History
Luke Bryan
A soldier in the Army of Texas, 1835. A participant in the Battle of San Jacinto. Born in Louisiana October 7, 1807. Died October 7, 1869. Erected by the State of Texas 1936
History
Mexican Hill
Following the decisive Battle of San Jacinto in the Texas War for Independence, most of the Mexicans captured in the battle were taken to Galveston. Problems concerning a lack of provisions and the threat of attack persuaded Texas President David G. Burnet to transfer some of the prisoners to Liberty.
History
Milton Ashley Hardin
(November 4, 1813 - September 18, 1894) Tennessee native Milton Hardin moved to Texas in 1826 with his parents, settling in present day Liberty County. In 1835 he fought at the Battle of Concepcion and the Siege of Bexar and secured a land grant for his service. He later sold the land that became the Alabama-Coushatta Indian Reservation.
History
Oak Shade Baptist Church
The formation of this fellowship developed from an 1857 meeting in a log schoolhouse (0.5 miles south). Conducted by two missionaries of the Union Baptist Association, David Fisher and B. L. Wright, it showed a need for the establishment of a church in the area. Following a canvas of the surrounding community, the Oak Shade congregation was organized on July 4, 1857. The Rev. Austin Ellis (b.
History
Old Wells' Store
Center section built about 1875 by D. W. Proctor & Company; later operated by L. L. Wells. This structure and earlier one on same site each served as general mercantile store. this building was center for visits and exchange of local news at "Tarkington's Prairie" community. Building has been used as post office, wagon stop, credit house, and voting place.
History
Ott Hotel
Built to capitalize on oil boom prosperity, the Ott Hotel became a Liberty landmark. The regional economy in the early 20th century focused on trade, timber and agriculture. The discovery of large oil fields, including Batson (15 mi. NE) and South Liberty (4 mi.
History
Plaza Constitucional (Municipal Square)
J. Francisco Madero, appointed by Mexican government to grant land titles, platted Liberty town tract, 1831, with 49 squares in inner city. Five were set aside for public usage-- this square has always been site of municipal buildings. In May 1831, an ayuntamiento (city council) was elected; also the first alcalde (mayor), Hugh B. Johnston.
History
Plaza de Carcel, y Casas de Correccion
(Square of the Jail and Houses of Correction) Originally mapped 1831, according to laws of "Coahuila and Texas", then the northernmost state of Mexico. Prison sentences were to be worked out here. By 1885, though, this square was in the mercantile section of town, and the plaza to the east became "Jail Square."
History
Plaza de Mercado
Originally mapped in 1831 as a public plaza by the Mexican government, this was one of five such squares in the town of Liberty. Although this plaza was sold early to private individuals and did not become a public square, it has always been part of a mercantile section of town.
History
Plaza Iglesia Parroquial (Parish Church Square)
This block of the inner town of Liberty was set aside and designated for Catholic use in 1831 by J. Francisco Madero, commissioner for the Mexican state of Coahuila-Texas. In April 1846, the Methodist Episcopal Church petitioned the town board of trustees for a church site, and a log church was built on the northeast corner of the square. the Methodists relocated to Main Street, 1853.
History
Price Daniel
Texas statesman Price Daniel (1910-1988) was born in nearby Dayton, the son of M.P. and Nannie Partlow Daniel. His career in state and national politics spanned six decades and included service in all three branches of state government.
History
Pryor Bryan
An officer in the Army of Texas 1835-1836. Born in Louisiana March 11, 1810. Died April 19, 1873. His wife Mary A. Merriman Bryan. Born August 6, 1817. Died January 13, 1861. Erected by the State of Texas 1936
History
Ryan Cemetery
Also known as Ryan's Graveyard, this historic burial ground served the rural community of Tarkington since at least the 1860s. Named for early pioneer settler Burton B. Tarkington, the farming and ranching community also known as Tarkington Prairie thrived after the Civil War.
History
Sam Houston in Liberty County
Pioneer, lawyer, statesman, and leader of the Texas victory over Mexico at San Jacinto, General Sam Houston began a relationship with Liberty County in 1833 that was based on land ownership which continued until his death in 1863. During those years he concluded nine land transactions involving nearly 20,000 acres.
History
Seven Courthouses of Liberty County
The town of Liberty served as the seat of government for the municipality of Liberty, one of 23 territories in Texas established by Mexico in the 1830s. The first courthouse was erected here in 1831 and was made of hewn logs. Municipalities were converted into counties in 1836 when Texas won independence from Mexico; Liberty became the county seat of Liberty County.
History
Seven Pines
Benjamin Franklin Hardin (1803-1878) came to this area with other members of his family in 1826. Settling in the Atascosito District of the Mexican state of Coahuila y Texas, Franklin Hardin was named surveyor of the district in 1834. As a member of the Liberty Volunteers, he participated in the Battle of Concepcion and the Siege of Bexar in 1835 and the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836.
History
Site of Grand Cane (Ghost Town)
Here General Sam Houston built a home in 1843 and in it resided until 1845. A post office was established May 22, 1846 with Vernon B. Lea as postmaster. It was discontinued October 24, 1868 and reestablished April 26, 1869. The name of the town was changed to Ironwood August 26, 1869. The post office was discontinued March 15, 1900.
History
Site of Liberty's Ursuline Convent
In 1859 Bishop John Mary Odin sent a group of Ursulines from Galveston to Liberty to establish a convent and girls' school. Under the leadership of an energetic French nun, Mother Ambroise, the Sisters bought land at this site and erected two frame buildings. Many prominent Liberty families enrolled their daughters in the convent school, as boarders or day students.
History
St. Stephen's Episcopal Church
Served as early as the 1850s by visiting clergy, local Episcopalians worshiped in temporary quarters before erecting this structure in 1898. the oldest church building in Liberty, it stands on property donated by George W. Davis and Judge William F. Hardin. This parish was known by several names before it became St. Stephen's in 1952.
History
Stilson
The community of Stilson traces its origins to the arrival in the 1890s of the Texas and New Orleans Railroad. Out-of-state developers O. H. Stilson and Rodney Hill bought land in 1896 and immediately began planning a town. They advertised the new community to farmers in Iowa, and a number of families came here to begin new lives.
Architecture
The Noble Garvey House
After settling here in the 1890s, Noble Garvey (1875-1941) became a leading merchant, landowner, and bank president. Interested in civic improvement, he served on the city council and county planning board and was president of the Chamber of Commerce. He and his wife Lillian Henderson Garvey erected this spacious residence before 1915.
History
The Schools of Tarkington Prairie
Burton B. Tarkington brought his family from Indiana to present Liberty County in the 1820s. The vast prairie he settled came to be known for him, and it accommodated a number of dispersed agricultural communities over the years. Many of the communities established their own schools, and records indicate there were 15 separate schools at Tarkington Prairie in the century from 1857 to 1957.
Nature
The Trinity River
As the longest river with its drainage basin entirely within Texas, the Trinity River's watershed covers 18,000 square miles flowing 715 river miles though 37 Texas counties. Native Americans referred to the Trinity as the Arkikosa or Daycoa. La Salle called it the River of Canoes. In 1690, Alonso De León chose La Santísima Trinidad from which the name Trinity is derived.
Architecture
Thomas Jefferson Chambers Home
This residence was built during the 1860s for newspaper editor Thomas Jefferson Chambers (1840-1929), the nephew and namesake of Texas colonial leader T. J. Chambers (1802-1865). The younger Chambers was a native Virginian and Confederate veteran. He served as state representative, justice of the peace, city councilman, and mayor.
History
To Generals Lallemand, Antoine Riguad, the veterans of the Napoleonic Wars
To Generals Charles Lallemand, Antoine Rigaud, the veterans of the Napoleonic Wars and other French settlers, who, after many trials and adventures, came to Texas in the spring of 1818 to found on the banks of the Trinity River the Champ D'Asile: a last refuge for peace and liberty "Nous voulons vivre libres, laborieux et paisables" (We want to live as free men through our labor, and in peace.
Elsewhere in Texas
Hear it from the road
Whistlestop tells you this story automatically when you drive past. No searching, no tapping, nothing to ask.
