The 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. The library ceased to exist until 1959 when Mayor R
ay Martin cut the ribbon at the library's new location (donated by Sam Roberts) in a wooden building on Main Street. 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. 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. 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. Laura Stokes is the current branch manager.
