One of North Libertys water towers stands next to the Fire Station on Cherry Street. Plans are under way in the Johnson County community to celebrate its centennial in 2013.. (Kyle Grillot/The Gazette)

NORTH LIBERTY North Liberty is preparing for a special birthday bash.

The town in northern Johnson County turns 100 next November, but planning for a years worth of activities has begun, and an official logo and slogan, Celebrate the Century, were recently unveiled.

As its approaching its centennial, North Liberty has proved to be a late bloomer.

The area that became North Liberty was settled in the late 1830s and incorporated on Feb. 10, 1913, with about 190 residents.

It remained a very small town for several decades. By 1960, the population had inched up to 334, and then, after a miniboom, increased to 1,055 residents in 1970, according to census data.

The growth really took off the first decade of this century, however, when North Liberty was the second-fastest growing town in Iowa. Its 13,608 residents last year was a nearly 154 percent increase since 2000.

With that came growing pains. This was most evident several years ago in a struggle between residents who felt development was occurring too fast and those who encouraged the population boom.

There were a number of years that a lot of the long-term residents didnt want North Liberty to change, Mayor Tom Salm said. He added, My argument has always been, were not going to have any choice.

Slam was referencing the towns location between Iowa City and Cedar Rapids and the attraction that holds to commuters.

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North Liberty prepares for centennial