 Liberal was founded in 1880 by George Walser, an anti-religionist, agnostic lawyer and former state legislator who wished to create an atheist, "freethinker" utopia.It was named after the Liberal League in Lamar, Missouri, which Walser was a member of at the time.Walser purchased of land and advertised across the country for atheists to join his town, which would "have neither God, Hell, Church, nor Saloon".