Jewett
This calaboose is located in downtown Jewett, Texas. It has no specific address but it is in the 200 block of Division Street inside a fenced area on land belonging to the city. The front faces Division Street in a general southerly direction and the east side faces the back of City Hall at 114 Broadway. The walls are brick and the roof conforms to the pyramid style and is tin over wooden rafters and supports. The exact date of construction is not known, but a local informant said it was built sometime during the early part of the 20th century and was still in use in the 1960s. It is symmetrical in size at 12 feet and 3 inches on all four sides (approximately 144 square feet). There are two windows that have been boarded up and the openings measure 25 inches wide by 46 inches tall. There is a concrete lintel above the windows and door, and a similar feature was placed beneath the windows. The single door in the front measures 32 inches wide by 75 inches tall. At the time of my visit the door was locked and the spokesperson for the city said that she did not know where the key is. When I asked her about the interior she was not aware if there were any cells or features. She did provide an interesting anecdote. According to her testimony, a friend of her husband was locked up in the calaboose during the winter and had no blankets or heater to keep warm. Her husband tied a chain to his car and yanked out the bars from one of the windows so his friend could get out, and this damaged the wall. This event happened sometime during the 1960s. This calaboose is owned by the City of Jewett and there are no immediate plans to demolish it. There is a large tree growing very close to the west wall that will eventually impact the structure. There were no Sanborn maps available for this town at the time of this study. The floor plan of this structure is not known but it is probably 1a or 1c (see Floor Plans). It has been recorded at TARL as historic site 41LN486.
Marquez
This small wooden calaboose is in downtown Marquez between Pearl and North Commerce streets in the approximate center the block. It is best reached by going north on Pearl and turning left at the intersection of Pearl and Elm. There are two small windows, one on each side and only one has bars remaining. It is possible that there was a third window in the back but too much of the wall is missing to know for sure. At this time, we don’t know if the tin on the outside is original to the structure or added later. If the tin is original there would not have been a third window. It was constructed using vertical boards as studs and attaching wide boards onto them facing the inside of the building. Narrow boards cover the cracks between the larger boards and thus creates a horizontal board and batten affect. We plan to return to take measurements and hopefully find out more about the interesting calaboose. This calaboose conforms to Floor Plan 1a (see Floor Plans).
Side View Depicting Window
Front View
Darryl Pearson corresponded with Gary B. Wood who lives in Marquez (Leon County). The following quote is from Mr. Wood describing the local calaboose.
“The property used to belong to us (Wood family). We gave the property to the city probably 10 to 15 years ago. A city employee tried to tear it down, tied a chain thru the bars, and pulled it. It did not fall, but it tore it up. The employee was fired on the spot. There were 4 or 5 of the bars that were On the window laying on our property, I had two of those bars made in the custom knives. Also the county seat is Centerville. My dad says when they were young, from the 20s and 30s, they would pay a nickel to ride to Marquez (because it was wet and had bars/saloons) as Centerville was dry (and still is today ) they would get locked up on purpose so they would get a free ride back to Centerville (18 miles ) in the morning.”
The building is 14 x 14 (196 square feet) and one night Mr. Tubb said there were 19 people in that jail on a hot July night with nothing but a Lard can for a toilet for 19 men. He said when the jail was full, the fines were higher so they could make more money. You would pay more to get out of those smelly hot cramped conditions. Heck, I would. City of Marquez entered into an agreement with Leon County to house inmates in 1946. The city has no police force today. It is patrolled by the sheriffs office.”
The city paid a local citizen to to restore it. The restoration consisted of whatever original wood was available and the rest was taken from an old barn. This calaboose has been recorded at TARL as historic site 41LE495.
Restored Calaboose
According to an article in the Bryan Morning Eagle (vol. 13, No. 18, Ed. 1) dated December 28, 1907, a Negro named Norman Calloway was put in the calaboose for assaulting a young boy. A mob broke in and lynched the negro.