HistoricSiteMarkers
Progressive & Modern Era

Henry O. Ager Home

Liberty, Liberty County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Louisiana native Henry O. Ager (1852-1924) first came to Liberty in the 1870s before returning in 1884 as a druggist. While visiting Chicago for the 1893 World’s Fair, he met Bridgett E. Garrity (1867-1931), whom he married in 1903. The couple moved into this house on the lot northeast of the drugstore in 1905. Mr. Ager also served as county clerk, school board president and president of the First State Bank of Liberty. He and his wife raised their two sons here; Mrs. Ager and son Henry O. Ager, Jr. Opened the Ager Theatre in 1925. Today the house remains in the family after more than a century. The two-story classical revival-style home features cypress construction, a wraparound gallery and railing, and decorative gables and transoms. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark – 2011

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

Louisiana native Henry O. Ager settled in Liberty, Texas, as a druggist in 1884 and, after meeting Bridgett Garrity at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, married and built this classical revival home in 1905. Beyond his drugstore, Ager served as county clerk, school board president, and bank president, while his family later opened the town's Ager Theatre. Built of cypress with a wraparound gallery, the house has remained in the family for more than a century.

Why it matters

The Ager Home reflects the entrepreneurial civic leaders who shaped small Texas towns at the turn of the twentieth century, weaving commerce, banking, education, and entertainment into the fabric of community life.

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Related people

  • · Henry O. Ager
  • · Bridgett E. Garrity Ager

Related events

  • · 1893 World's Columbian Exposition

Themes & tags

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