Caldwell
This calaboose is located in downtown Caldwell in the 200 block of South Hill Street. It used to be behind the old fire station and police department before they were razed for safety reasons. It faces a generally southern direction. This calaboose measures 23.4′ across the front and 8′ on the sides (187 square feet). The floor plan consists of a common room in the center and one cell on each end. The steel door is massive and measures 35″ x 6′ 10″. There is a metal window in the entry door that covers an opening with bars that allowed a view into the interior without opening the door. There are four windows and they are 36″ x 8″. The windows contain round metal bars in a horizontal and vertical pattern and are covered with metal shutters. The cells are 8′ 2″ x 6′ 11″ and are separated from the common room by metal bars and a door. Each cell had a toilet, sink, and two metal bed frames arranged in bunk bed fashion. The beds are 2′ 3″ x 6′ _”. Two metal pipes extend from the roof above the cells and they are part of the sewer system. This calaboose was constructed using of concrete using the poured in place method. There are a few areas where the walls have eroded and there was no evidence of rebar. Small rocks appear to be the main form of aggregate used. The facade has been covered with a form of stucco, perhaps as a decorative element. According to the City Manager, Johnny Price, there was a successful escape where the bars on the east wall were pulled loose by a pickup truck. The damage was repaired and the window was made more secure by welding the bars together, something that is absent on the other windows.
East Wall
The Sanborn fire insurance maps depict a two-story brick jail on the corner of Buck and Main streets at the northeast corner of the courthouse in 1885 (Sheet 1) and 1891 (Sheet 2). In 1896 (Sheet 2) this jail was gone and there was a two-story brick county jail with a slate roof and steel cells on the corner of Fox and Echols streets. It was still there in 1901 (Sheet 2) and 1906 (Sheet 2) but it was no longer there in 1915 (Sheet 2). It had been replaced by a small wooden calaboose at 747 Buck Street in City Block 52 southeast of the courthouse between Main and Shaw streets. In 1925 (Sheet 2) there is a two-story brick county jail at 317 Echols Street at the corner of Echols and Fox. There is no coverage of city block 52 on any of the 1925 maps.
The calaboose depicted above is not depicted on any of the Sanborn maps and the only part of Hill Street plotted does not have addresses. Graffiti on the cell walls are dated 1960, 1972, and 1978; however, it is not known if the graffiti was written by prisoners or vandals.
According to an article in The Caldwell News and The Burleson County Ledger dated June 6, 1935 (Volume 50, Number 11, Edition 1, the calaboose will cost approximately $200 and old lumber from the old fire station is being used to construct the forms for the concrete.
This structure conforms to Floor Plan 2b (see Floor Plans). It has been recorded at TARL as historic site 41BU111.
Floor Plan for Caldwell Calaboose
The City of Caldwell has decided to protect and preserve their calaboose for the enjoyment of others. The interior has been cleared of trash and other rubbish and the adjacent tree and other vegetation will be removed. Paving stones will cover the bare earth directly in front of the facade and the area will be fenced.
Concrete slab awaiting paving stones.
Merle
Front View
Merle, Texas is now a ghost town located on the south bank of Bethel Creek three miles south of Snook in southeastern Burleson County. In its heyday, it was a thriving community located at the crossroads of what are now county roads 201 and 270. Anglo-American settlement in the vicinity began in the early 1830s and the town was not founded until the late 1800s. A post office was established in 1883 but it was discontinued in 1919. The town and surrounding area was largely inhabited by Czech immigrants and Italian farmers sometime during the early 1890s. Merle is located in the fertile Blackland Prairie bottoms. In 1931, there was only one reported business and in 1934 the Merle school merged with nearby townships to form the Snook Independent School District. The town gradually declined in population with only 25 residents reported in 1933 and 1948.
By the turn of the century, there was no organized community and only a few farm dwellings were scattered around the former townsite. The local cemetery is located across the highway to the ______. Much of this information was taken from “Astride the Old San Antonio Road: A History of Burleson County, Texas” compiled by the Burleson County Historical Society in 1980 and published by Taylor Press of Dallas.
The community of Merle constructed a small calaboose next to the store that also served as the courthouse, post office, polling place, and filling station. The calaboose and the store are the only surviving buildings of the former town. The age of the calaboose is not known but it appears to be a structure that was constructed sometime during the early part of the 20th century and that is consistent with the development of the town. It measures approximately ten feet on each side (100 square feet). The original door was metal and was sold as scrap. The owner said that he found a very old metal key nearby that seemed to fit the lock on the door. There is only one window and it measures 20′ x 44″. At the time of our visit, there were no bars or shutters covering the opening. The adjacent store has strap iron bars on two of the windows and it likely that the person who made those bars may have also made some for the window.
Detail of Window
The walls were made with two layers of boards placed horizontally over a wooden frame of 2/4 vertical placed studs. Most of the boards measured one foot wide and one-half inch thick. The structure appears to have been constructed using wire nails. The roof is peaked and covered with tin that may not be original. No Sanborn maps were available for this town. This structure conforms to Floor Plan 1a (see Floor Plans). It has been recorded at TARL as historic site 41BU117.
Wall Construction
Somerville
Front View
This calaboose can be found on the grounds of the Somerville Historical Museum (Heritage Square Exhibit) on the corner of State Highway 36 and Farm-to-Market Road 1361 in Somerville, Texas. In 2003, it was moved from its original location to its current location where it will be preserved for future generations as an example of life in the early days of Somerville.
Calaboose at Original Location
Walker (Bubba) Scott is a lifetime resident of Somerville, and he remembers a wooden outbuilding being used as a calaboose until a real jail (the one depicted here) could be constructed. He said that a local contractor named Oscar Landolt made it sometime around 1940. Mr. Landolt used the “poured in place” method. The front of the calaboose measures 4.60 meters, and the sides are 3.30 meters in length (163.3 square feet). The two cells are equal in size and divided by a wooden wall made of planks placed horizontally from front to back. The floor is cement, and each cell was furnished with a sink and toilet. There were two doors to each cell. The exterior door is metal and consists of six round metal bars welded to the frame in a vertical direction. Added support was created by three pieces of strap iron welded to the frame in a horizontal direction. The interior doors were wood and only one remains today. The doors measure 84 centimeters by 1.93 meters, and the iron hinges are massive. When the wooden doors were closed, the only light and ventilation would have been through the two tiny windows at the back that are centered on each cell.
Back of Calaboose
These windows measure 15 cm x 40 cm and contain two vertical and one horizontal round metal bars that are embedded in the concrete.
Detail of Window
The town was officially incorporated on March 19, 1913 (Chapter II of the Civil Code, Article 6; Section B), and the law enforcement in those days consisted of a City Marshall. This document mentions confinement will be in the town prison/calaboose of the Town Hall. In Chapter VI of the Mayor’s Court, Article 24 and Article 27, the calaboose is mentioned again, and it states that meals for the prisoners consisted of bread and water. There are no online Sanborn maps for Somerville. Maps dated 1910 and 1925 are housed in the local museum in town but it has not been confirmed that this calaboose is on either of these maps. I was told that it is depicted on the 1936 Sanborn map (Sheet 10), but I have not been able to verify this. The 1925 Sanborn map does depict the wooden calaboose that Mr. Scott refers to. It is in the upper left corner of the map (highlighted in yellow).
Sanborn Map
The primary purpose of this calaboose was temporary confinement until the incarcerated offender could be released or transported to the county jail in Caldwell. One of the more common offenses that resulted in a night in the calaboose was drunkenness or fighting. During the 1940s, Kenneth Scott was the Constable, and Bob Massey was the Night Watchman. Scott’s Deputy was Romeo Lewis, and he became the next Constable after Mr. Scott left office. Bubba said that Somerville was a rough town in those days with lots of saloons and billiard parlors. Bubba said that prisoners did not like being locked up in those tiny cells with no heat in the winter and little or no ventilation in the summer. This structure conforms to Floor Plan 2a (see Floor Plans). It has been recorded at TARL as historic site 41BU110.
Floor Plan for Somerville Calaboose
Comments from Lonnie Ray
I received a nice letter from Lonnie Ray, a former citizen of Somerville. He writes that he remembers the calaboose still being used as late as 1969. The Sheriff was Milton Lewis who owned the city cafe next door to Boones’ IGA grocery store downtown on State Highway 36. Lonnie Ray and the sheriff were good friends. Usually prisoners only stayed there overnight or a few hours until they could be transported to the county jail in Caldwell or turned loose. It was usually used on weekends as people would get paid on fridays from picking or chopping cotton and get liquored up and fight. There was a lot of knifing in those days and Mr Lewis was real busy on weekends. He knew many people who spent time in the Somerville calaboose, including some of his friends .
As for the one in Snook, yes they had one there too. I saw it almost daily as we picked and chopped cotton all over Snook, Clay, and other small towns in that area.
Ann Guadango wrote me regarding her research on a Mr. Thomas Lannuzzi who was in Somerville from 1948 – March 1949. According to her, he was arrested by police officers from Newark, New Jersey and placed in the Somerville calaboose. He was so well liked by all that during the time he was locked up people would bring him food and one time over 500 people gathered outside wanting to break him out. During his stay in town he supposedly worked as bartender and manager of the local honky-tonk.
Snook
Front View
This tiny brick building is located in a private yard near the corner of Farm-to-Market Road 2155 and Spur 2155 in Snook, Texas. The address of the landowner is 10418 Farm-to-Market Road 2155. Prior to the current configuration of the area this structure was part of the commercial district of Snook. The front door faced several houses and it was flanked on the right by Ed Mikeska’s garage (the building is still standing) and on the left by Ed Ptacek’s grocery and dry goods store (the cement slab that is present today was the front porch of the store). Behind it and across the road was Henry Kovar’s lumberyard. Behind the grocery store was Jerry Slovacek’s barber shop.
There is some disagreement among the local informants I interviewed regarding the history of this building. Bill Giesenlaw was raised in Snook and he remembers walking past this building on his way to the barbershop. His parents told him stories about the “old calaboose” but he does not remember it being used for that purpose. The door is missing and he does not recall ever seeing one. Local resident Clarence Junek was another source of information. He stated that is father who is 90 years old told him that this building was never used as a jail. It was next to his uncle’s (Ed Patcek) store and his uncle helped build it. Lonnie Ray is a former resident of Somerville. He remembers a calaboose in Snook. He stated that “He saw it almost daily as we picked and chopped cotton all over Snook, Clay, and other small towns in that area.
The exact age of this building is not known. The only brick building in town at the time was John J. Fojt’s store that was supposedly built during the early 1900s and it is possible that this structure was built with leftover brick from the construction of the store. If there was not a large quantity of brick available that could explain the small size of this building. The walls consist of two rows of brick covered with concrete on the interior and exterior. The thickness of the walls is 14″. The front measures 8′ 10″ and the sides are 8′ 2″ in length (72 square feet). The door is 35″ wide and 4′ 8″. There are no windows.
Side View
According to Charles Sebesta and Bill Giesenslaw the residents of Snook and outlying areas formed a cooperative or beef club that met on Saturdays. The members would take turns bringing beef to a wooden shack near this building. The cow was butchered and the meat was shared with the members. This provided meat for a couple of days since there was no refrigeration in this area at the time. I was told that this building was used as a place for storing of skins but this has not been confirmed. Inside was a concrete block that could have been used in some capacity as part of the beef club activities.
Concrete Block
There were no available Sanborn maps at the agencies visited for Snook, Texas at the time of this study. Based on my first interview with a local resident I recorded this building at TARL as a calaboose and it was assigned the site number 41BU112. If it was used as a calaboose it conforms to Floor Plan 1a (see Floor Plans). If it was used solely for the purpose of storing skins and other activities related to the beef club it is still worthy of documentation as a historic site.