Sherman

A small one-story wood calaboose was present in Sherman, Texas on the 1885 (Sheet 4) and 1888 (Sheet 4) Sanborn maps. It was located at 114 Jones Street (block 8).  In 1892 (Sheet 8)  it was gone and a two-story brick Grayson County jail took its place.  It replaced the old calaboose that an article in the Sherman Daily Register (Vol. 2, No. 53, Ed. 1) dated January 25, 1887 referred to a “being little better than a hog pen.”

Sherman 1885

Van Alstyne

The first mention of a calaboose in Van Alstyne is an  article in the Norton’s Union Intelligencer (Vol. 9, No. 89, Ed. 1) dated August 23, 1884.  It reported that a Negro tramp ordered a Mrs. Mounger to prepare a meal for him. At that time, Mr. Mounger came home and ran the negro off with his shotgun. Marshal Lewis captured the tramp and locked him in the calaboose.

Notorious outlaw Wild Bill Longley and his brother were arrested in Van Alstyne and placed in the calaboose. The year was 1875 and it is not known if the calaboose that was present in 1884 was the same as the one that the Longley brothers were in but it is very possible.

Donald Hash is the President of the Van Alstyne History Commission.  He sent me a postcard dated 1909 that shows a wooden calaboose in relation to the other buildings in the area at that time. The photo was taken looking north on Preston Street. According to him, the house and Water Works building are still standing and serve the same function.  The assumption is that the calaboose in the photo is the same one that was present in in 1884 and possibly 1875.

Van Alstyne 1909

The 1914 Sanborn map (Sheet 2) depicts a small one-story wood calaboose in Van Alstyne, Texas. It was in the southeast corner of city block 3 next to the fire department.   It was in the 500 block of Preston near the corner of Preston and Cooper. This is the same one in the 1909 postcard. 

 Van Alystyne 1914

Whitesboro

The Sanborn map dated 1885 (Sheet 1) depicts a wooden calaboose in Whitesboro, Texas in City Block 3 near the intersection of East Main and South Union streets.  In 1907 there was a brick calaboose on the Sanborn map (Sheet 2) in City Block 2 next to the water works in the 500 block of West Main Street. It was still there in 1915 (Sheet 2) and 1921 (Sheet 2).  In 1921 it was near the fire department and appeared to be in the 100 block of West Main. According to a spokesperson for the Whitesboro Police Department on December 28, 2013 it is no longer there.

Whitesboro 1885

Whitesboro 1907

Whitewright

The Sanborn fire insurance map dated 1911 (Sheet 3) depicts a one story wood jail next to Town Hall in Whitewright, Texas. It was in city block 15 bounded on the north by Walnut Street and on the west by Sears Street. On the 1900 and 1905 maps (also Sheet 3) there was a small wooden building in approximately the same area (at the time called City Hall or Public Hall) but it is not labeled as a jail. In 1912 (Sheet 3) and 1920 (Sheet 2) an ironclad calaboose surrounded by a fence was located in the approximate center of the same block (Lot 14). According to Chris Ely (Director of the Whitewright Public Library) not one of these jails is still standing and it was not seen during a visit to town in December of 2013.  The site where the ironclad calaboose once stood is now occupied by the post office. No jails were seen on the 1891 and 1896 Sanborn maps.

 

Whitewright 1911

Whitewright 1912