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present Liberty Public Library was dedicated on March 7, 1976. The then new
structure was the cooperative effort of local, county, state and federal funds
at a cost of $100,840.50. DeElla Jones was librarian and Jane Bryan was
the PAWLS director. The first public library in Liberty was funded by
WPA and located in the Amite County Courthouse. Mrs. Arie Robinson
Stewart was one of the librarians. The library ceased to exist until
1959 when Mayor Ray Martin cut the ribbon at the library's new location
(donated by Sam Roberts) in a wooden building on Main Street. Mrs. Fred
Le Blanc was the librarian. |
| The library moved again in 1968 to the historic Little Red
Schoolhouse. The building, built prior to 1840, was once part of the
Amite Female Seminary founded by the Rev. M. S. Shirk in 1853. The
two-story building was once connected to the main building of the seminary by
an elevated walkway. Union troops burned all of the structures except
the schoolhouse during Civil War raids on Liberty. Mary Van Norman
Ratliff chaired the committee to restore the building for a library. |
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Cheryl Rape-Ott has been librarian
since 1994 and has worked at the library since 1989. She is happy to
assist those seeking historical information in Liberty's genealogy materials |
| The town of Liberty and the county of Amite were
created by the territorial legislature on February 24, 1809. Located on
Highway 24 and 48 near the center of the county, Liberty's earliest name was
"Three-chopped Way" referring to the Indian trail that ran through
it. No explanation is given as to how the town was named Liberty, but the
county is named for the Amite River. Liberty is also known as the
birthplace of Dr. Tichenor's famous antiseptic. The Tichenor house is
still standing in Liberty. |
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Hours of Operation
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Mon.-Wed.
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Thursday
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Friday
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Saturday
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Sunday
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10:30-5:30
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Closed
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10:30-5:30
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10:00-12:00
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Closed
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Liberty Library
P.O. Box 187 (Mailing)
196 Clinic Drive (Location)
Liberty, MS 39654-0187
601-657-8781
liberty@pawls.lib.ms.us
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