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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 and Liberty
became the county seat of Liberty County.
Constructed in 1840, the second courthouse was a one-story frame
house, with split cypress boards. A third courthouse, a two-story
frame structure, was built on this square in the mid-1840s and
measured 32 feet by 40 feet. The first floor served as the
courtroom. Liberty County's fourth courthouse, completed by 1857,
was fabricated of brick and financed primarily from the sale of land
owned by the town of Liberty. Fire destroyed that courthouse in
1872. The fifth courthouse, also constructed of brick, was completed
in 1877 but deteriorated rapidly and after only 18 years was
condemned and removed from the square.
Members of Liberty's Masonic Lodge laid the cornerstone for
the sixth courthouse in 1895. The three-story structure was a
popular local gathering place. The seventh courthouse, built of
Texas Cordova cream limestone was completed in 1931 and enlarged in
1957.
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