The Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center sits three miles north of Liberty on FM 1011. Former governor Price Daniel and Jean Daniel donated 117 acres to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission on September 27, 1973, for a regional depository. The building was dedicated and opened on May 14, 1977. It is named for Sam Houston, and Jean Daniel was his great-great-granddaughter.
The museum's main exhibit, Atascosito: The History of Southeast Texas, uses artifacts, photographs, maps and documents to cover the region's river economy, timber industry, rice agriculture and oil fields. Atascosito was a Spanish outpost founded in 1756 that became the area's seat of government in 1826, and its name changed to Liberty in 1831. The center is the official regional depository for ten counties: Chambers, Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty, Newton, Orange, Polk, San Jacinto and Tyler.
On the grounds are the 1848 Gillard-Duncan House, the circa 1883 Norman House, the Jean and Price Daniel Home and Archives, the 1898 St. Stephen's Episcopal Church and the circa 1930 Hull-Daisetta Rotary Building. The Gillard-Duncan House and St. Stephen's are under renovation. The museum exhibits and building exteriors are open Tuesday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with no reservation needed. Building interiors are open only on staff-guided tours booked two weeks ahead. Researchers use the reading room and should call 936-336-8821 first.
The closest stops worth working into your route
Roadside plaques and monuments within a short detour