Some of the Texas Centennial markers are just awesome -- and this is one of them.
This elegant Art-Deco relief bronze marker on the monument of polished Texas pink granite would have been a point of interest for travelers who passed by this spot on the OST in the 1930s. Perhaps the OST travelers even picnicked next to the marker under the trees that shade the courthouse grounds.
The marker reads as follows:
"LIBERTY COUNTY
The home of the Orcoquisac Indians. An East – West trail across the region traveled by Alonso De Leon in 1690 became the “La Bahia” or “Lower Road” of the 18th century and the Opelousas Road of the 19th. At the point this road crossed the Trinity the Spaniards made the first settlement, Atascosito, about 1758. Mapoleonic exiles sought refuge here in 1818, Anglo – Americans came, 1821 – 1830. The town, established May 5, 1831, as the “Villa De La Santisima Trinidad de la Libertad” (City of the blessed Trinity of Liberty) gave its name to the municipality and to the county created in 1836. Liberty County in 1837 included all of Tyler and parts of Hardin, Chambers, San Jacinto and Polk counties. The town of Liberty, incorporated June 7, 1837, has remained the county seat.
In memory of
The pioneer settlers of the region
Patrick C. Jack, Claiborne West, James Morgan
Delegates to the convention of 1832
Patrick C. Jack, Samuel Whiting, William Hardin, David G. Burnet.
Delegates to the convention of 1835
Henry Millard, George M. Patrick, A.B. Hardin, James B. Woods
Delegates to the consultation in 1855
A.B. Hardin, James B. Wood, M.B. Menard
Signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence
The soldiers from Liberty County who fought at San Jacinto and elsewhere for and in defense of the Republic of Texas
Erected by the State of Texas
1936"
The OST (and later the SH 3 and the US 90) passed through Liberty TX, located between the larger cities of Beaumont and Houston. Businesses in Liberty such as the Ott Hotel sprang up to take advantage of the travelers who might need a room for the night or a meal.
The OST passed directly in front of the 1931 Liberty County courthouse, and travelers would have welcomed the change to picnic on its lawn under its trees, and maybe go inside to use the public restrooms inside, which were few and far between in the early days of highway travel.
The SH 3 was one of the earliest highways in Texas, being one of the original 26 state highways that were designated in 1917.
From Wikipedia: (
visit link)
"SH 3 was one of the original twenty six state highways proposed in 1917, overlaid on top of the Southern National Highway. From 1919, the routing mostly followed present day U.S. Highway 90 from Orange to Houston and San Antonio through to Del Rio."
The SH3/OST passed through Liberty, a small town between Beaumont and Houston. The OST was co-designated with the SH 3 until 1926, when the Auto Trails and some major state highways were reclassified as federal highways. This part of the OST/SH 3 was designated US 90, and gradually both the OST and SH 3 names faded. By 1938 the designation of this road as SH 3 was completely dropped. See: (
visit link)
"[page 12] The Texas Highway Commission affirmed the importance of the Old Spanish Trail in 1921, when it identified most of SH 3 as part of the Federal Aid Highway System. (Refer to Figure 46 previous Section I.4.)
The Commission also reiterated the 1917 identity of SH 3 as beginning near Orange and ending in Del Rio. Elements of the highway in the System between those two points included stretches between Orange, Beaumont, Nome, Devers, Liberty, Crosby, Houston, Sugarland, Richmond, East Bernard, Eagle Lake, Columbus, Weimar, Flatonia, and Waelder. The route of SH 3 within the Federal Aid Highway System resumed in Gonzales and went to Seguin, Schertz, San Antonio, Castroville, Hondo, Sabinal, Uvalde, Brackettville, and Del Rio."