Liberty County, Texas

Liberty County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 91,628. The county seat is Liberty. It was founded in 1831, as a municipality in Mexico as Villa de la Santísima Trinidad de la Libertad by commissioner José Francisco Madero and organized as a county of the Republic of Texas in 1836. Its name was anglicized as Liberty based on the ideal of American liberty.

Liberty County is included in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX metropolitan statistical area.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1176 sqmi, of which 18 sqmi (1.5%) are covered by water.

The Trinity River flows through this county, dividing the county roughly in half. The river begins on the northern border of Liberty County, forming the San Jacinto - Polk County line through the Liberty County line. The east fork of the San Jacinto River flows through far northeast parts of the county, flowing through Cleveland. Tarkington Bayou begins in the Sam Houston National Forest in San Jacinto County, working its way south through northeast and east Liberty County and joining other feeders, before traveling into Harris County and emptying into Galveston Bay. The highest point in Liberty County is "Davis Hill", the roof of a salt dome in the northern part of the county.

Adjacent counties

 * Polk County (north)
 * Hardin County (east)
 * Jefferson County (southeast)
 * Chambers County (south)
 * Harris County (southwest)
 * Montgomery County (west)
 * San Jacinto County (northwest)

National protected areas

 * Big Thicket National Preserve (part)
 * Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge

Cities

 * Ames
 * Cleveland
 * Daisetta
 * Dayton
 * Dayton Lakes
 * Devers
 * Hardin
 * Liberty (county seat)
 * Mont Belvieu (mostly in Chambers County)
 * Nome
 * North Cleveland
 * Old River-Winfree (mostly in Chambers County)
 * Plum Grove

Town

 * Kenefick

Census-designated place

 * Big Thicket Lake Estates (partly in Polk County)
 * Hull

Unincorporated communities

 * Colony Ridge
 * Dolen
 * Eastgate
 * Hightower
 * Hoop and Holler
 * Macedonia
 * Moss Bluff
 * Moss Hill
 * Rayburn
 * Raywood
 * Romayor
 * Rye
 * Stilson
 * Tarkington Prairie

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, 70,154 people, 23,242 households, and 17,756 families resided in the county. The population density was 60 /mi2. The 26,359 housing units averaged 23 /mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 78.90% White, 12.82% African American, 0.47% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 6.06% from other races, and 1.43% from two or more races. About 10.92% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 23,242 households, 38.10% had children under 18 living with them, 60.50% were married couples living together, 11.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.60% were not families. About 20.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.90% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.23.

In the county, the population was distributed as 27.60% under18, 9.20% from 18 to 24, 31.60% from 25 to 44, 21.40% from 45 to 64, and 10.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $38,361, and for a family was $43,744. Males had a median income of $37,957 versus $22,703 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,539. About 11.10% of families and 14.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.30% of those under age 18 and 15.00% of those age 65 or over.

Of Liberty County's residents, 8.8% have a college degree, the lowest percentage of any U.S. county with a population exceeding 50,000.

Government and politics
Liberty County, formerly strongly Democratic like much of the rest of Texas before the mid-20th century, has trended sharply Republican in recent years. As is the case with most rural Texas counties, the Republican margin of victory has largely increased since Bill Clinton won the county in the 1990s.

In the 2020 United States presidential election, almost 80% of the votes in this county were for Donald Trump. In 2023 the Associated Press described the county as "a Republican stronghold".

Texas Senate

 * District 3: Robert Nichols (R)- first elected in 2006

Texas House of Representatives
District 18: Ernest Bailes (R) - first elected in 2016

Economy
Around 1995, the economy of Liberty County was mainly focused on agriculture and oil. As of that year, the economy of Liberty County was struggling. At that time, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice had established four correctional facilities (Cleveland, Henley, Hightower, and Plane) in the county within a six-year span. As of 1995, the facilities employed 1,045 employees and contributed $22 million in the county's annual payroll. Since Cleveland is a privately operated facility, the county receives tax revenue from the prison's operation.

Education
School districts include:
 * Cleveland ISD (portions of the district extends into other counties)
 * Dayton Independent School District (ISD) (portions of the district extends into another county)
 * Devers ISD
 * Hardin ISD
 * Hull-Daisetta ISD
 * Liberty ISD
 * Tarkington ISD

Sections in Dayton, Devers, Hardin, Hull-Daisetta, and Liberty school districts are assigned to Lee College. Sections in the Cleveland and Tarkington school districts are assigned to Lone Star College.

The Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center, operated by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, is located 3 mi north of Liberty in an unincorporated area. Judge and Mrs. Price Daniel donated 114 acre of land for the purpose of establishing a library on September 27, 1973. Construction began in the fall of 1975; by then, $700,000 had been raised through private donations. The library opened on May 14, 1977.

Infrastructure
Outside of the city limits, ambulance services are provided by contract through Allegiance EMS. Fire protection is provided mostly through volunteer fire departments, four of which in Liberty County are funded by emergency services districts.

Police services
The headquarters of the Liberty County Sheriff's Office, which serves unincorporated areas and supplements police forces of incorporated areas, is within the city of Liberty. Most incorporated areas operate their own police departments, including Cleveland, Daisetta, Dayton, Kenefick, and Liberty.

Liberty County also has a constable for each of its six precincts and deputies assigned to each.

Fire services
Incorporated cities of Cleveland and Liberty operate their own fire departments staffed by a combination of paid and volunteer members. Both departments cover territory outside their respective city limits.

Fire departments serving unincorporated areas:
 * Ames VFD 1 station
 * Cleveland VFD 2 stations (Covering areas inside the City of Cleveland and North Cleveland, and unincorporated Liberty County)
 * Cypress Lakes VFD 1 station
 * Dayton VFD 2 stations (covering areas inside the City of Dayton, and unincorporated Liberty County)
 * Devers VFD 1 station
 * Hardin VFD 1 station (covering areas inside the City of Hardin, and unincorporated Liberty County)
 * Highway 321 VFD 1 station
 * Hull-Daisetta VFD 1 station (covering areas inside the City of Daisetta, and unincorporated Liberty County)
 * Kenefick VFD 1 station (covering areas inside the City of Kenefick, and unincorporated Liberty County)
 * Liberty VFD 1 station (covering areas inside the City of Liberty, and unincorporated Liberty County)
 * Moss Bluff VFD 1 station
 * North Liberty County VFD 1 station
 * Plum Grove VFD 1 station (covering areas inside the City of Plum Grove, and unincorporated Liberty County)
 * Raywood VFD 1 Station
 * Tarkington VFD 2 stations
 * Westlake VFD 1 station
 * Woodpecker VFD 1 station

Emergency medical services
Emergency medical services are provided by Allegiance EMS, with the only exception being inside the City of Liberty, for which service is provided by the City of Liberty Fire and EMS Department.

Corrections
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates one women's prison and two women's state jails, all co-located in an unincorporated area. The L.V. Hightower Unit prison and the Dempsie Henley Unit and Lucille G. Plane Unit jails are 4 mi north of Dayton. The Cleveland Unit, a prison for men privately operated by the GEO Group, Inc. on behalf of the TDCJ, is in Cleveland.

Cleveland opened in September 1989. Hightower opened in March 1990. Henley and Plane opened in May 1995. Also, in 1992 Community Education Centers opened a private detention center under federal contract with the United States Marshals Service for 372 beds, co-located at the old decommissioned Liberty County Jail.

As of 1995, of all Texas counties, Liberty County had the fourth-largest number of state prisons and jails, after Walker, Brazoria, and Coryell Counties.

Major highways

 * [[Image:US 59.svg|20px]] U.S. Highway 59
 * [[Image:I-69 (TX).svg|20px]] Interstate 69 is currently under construction and will follow the current route of U.S. 59 in most places.
 * [[Image:US 90.svg|20px]] U.S. Highway 90
 * [[Image:Texas 61.svg|20px]] State Highway 61
 * [[Image:Toll Texas 99.svg|20px]] State Highway 99 (Grand Parkway)
 * [[Image:Texas 105.svg|20px]] State Highway 105
 * [[Image:Texas 146.svg|20px]] State Highway 146
 * [[Image:Texas 321.svg|20px]] State Highway 321

Aviation
Two general aviation airports are located in unincorporated sections of the county. The Houston Airport System stated that Liberty County is within the primary service area of George Bush Intercontinental Airport, an international airport in Houston in Harris County.
 * Liberty Municipal Airport is located east of Liberty.
 * Cleveland Municipal Airport is located east of Cleveland.

Toll roads
The Liberty County Toll Road Authority does not operate any toll roads at present. In July 2007, Liberty County created the Liberty County Toll Road Authority to have a say in any and all future toll-road projects located within the county.

Crime
In 2023 Zack Harkness, a constable of Liberty County, stated that the Aryan Brotherhood is the most significant gang in Liberty County, more so than any of Hispanic and Latino origin.

Notable people

 * William Fields (1810-1858), American politician
 * Edward Bradford Pickett (1823–1882), president of the Texas Constitutional Convention of 1875 and state legislator
 * Bobby Seale, co-founder of the Black Panther Party