Contributed by Colleen Kane of Catskills Paper Trail
Despite its distinctive mid century facade, the Town & Country is one of the oldest buildings on Liberty’s Main Street. Built circa 1885, it’s about 140 years old. It has served as a meeting hall for the International Order of Odd Fellows, as the Lyric Theatre, as Feitner & Weber dry goods store, and as a butcher shop. The longest occupant was Town & Country Sportswear, and for the past 20 years, it’s been Town & Country Antiques, owned by the Liepens family.
Fortunately, the building that became Liberty’s red-white-yellow-and-blue showstopper has had a few defenders through the years:
One came as the great fire of 1913 devastated Main Street. The historic photo here shows the Lyric building holding the line, fire-free. While much of the building is brick, at that time it had wood siding and part of the Lyric did ignite, according to historian John Conway. However, Egils Liepens reckons a friend of the theater might have taken action to protect the building, possibly by keeping it wet. Its exceptional survival put the building in the lead for its eventual elder status in the immediate area.
Second was Liberty’s preservation hero, Allan Bérubé, who advocated for the Town & Country for a long time. The Town & Country shop closed in the early 1990s after 50 years and stood vacant. Residents raised $6,000 to buy it from the county for demolition, to be replaced by a park and parking lot, but then some fought to preserve the building. Allan Bérubé and volunteers helped restore it. The Town and Country Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.
The third protector of this site is the Liepens family. After years of no bids on the building (and guardian angel Bérubé extending the deadline for bids), Eric Liepens acquired it in 2005. His parents, Egils and Mary Ellen, run Town and Country Antiques and keep a “bible” album of the building’s and Liberty’s history. I’m very grateful they let me paw through it and chat about local history for most of their business hours on a recent Saturday. They’re welcoming, knowledgeable, and kind, 10/10 will return (especially since I didn’t have the additional hours I need to shop this emporium).
Check out these pictures, provided by Catskills Paper Trail & Town & Country!
