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Liberty County, Texas

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Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox U.S. county

Liberty County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 91,628.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The county seat is Liberty.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Its name was anglicized as Liberty based on the ideal of American liberty.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Liberty County is part of the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area.

Geography

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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert (1.5%) are covered by water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref>

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

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National protected areas

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Communities

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Cities

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Town

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Census-designated place

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Unincorporated communities

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Demographics

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Liberty County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition
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Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>Template:Cite web</ref> Pop 2010<ref name="2010CensusP2">Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Partial<ref name="2020CensusP2">Template:Cite web</ref> % 2000 % 2010 Template:Partial
White alone (NH) 52,289 52,321 50,044 74.53% 69.17% 54.62%
Black or African American alone (NH) 8,952 8,074 7,024 12.76% 10.67% 7.67%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 284 289 291 0.40% 0.38% 0.32%
Asian alone (NH) 218 337 466 0.31% 0.45% 0.51%
Pacific Islander alone (NH) 18 23 12 0.03% 0.03% 0.01%
Other race alone (NH) 69 120 329 0.10% 0.16% 0.36%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) 664 877 2,665 0.95% 1.16% 2.91%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 7,660 13,602 30,797 10.92% 17.98% 33.61%
Total 70,154 75,643 91,628 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

As of the census<ref name="GR8">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2000, 70,154 people, 23,242 households, and 17,756 families resided in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. The 26,359 housing units averaged Template:Convert. 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.<ref>Silver, Nate. "Education, Not Income, Predicted Who Would Vote For Trump". FiveThirtyEight. November 22, 2016.</ref>

Government and politics

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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.Template:Citation needed

In the 2020 United States presidential election, a little over 80% of the votes in this county were for Donald Trump. In 2023 the Associated Press described the county as "a Republican stronghold".<ref name=LozanoWeber>Template:Cite web</ref>

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United States Congress

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Senators Name Party First Elected Level
  Senate Class 1 John Cornyn Republican 2002 Senior Senator
  Senate Class 2 Ted Cruz Republican 2012 Junior Senator
Representatives Name Party First Elected Area(s) of Liberty County Represented
  District 36 Brian Babin Republican 2014 Countywide

Texas Legislature

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Texas Senate

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Texas House of Representatives

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District 18: Ernest Bailes (R) - first elected in 2016

Liberty County elected officials

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Position Official Party
County Judge Jay Knight Republican
County Commissioner Precinct 1 Bruce Karbowski Republican
County Commissioner Precinct 2 Greg Arthur Republican
County Commissioner Precinct 3 David Whitmire Republican
County Commissioner Precinct 4 Leon Wilson Republican
County Attorney Matthew Poston Republican
County Clerk Lee Haidusek Chambers Republican
District Attorney Jennifer Bergman Republican
District Clerk Donna Brown Republican
Sheriff Bobby Rader Republican
Assessor-Collector Ricky Brown Republican
County Treasurer Kim Harris Republican
Constable Precinct 1 Tammy Bishop Republican
Constable Precinct 2 Leslie Hulsey Democrat
Constable Precinct 3 Mark "Mad Dog" Davison Republican
Constable Precinct 4 Robbie Thornton Republican
Constable Precinct 5 David Hunter Republican
Constable Precinct 6 Zack Harkness Republican
Justice Of The Peace Precinct 1 Stephen Hebert Republican
Justice Of The Peace Precinct 2 Ronnie E. Davis Democrat
Justice Of The Peace Precinct 3 Cody Parrish Democrat
Justice Of The Peace Precinct 4 Larry Wilburn Republican
Justice Of The Peace Precinct 5 Wade Brown Republican
Justice Of The Peace Precinct 6 Ralph Fuller Republican

Economy

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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.<ref name="Horswellhard">Horswell, Cindy. "For hard-hit economy of Liberty County, crime officially pays." Houston Chronicle. Thursday June 29, 1995. A30. Retrieved on July 23, 2010.</ref>

Education

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School districts include:<ref>Template:Cite web - Text list</ref>

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.<ref>Texas Education Code, Sec. 130.186. LEE COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA. Sec. 130.191. LONE STAR COLLEGE SYSTEM DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.</ref>

The Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center, operated by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, is located Template:Convert north of Liberty in an unincorporated area. Judge and Mrs. Price Daniel donated Template:Convert 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.<ref>"Sam Houston Center." Texas State Library and Archives Commission. Retrieved on April 5, 2010.</ref>

Infrastructure

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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.<ref>What is an Emergency Services District?.</ref>

Police services

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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

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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

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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

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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 Template:Convert north of Dayton.<ref name="Hightower">"Hightower Unit Template:Webarchive." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on May 10, 2010.</ref><ref name="Henley">"Henley Unit Template:Webarchive." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on May 10, 2010.</ref><ref name="Plane">"Plane Unit Template:Webarchive." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on May 10, 2010.</ref> The Cleveland Unit, a prison for men privately operated by the GEO Group, Inc. on behalf of the TDCJ, is in Cleveland.<ref name="Cleveland">"Cleveland Unit Template:Webarchive." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on May 10, 2010.</ref>

Cleveland opened in September 1989.<ref name="Cleveland" /> Hightower opened in March 1990.<ref name="Hightower" /> Henley and Plane opened in May 1995.<ref name="Henley" /><ref name="Plane" /> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref name="Horswellhard" />

Transportation

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Major highways

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Aviation

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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.<ref>"Master Plan Executive Summary Template:Webarchive." George Bush Intercontinental Airport Master Plan. [[Houston Airport System]]. December 2006. 2-1 (23/130). Retrieved on December 14, 2010.</ref>

Toll roads

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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.<ref name="LCTRA">Template:Cite web</ref>

Crime

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Template:Expand section 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.<ref name=WilderTexMonth>Template:Cite web</ref>

Notable people

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See also

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References

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