Around the time of emancipation, a female estate owner (most likely a former slave owner) had financial troubles and was forced to sell off a part of her property in small lots. The ex-slaves in the neighbourhood eagerly bought up all the little freeholds, as they desired to own land in perpetuity. They immediately settled on the lots they had purchased, framed their houses and cultivated their gardens. Besides working on nearby plantations, income was also earned working as mechanics at the dockyard. Later on, their descedents also worked in trade as tailors and shop keepers. “Liberta” (meaning liberty) sprang up from proud, noble and forward thinking freed people in 1835. By 1842, a painted signboard near its border proudly read: “The Village of Liberta”.
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