Montgomery

Montgomery, Texas became the first county seat of Montgomery County in 1837 shortly after the county was created in December of that year.  According to a book by Ed Blackburn, Jr, entitled Wanted: Historic County Jails of Texas (Page 245) published by Texas A&M University in 2006, a house was rented in March of 1838 to serve as a courthouse and in April of that year a “log keep” was built to serve as a jail and it was located next to the temporary courthouse.  The jail described here was the next one in the county.  It was a wooden one-room structure that housed a metal cellblock consisting of two cells built by the Pauly Jail Building Company of St. Louis, Missouri. This company built similar cages for the jails in Crawford (McLennan County), Tyler (Smith County), and Valley Mills (Bosque County).

The cage consists of two cells with metal bunk beds.The exact date of manufacture is not known but it is believed to be very early due to the type of construction that involved flat metal strips often referred to as strap iron.  The wooden structure was made using local labor and very primitive.  The cellblock measures 9 feet across the front and 6.5 feet on the sides (59.5 square feet).  The cells are equal in size, measure 4 feet seven inches across the front and 6 feet 6 inches on the sides, and are separated by a solid piece of metal plate.  The doors measure 2 feet by 6 feet 4 inches. The flat metal strips that comprise the walls are 1.5 inches wide.  The crosshatch pattern creates openings that are 2.5 inches by 3 inches.  The ceiling consists of a solid metal plate.  Inside, there is a metal folding bed in each cell. 

In 1889, when Conroe became the county seat, the cellblock was moved to a new location next to the railroad depot where it continued to be used as the only jail in town, but the duration of its service is not known.  In 1981, it was moved by the Montgomery Civic Association to its current location at the corner of State Highway 149 (Liberty Street) and Clepper Street in front of the Community Building.  There were no Sanborn maps at the agencies visited for Montgomery, Texas.  This metal cell was recorded at TARL as historic site 41MQ314.