Bartlett
Front View
Side View
Back View Depicting Door to One of the Small Cells
This calaboose owned by the City of Bartlett and is in an alley (facing east) behind the old utility building that is now the Bartlett Chamber of Commerce at 140 Clark Street. Side streets are South Emma and West Front. It is 5.81 meters across the front and 5.8 meters on each side (362.9 square feet). The jail is divided into three cells. The front cell is roughly 33.5 square meters. The door is offset to the right of the cell and there are two windows that allowed light into the area. The window on the east side has a metal cover over nine vertical bars that appear to be an example of strap iron. There are no metal covers on the rest of the windows, and it is not known if any were present during the use of this jail. All of the windows are 70 x 85 centimeters in size. There was a solid metal door that, when closed, covered the iron door with bars. The two cells in the back are equal in size (16.75 square meters) and they were also secured with two doors. The cell on the southeast corner has a sink and toilet and one window that provided light in the area of the bathroom. On the north wall is a cement platform that served as a bed, presumably with a mattress.
Concrete Platform for Mattress in Small Cell
Toilet in Main Cell
Sink in Main Cell
The walls have been covered with graffiti. There was only one window for each of the two small cells and these are on the north and south walls. This jail was constructed of concrete using the “poured in place” method. This structure conforms to Floor Plan 3a (see map below and Floor Plans).
On the September 1900 fire insurance map prepared by the Sanborn Company (Sheet 1), there was a small wooden calaboose on city block 15 bounded by Pietsch, East Front, Evie, and Clark streets.
On the October 1905 map (Sheet 2), the calaboose at Block 15 is gone, and another small wooden calaboose is next to the city water tower (city block 10). An article by The Bartlett Tribune (Vol. 20, No. 42, Ed. 1) dated February 23, 1906 reported that there were no prisoners in the calaboose on that day.
The first depiction of a calaboose at the current location is a small wooden structure on the May 1912 map (Sheet 3) that is described as a Lockup.
The Bartlett Tribune and News (Vol. 30, No. 49, Ed. 1) dated May 19, 1916 refers to the importance of the calaboose in the following quote. “Well, well, we ‘shore do’ need a big brick hotel, a calaboose, a high school building and a city hall.” This quote suggests that the small wooden lockup was no longer present. The same article also says “It would not be out of place to say that Bartlett has no city hall calaboose or fire station.”
The Bartlett Tribune and News (Vol. 31, No. 28, Ed. 1) dated December 8, 1916) published the following:
“Cates of the Bartlett Tribune tells us his town’s new calabooses is on the Williamson county side. Now, when Bell goes wet and Williamson dry will the calaboose be moved across the street along with the saloons.”
On the November 1921 map (Sheet 3), the current calaboose is depicted and described as made of reinforced concrete. Therefore, the date of the construction of the current calaboose was sometime between 1912 and 1921. Based on the articles from the Bartlett newspapers, the date of construction was probably 1916.
According to local resident Barbara Sandobal, electric power was not available in Bartlett until the 1930s. Therefore, it seems likely that the plumbing and electricity was added at that time. Joyce Jackson White is a local resident of Bartlett who remembers the jail during the war years (1941-1945). When she was in the fourth grade she and some of her friends would often visit the jail to see if anyone was inside. She recalls a wooden cot in the large cell and an electric light but she does not remember if it was inside the jail or attached to the exterior. In the 1940s and 1950s, the law was enforced by a Night Watchman named Sam Levins. Sometime in the 1950s, Bill Brisbin patrolled the town as a police officer for the City of Bartlett. Ms. White also recalls the prisoners being fed hamburgers prepared by one of the local cafes. This calaboose has been recorded at TARL as historic site 41WM1275.
i am grateful to Tina Steglich of the Bartlett Chamber of Commerce for her assistance in documenting this calaboose.
Florence
Front View
Side View
This small calaboose is located behind the Florence Police Department in downtown Florence, Texas at 304 East Main, and it is owned by the City of Florence. It is 2.42 meters across the front and 3.3 meters on the sides (85.3 square feet). The distance from the ground to the top the walls is 2.26 meters, and the distance to the top of the roof is 2.37 meters. The original door was made from heavy gauge steel that has been replaced by a door of modern construction designed to be typical of doors of that time. The only window is at the back and centered behind the door. It is 58 by 66 centimeters. Four flat metal bars provided security, and they are five centimeters wide. These bars are unusual in that they are curved and this is the only calaboose in the sample to date with bars of this type.
Detail of Window
This calaboose was constructed of concrete using the “poured in place” method that was common technique between 1908 and 1920. The number of forms created to complete a wall can be calculated by counting the horizontal lines that represent the separation between boards used for forms for each pouring episode. The roof was also made by pouring concrete into a form and it slants from front to back, probably a design to facilitate runoff of water.
There were no Sanborn maps at the agencies visited for Florence, Texas at the time of this study. This structure conforms to Floor Plan 1a (see Floor Plans). It has been recorded at TARL as historic site 41WM1274.
Granger
Front View
This privately owned calaboose is located in downtown Granger, Texas. According to George Strebel, GIS Manager for Williamson County, it is in Parcel R321905 on a city block that is bordered by East Broadway on the north, East Davilla on the south, North Willis on the east, and North Granger on the west. This jail has three cells aligned in a linear pattern, and there is an awning over each cell. The size of the jail is 11 meters across the front and 3.67 meters on the sides. Each cell has metal bars in front of a solid metal door. The door to the middle cell has a small opening that could have been used to hand food to a prisoner.
Metal Door With Opening at Bottom
Metal Door Without Opening
There are three windows, one behind each cell. The windows measure 49 x 63 centimeters and three round metal bars provide security.
Back of Calaboose
At the time of my visit, the cells were used for storage, and it was difficult to view the interior. There were fewer items in the cell on the left and I was able to observe a small sink and toilet. The age of this jail is not known, but it was part of the landscape in April of 1910 based on the Sanborn Fire Insurance map (Sheet 3) of that date. There are no maps prepared by the Sanborn Company for this town prior to 1910. At that time, City Hall was on Granger Street in Block 16. The jail is in the approximate center of the block behind City Hall. Sabra Davis recalled that law enforcement was often one of the duties of a Nightwatchman.
The Temple Daily Telegram (Vol. 3, No. 100, Ed. 1) dated March 15, 1910, reports that a Mr. George Tate of Holland had been indicted by the November grand jury for the murder of Henry Duncan. Deputy Sheriff Dan Crow of Holland heard that Mr. Tate was to pass through Granger on a train. He wired the authorities to stop him. Constable Lee Allen replied that he already had the young main in the calaboose. Mr. Crow went to Granger that night and took the prisoner to the Bell County jail the next morning.
This structure conforms to Floor Plan 3b (see Floor Plans). It has been recorded at TARL as historic site 41WM1273.
Floor Plan for Granger Calaboose