Miles
This calaboose is located in downtown Miles, Texas. It is in the corner of a fenced area at the corner of Robinson and 2nd streets that the city uses for storage of equipment. The material used in its construction is concrete that was poured in place. This particular structure is oriented approximately north-south with the front being on the south side, and it consists of two cells of equal size that have wooden doors on the inside and metal doors made of flat strips of metal riveted together in a criss-cross pattern. The doors are 6 feet and 2 inches tall and 31 inches wide. There is one window for each cell and it is on the side of the cell. These windows measure 15 inches by 15 inches and have three round metal bars placed vertically in a metal frame that is embedded in the concrete. The footprint of the jail was measured at about 15 feet across the front and 9 feet on each side. One unusual feature of this particular calaboose is the curved roof. The only other calabooses in this sample that have similar roofs are the ones in Gause and Grapevine (both one room structures). The concrete calaboose in Pilot Point has a peaked roof.
The walls are __ inches thick and this outer shell created two cells that are only ____ by ____ feet size and __ feet tall. A special form would have to have been constructed to hold the concrete in order to be able to create a roof of this shape. The floor of the structure is also concrete and no furnishings were observed on the inside. The date of construction of this calaboose is not known. The only Sanborn maps available at the time of this study were published on May 1908 and July 1921. They show a wooden calaboose next to the water tower in what is referred to as the original part of town. Therefore, the current calaboose was constructed sometime after July of 1921. I visited this jail as part of my Texas Jail Survey on October 24, 2014. Amy Fischer, City Secretary at City Hall provided entry to the fenced area so I could document this special building. The floor plan for this jail is the same as those discussed above as belonging to Floor Plan
Larry Riemenschneider is an Archeological Steward for the Texas Historical Commission, Division of Archeology. He visited the Miles calaboose on October 28, 2014 and reported that he had talked with ______________, a resident of Miles, who told him that there was a wooden calaboose in town that preceded the one described above. It was located at ____ and consisted of _______. It was moved to her husband’s uncle’s property near Miles and may be still standing. She also mentioned an article in the Standard Times (published by ___) about the _______ calaboose. This structure conforms to Floor Plan 2a (see Floor Plans). It has been recorded at TARL as historic site 41RN278.
Rowena
This calaboose is located in the unincorporated town of Rowena, Texas in southwestern Runnels County. It is in the middle of a privately owned vacant lot that is bounded by Victor Street on the north, Main Street on the west, Mary Street on the east, and Edwards Street on the south. The building faces east. Beverly Teplicek is a member of the Runnels County Historical Commission and resident of Rowena. She provided me with much of the information regarding the history of this historic structure. At this time the lot is being used as a place to store oilfield equipment and vehicles. The exact age of this building is not known but there is a sign on the front that reads “Town Jail – Circa 1910.” According to Mrs. Teplicek, this date may be based solely on hearsay. She is researching local records to try to get the correct time period for its construction.
The town was platted in 1898 and named Baronsvile after the developer Paul J. Baron. The name was briefly changed to Bolf in 1900 for a land agent. In 1901, the post office was named Rowena and the name became official in 1904 and that year there were fewer than 100 residents. In 1908, the population had grown to nearly 600 and it reached its peack in 1930 when there were 800 residents. Rowena is known as the birthplace of Bonnie Parker who was born on October 1, 1910.
This structure is in poor condition but it is not in immediate danger of collapse. When the town held its 100th anniversary celebration in 1998, a barbed wire fence was placed around it and there was a wooden door on the inside that may or may not be original. This calaboose was constructed using milled boards over a frame that created a double wall, probably to make escape more difficult. Wire nails appear to have been used throughout the construction. The door was locked so I was unable to inspect the interior but I saw no furniture or other amenities and Mrs. Teplicek is not aware of any in the past. The foundation is pier and beam.
The boards on the exterior measure 11 to 12 inches in width and they are about 1 inch in thick. This particular structure consists of only one room. The door is metal land consists of a frame with vertical, horizontal, and diagonal bars secured with rivets. It measures 27 inches by 72 inches. There are two metal features on the right side of the door that may have served as hinges for an outer door that is now missing. The roof is peaked and covered with tin. Some panels appear to be replacements.
There is one small opening on each side but the one on the north side is the largest and because it has been framed it appears that this calaboose may have had only one small window that would have been12 inches square. Because of the absence of bars this is only conjecture. The footprint of this calaboose was measured at about 11 feet across the front and 10 feet on each side (110 square feet).
The infamous Bonnie Parker was born in Rowena on October 1, 1910. the same year that this calaboose was supposedly built.
There were no Sanborn maps for Rowena available at the time of this study. It can be found on Google Earth but only as an aerial view. I visited this jail as part of my Texas Jail Survey on October 24, 2014. This structure conforms to Floor Plan 1a (see Floor Plans). It has been recorded at TARL as historic site 41RN279.