The oldest part of what we know today as Liberty Cemetery was the purchase of a 150 foot by 100 foot lot by the Council of the Administration of Atlanta Post 92, Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) from the County of Fresno on November 16, 1896 for $8.80 (Fresno County deed Bk.204 Pg. 32). The lot lay in the south east corner of lot 3 of the Mountain View Cemetery subdivision surrounded by the County's indigent cemetery. It was to serve as an extension of the G.A.R.'s existing plot in St. James Cemetery (a portion of Mountain View Cemetery) for the burial of Civil War Union Veterans. As a separate cemetery for the veterans of a single war, it was the inspiration for the development of the original 2.2 acre Liberty Cemetery in1918, and was later incorporated into Liberty Cemetery

In 1911 or 1912, the County of Fresno inadvertently buried three more indigents in the west end of the G.A.R. cemetery, for a total of seventeen at that time. In the spring of 1912 Post 92 discovered the indigent burials, and that they had buried seven of their comrades on County land. In June 1912, Post 92 proposed a land swap with the County instead digging up all of those bodies to be reburied in their respective cemeteries. On September 30, 1912, Post 92 prepared a deed to the west 50 x 100 feet of their lot (deed Bk. 529 Pg. 81) with the intent of swapping it for property the County owned adjoining their property on the north. It took the County four and one half months to approve and prepare their deed for the 100 x 75 feet that it would give to Post 92 (Bk.527 Pg. 108). Both deeds were recorded in March 1913.

Recognizing they had more property than they required, on October 21, 1916 the members of Post 92 unanimously voted to donate the west tier of graves in the southwest portion of their properties for the burial of Spanish-American war veterans. This would also become an inspiration for our present version of Liberty Cemetery.

In February 1918, a series of articles appeared in the Fresno Morning Republican regarding the proposed development of a cemetery for all military personnel who died in the current war (WWI). Fresno Mayor W.F. Toomey appointed a task force to locate property for the new cemetery. The local B'nai B'rith chapter operated the Beth Israel Cemetery just north of the existing G.A.R. cemetery, and offered to grant the undeveloped western 2.2 acre portion of their property to the mayor's group. On April 2nd the trustees of Fresno Lodge No. 492, B'nai B'rith granted to Mayor Toomey, County Supervisor Chris Jorgenson, and five other individuals the west 383 feet of the north 250 feet of lots 3 and 4 of the Mountain View Cemetery subdivision (deed Bk.661 Pg. 329). With this gift in hand, the mayor's group engaged a landscape specialist, and a grand garden cemetery was envisioned. Volunteers were called for to grade the property, dig trenches, lay irrigation pipes, and plant trees and flowers. In less than four months the cemetery they named Liberty was ready for use. A grand celebration witnessed by 5,000 people was held for its opening on Memorial Day, May 30, 1918.

In February 1920, Mayor Toomey, Supervisor Jorgensen, and the other trustees of Liberty Cemetery turned their interest over to Fresno County (deed O.R. Bk. 7 Pg. 161). In June 1920 the entirety of the current Veterans Liberty, including a portion of the County indigent cemetery, finally came under unified ownership and operation when the Council of the Administration of Atlanta Post 92, Grand Army of the Republic granted their portion of the cemetery to the County of Fresno (deed O.R. Bk. 4 Pg. 128). However, by stipulation in the deed, only veterans of the Civil and Spanish American Wars, and their spouses, were allowed be buried in the G.A.R. section. Only veterans of World War I were eligible for burial in the original 2.2 acre portion Of Liberty.

On June 28, 1926 the Fresno County Board of Supervisors used the inspirations provided by the old G.A.R. cemetery to set rules for who was eligible to be buried in the entirety of Liberty. Now any honorably discharged veteran of the U. S. military services and their spouses qualified for burial in Liberty, regardless of which conflict or peace time they served in.

In 1942 the last thirty-two indigents were removed from the County's contribution to the cemetery, making it truly only for U. S. veterans and spouses. The entry into World War II also meant the garden section in the northwest corner of the cemetery would be converted to use for additional graves.

In February 1950 the Fresno County Board of Supervisors accepted an arch to be erected over the main gate on Belmont Ave. donated by the Liberty Cemetery Committee (successor to the committee that originally developed Liberty Cemetery). It is the first time the word "Veterans" is publicly displayed in connection to its official name, Liberty Cemetery

On March 15, 1957 the sexton for the cemetery sent a letter to the Board of Supervisors advising them he had only enough grave sites to last another 18 months. On March 28, 1958 the Veterans Service Office notified the County Administrator that a ledger system had been implemented to monitor the inventory of remaining grave sites. In July 1958 the County implemented a plan to use double deck burials for veterans and their spouses. In 1962, with grave sites running low, and proposals from various veterans organizations that a new veterans cemetery be developed by the County, the Board of Supervisors requested County Counsel Robert Wash investigate the matter. His report to the Board indicated that state and federal law prohibited the County from providing free burial space to any veteran who was not indigent, and since most veterans were eligible for a death benefit that was sufficient for private burial, they did not qualify as indigent. On April 25, 1962 the Veterans Service Office issued new rules reflecting this legal opinion

In 1974 the Veterans Service Office issued new rules on who was eligible to be interred in Liberty. They reopened the cemetery and used the existing inventory ledger to begin tracking burials. Typed lists of burials and reservations began to appear to supplement the index cards with burial information. These lists and card files appear to have been kept up by various County departments, and fragmentation of the burial data occurred. Today the cemetery is essentially filled. A recently completed (2016) set of files merging all of the previously known lists of burial and reservations will help the various County departments involved in the administration and maintenance of the cemetery to document any remaining unused grave sites.

A monument was dedicated at a celebration of the first one hundred years of Liberty Cemetery held on May 30, 2018.
In January 2026 the Fresno County Board of Supervisors approved the recommendation to desigate Liberty Cemetery a local historical landmark.
For a more detailed development timeline of Liberty Cemetery contact the Heritage Center at the downtown branch of the Fresno County Public Library for the document available there.

I would like to acknowledge David P. Davenport, PHD (1951 - 2021) and Susan Pappas, PHD for the help and research they so freely shared over many years.

Eugene Sibley
updated March 10, 2026