Hermleigh
The unincorporated community of Hermleigh, Texas was surveyed in 1907 to serve as a shipping point on the railroad. At the time, the citizens of Hermleigh decided that they needed a local lockup. The county seat of Snyder was twelve miles distant and since the roads were poor it was sometimes not possible to transport a prisoner to the county jail. Therefore, this small structure served as a holding facility. The date of construction is not known, but local historians believe the time to be sometime around 1913. The cost of construction was financed by the citizens of Hermleigh and probably built with volunteer labor. The size of the finished structure was 10 feet across the front and 8 feet on each side (80 square feet). It was made of wood covered with tin and the roof slopes to the back at an angle of approximately 45 degrees. The height at the front of the jail is 7.6 feet and the height at the back is 5.4 feet. The door is 30 inches wide and 5 feet tall. The method of construction is unusual in that the walls consisted of 2 x 4 foot boards laid flat on tope of each other. In order to make the building sturdier, the corners were cut and fitted resulting in notches similar to log cabins made with hand-hewn timbers. There was one small window on each side (12” x 13”) and a single bed was placed inside for the prisoners to use for sleeping and it is still there. The calaboose was never painted. There is a pole in the center to help support the roof. Prior to the 1920s, law enforcement was the job of the Town Constable. After paved roads made the county jail accessible, this structure was moved and sold. It is reported that the D. R. Layman family swapped a cow for this jail because they needed storage space. The Hermleigh Calaboose is located at 900 East Coliseum Street adjacent to the grounds of the Western Texas College Coliseum. It was recorded as a Texas Historic Landmark in 1972 (marker number 1946). The measurements were taken by Gerald Corkran, local historian and resident of Snyder. Randy Reynolds shared the photograph. There were no Sanborn maps at the agencies visited for Hermleigh, Texas during this study. This structure conforms to Floor Plan 1a (see Floor Plans). It has been recorded at TARL as historic site 41SC65.