Highway 17, Oak Road, Tuscarora
Woodhull-East Woodhull Road, Mill Street, Main Street, Jasper Street, Woodhull
Old State Road, Jasper
New York State Route 36^†, Jasper to Hornell
Dineen Road, Canisteo
McBurney Road, Hornell Road, Hornellsville
Canisteo Street, Seneca Street, Hornell
New York State Route 21^†, Hornell to Allegany County Line
Almond Road, Hornell to Hornellsville

== Allegany County ==

New York State Route 21^†, Steuben County Line to Andover
Old Whitney Road, Almond
Whitford Road, Almond to Alfred Town
Shaw Road, Alfred to Alfred Station
Hardy Hill Road, Water Street, Main Street, through Andover
New York State Route 417^†, Andover to Wellsville
Jackson Road, Dyke Road, Andover
State Street, Main Street, Wellsville
New York State Route 19^†, Wellsville to Belvidere
Allegany County Route 20, Belvidere to Cuba
Hubble Hill Road, Cuba Town
Main Street, Cuba
New York State Route 305, Cuba
New York State Route 446, Cuba to Cattaraugus County Line

== Cattaraugus County ==

New York State Route 446, Allegany County Line to Hinsdale
New York State Route 16, Hinsdale to Olean
Old Route 16, Main Street, Hinsdale
Old Route 16, Main Street, Olean
New York State Route 417^†, Olean to Jimersontown
First Street, Creekside Drive, Old State Road, Blair Road, Allegany
Center Street, Front Avenue, Salamanca
New York State Reference Route 951T^†, Jimersontown to Steamburg

The former Liberty Highway still exists but is closed to traffic between Red House and Steamburg

New York State Route 394, Steamburg to Chautauqua County Line

== Chautauqua County ==

New York State Route 394, Cattaraugus County Line to Jamestown
Carter Street, Lindquist Street, Poland
Second Street, Third Street, Washington Street, Jamestown
New York State Route 430^†, Jamestown to Mayville
Chautauqua County Route 126, Ellicot
Lakeside Drive, Bemus Point to Ellery
Sunset Bay Drive, Ellery
New York State Route 394^†, Mayville to Westfield
U.S. Route 20, Westfield to Pennsylvania Line at Ripley
Old Route 20, Forsyth Road, Ripley

= Pennsylvania =

U.S. Route 20, New York line at North East Township to the Ohio Line at Springfield
Stinson Road, Old Buffalo Road, North East Township
Buffalo Road, 18th Street, State Street, Erie
East Main Street, East Springfield

= Ohio =

U.S. Route 20, Pennsylvania Line at Conneaut to Cleveland
Old Main Street, Main Street, Conneaut
State Road, 46th Street, Edgewood
46th Street, Main Avenue, Center Street, Ashtabula
West Main Street, Geneva
Red Mill Valley Road, North Perry
Ohio Route 640, Willoughby to Willowick
Ohio Route 283, Willowick to Cleveland
Saint Clair Avenue, East 9th Street, Superior Avenue, Cleveland

: Second-order bullet points indicate parts of the main route that were re-routed as the highway was upgraded

: ^†Former routing of New York State Route 17. As Route 17 was reassigned, the Liberty Highway designation was moved onto these new segments.

Later additions

As late as 1928, the highway association added other roads to its system, including realignments of Route 17.{{Cite map|title=Liberty Highway|author=American Automobile Association|year=1928|url=https://newyorkalmanack.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/LibertyHighway1928.jpg}} The following names are descriptive, rather than official monikers.

= Chautauqua branch =

New York State Route 394, Mayville to Chautauqua

= Little Valley loop =

New York State Route 242, East Randolph to Town of Little Valley
New York State Route 353, Town of Little Valley to Salamanca
Kilburne Corners Road, Town of Little Valley

= Bath loop =

Seneca Road, Hornell to North Hornell
Steuben County Route 70A, North Hornell to Avoca Town
New York State Route 415, Avoca to
River Road, Main Street, Kanoka
Spaulding Drive, Bath
West Morris Street, West Steuben Street, Bath Village
Babcock Hollow Road, Selleck Road, Coon Road, Utegg Road, Scudder Road, Bath
Little Acorn Lane, Maple Lane, Savona
Steuben County Route 125, Savona to Campbell
Steuben County Route 333, Campbell to Campbell Town
Barringer Road, Main Street, Coopers Plains

= Watkins Glen loop =

New York State Route 226, Savona to North Reading
Round Lake Road, Bath to Bradford
Old State Road, Yawger Hill Road, Bradford to Orange
Schuyler County Route 23A, Church Hill Road, Schuyler County Route 23, Tyrone
New York State Route 14A, North Reading to Reading
Altay Road, Schuyler Airfield, Station Hill Spur, NY 14A-14 Connection, Reading
New York State Route 14, Reading to Horseheads
Reading Road, State Point Road, Watkins Glen
North Genesee Street, West Main Street, Owego Street, Montour Falls
South Genesee Street, Hanrahan Road, Montour
Rodabaugh Spur, Veteran
Highland Avenue, Stafford Road, Old Route 14, Millport
Watkins Road, Grand Central Avenue, Horseheads

= Susquehanna River south bank loop =

New York State Route 96, Owego
New York State Route 434, Owego to Binghamton
Degroat Road, Town of Owego
Main Street, Apalachin
Owego Road, Town of Owego to Vestal
Castle Gardens Road, Front Street, North Main Street, Old Vestal Road, Vestal
Vestal Avenue, Washington Street, Binghamton

= Port Jervis loop =

New York State Route 42, Monticello to Port Jervis
Schoolhouse Road, Thompson
St. Joseph's Hill Road, Forestburgh
Hagen Road, Bolton Basin Road, Deerpark
Main Street, Berme Road, Sparrow Bush
Grandview Avenue, West Main Street, Port Jervis
Pike Street, Front Street, Jersey Avenue, Port Jervis
U.S. Route 6, Port Jervis to Wawayanda
Greenville Turnpike, Greenville
Castle High Road, Wawayanda

= Hudson River east bank loop =

New York State Route 17, Woodbury to Harriman
New York State Route 32, Harriman to Woodbury
Maher Road, Woodbury
Estrada Road, Old U.S. 6, Woodbury
U.S. Route 6, Woodbury to Peekskill
Various unnamed realignments through Harriman and Bear Mountain State Parks
U.S. Route 9, Peekskill to Manhattan
Lower South Street, Albany Post Road, New York State Route 9A, Old Post Road North, Peekskill to Crotonville