LIBERTY — Sharon Wathen said she did not grow up in Liberty, but has lived in the area for 50 years.

However, she admitted there was plenty she didn’t know about the township,

“I figured if that was the case for me, it had to be the case for others,” said Wathen, one of the Liberty Township Heritage Tour’s organizers.

Wathen, who has toured national parks with her husband, said she was inspired by the passports used at the parks to commemorate visiting certain areas, which is serving as the basis for the tour that formally kicked off June 1 and is set to wrap up July 18.

The tour will bring participants to 12 locations with historical significance in the township, such as the Youngstown Country Club, Woodland Manor and Cellars, and the Butler tombstone at Belmont Park Cemetery.

“I suggested we find places, such as my church, Church Hill United Methodist, which is over 100 years old and in the same spot,” Wathen said. “There’s a rich history of my church that’s been here, and so that was one of the 12 spots; I knew that we had history, and there had to be others.”

Wathen said organizers chose places participants didn’t have to enter and could learn about on the outside, so they didn’t have to worry about leaving the spots manned.

“The idea is, learn something about Liberty you didn’t know about before, and have fun doing it,” Wathen said.

Wathen said organizers want to reward people for taking the time to visit the locations, so individuals who obtain all 12 stamps will be entered into a gift card drawing at the township’s America250 event 5 to 10 p.m. July 18 at Churchill Park.

In terms of participants’ demographics thus far, Wathen said it’s been older people or history lovers.

“People my age, or around my age, are enjoying it, but they took kids with them, and they enjoyed it; you can make it (history) fun for any age,” Wathen said. “I’ve had people say to me — ‘I’ve lived here my whole life, and I didn’t know the Oblate Sisters (of the Sacred Heart of Jesus) was there,’ or, ‘I’ve lived here my entire life, and I didn’t know Seceders (Corners) Cemetery was there.'”

Jeffrey Adler, one of the historical society’s members, said it was only when they started organizing the event that he learned about the Revolutionary War veterans buried at Seceders Corners Cemetery.

“Most people, when you think about the Revolutionary War, you think about the East Coast — it all happened over that way, and nothing happened out in this area,” Adler said. “But those veterans came, maybe a couple of them I’ve looked at were from Connecticut, Western Reserve.”

Wathen said that with about a week until the tour concludes, there’s plenty of time for new participants to jump in, as it was designed for them to complete it at their own pace. She said the tour would take approximately 90 minutes do in one go, accounting for the time it would take to find some of the locations.

The July 18 event will feature artwork from the Liberty Local School District’s art program, and Wathen recalled approaching Liberty Elementary School to ask an art teacher if the kids could participate by asking the kids to make art that represented the country or the township.

“She said, ‘To be honest, if we tell them what they love about America, they don’t know. But if you ask them what they love about Liberty Township, they know because they live here,” Wathen said. “You want people to love where they live because of the people, or the things that have happened in their lifetime.”

“For children, a lot of it is a teacher, or a next-door neighbor who’s kind to them, or the fireman, because they came to their school. That’s to me, a goal, if we’re gonna live here — we certainly hear enough negativism everywhere; I would rather hear something good and positive and have a positive thing to be excited about.”

Trustee Arnie Clebone said they’re looking to celebrate the community’s diversity, noting its presence in the food trucks and community organizations such as the Arab American Community Center that are confirmed to be present July 18.