This interesting calaboose is located across the street from the Port Neches Riverfront Park at 620 Grigsby street. The pediment on top is somewhat reminiscent of 19th century storefronts but the overall impression is that of 20th century construction. The trapezoidal elements above the doors and windows are similar to some Art Deco embellishments on other public buildings. Because of the fence and locked gate, it was not possible to measure this structure. The exact date of construction is not known. Some say the date was 1913 or 1914, but local historian W. T. Block, was more specific when he stated that it was built in 1918 at a cost of $2,218. It held prisoners until the beginning of World War II, but for how long is not known. One of the reasons for the demise of this building as a jail was the construction of better roads in the county that made it easier to transport prisoners to the county jail in Beaumont. Two of the officials authorized to detain and lock up prisoners were Homer Taylor and C. C. Williams. On the inside were two cells (one on each end) and space for an office in the middle. There was no inside heat, and one former prisoner remembers it as a “cold, damp stone jail.” Plumbing, however, was available. Although most of the prisoners were local drunks, an occasional more serious offender was incarcerated here.
During the years following its use it was often vandalized. At one time, the city tried to sell the building and later offered to give it to anyone who would haul it away. Before it could be torn down, local concerned citizens Mrs. Murray Ezell and Leo Weeks of Port Neches joined by Mrs. James Parish of Port Arthur in the 1960s took on the task of preserving it. The cost of restoring and protecting it came from donations that were mainly provided by the descendents of Joseph Grigsby, founder of the town. The city erected a wrought iron fence around it and added attractive landscaping. The two metal cells have been restored and remain inside.
There are several colorful anecdotes associated with this historic building. According to one family story, C. C. Williams jailed an intoxicated sailor from one of the ships in port. As the ship got ready to sail, two fellow sailors stole a car and used it and a set of ropes to pull out the bars on one of the windows so the drunken sailor could escape. Apparently, it was not uncommon for prisoners to set the mattresses on fire so the officials would be forced to let them out. On one occasion, Homer Taylor arrested a fellow townsman for drunkenness. He did not want to lock him up so he told the drunk to wait outside while he went for the key to unlock the jail. He took his time crossing the street and never looked back to check on the prisoner figuring the drunk would escape given the opportunity. When he returned, the drunk was still there so he was forced to put him in the jail. One of the more dramatic episodes told by Christine Rappleye in “The Beaumont Enterprise” in the April 28, 2003 edition claimed that a bunch of teenage boys “picked it up” from its original location in Old Town and moved it to New Town where it is today. Rappleye does not say how they did this, and I doubt the validity of this statement. There were no Sanborn maps for Port Neches available at the time of this study. This calaboose conforms to Floor Plan __ (see Floor Plans).