Arp

LOCATION: Private Property

OWNER: Privately Owned

AGE: 1930s

SIZE: 128 square feet

SITE NUMBER: 41SM473

Arp was a rather quiet East Texas town until the oil boom of the 1930s. The prospects for work it created brought hundreds of people to the area. Along with the influx of workers was an increase in crime. Early in the decade, it became obvious that a jail was needed and that it should be located downtown.  The new jail was made of concrete using the poured in place method, a common type of construction at the time.  The Structure that measures 8′ across the front and back and 16′ on the sides and rests on a concrete slab that is 13″ thick. The primary source of direct light and ventilation was a window on each side of the calaboose that measured 15″ x 20″ in size. The windows contained metal bars placed vertically within a wooden frame.  The door is in the center of the calaboose and opens to a small room that is flanked on each side by a cell that measures 57 square feet in size. The current door is a replica that the owner paid to have fabricated.  According to the owner, the original door was wood.  Each cell had a small closet-like area that housed a toilet and there was a small window (12″ x 12″) that provided some light into the bathrooms.  Electricity was provided for common room or entry area but not for the cells.

The exact date that the calaboose was completed is not known.  Paul Arnold is the current owner and he believes that it was built early in the decade. The only Sanborn fire insurance map available is dated 1939 and it depicts this calaboose in city block 22 near the corner of Main and North Longview streets.

In the early 1960s, the decision was made to demolish the Arp State Bank and build a new one on a different site. Before the new bank could be constructed the old calaboose had to be demolished or removed. The first option would create an enormous pile of rubble and that was considered undesirable. Hugh Anderson was the Chairman of the Board of Arp State Bank and he came up with the idea of moving it to a different location. He was convinced that the large oil trucks could handle the job. Loys Arnold told Mr. Anderson that if they could get it onto his trucks it could be put on his son’s farm approximately 1.5 miles from town.  They were successful and today it and the old bank vault rest in a pasture.

Arp in 1939

Calaboose and Bank Vault 

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