Rosebud

 

This calaboose is located adjacent to the Rosebud Volunteer Fire Department at 217 West Avenue D and is the property of the City of Rosebud, Texas.  It faces North Third Street and is directly across from the office of the Falls County Rural Fire Prevention District at 117 North Third Street.  A small one-story wood calaboose is depicted next to the fire department in the 800 block of Avenue D (Lot 18) on the Sanborn map dated 1909 (Sheet 3) in the public square.  It was not present on the 1903 or 1914 Sanborn maps, the only other ones available at the time of this study.  Therefore, the current calaboose was built sometime after 1914.

Harold Weiser is a former Chief of Police for the city of Rosebud.  He told me in a personal interview that he was the last law enforcement officer to lock someone up in this calaboose.

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This jail has two cells and measures 6 meters across the front and 2.75 meters on each side (177.5 square feet).  The distance from the ground to the top is 2.22 meters.  The entrance to each cell is secured by a solid metal door in front of a door with bars and each door is 76 by 83 centimeters.

There are four windows, one at each end and one behind each cell on the back wall.

The windows are unique in that they are covered with sheet metal that has been perforated to create a grate-like appearance.  This is one of the few calabooses where the windows are not secured with bars.  At one time, all four windows had wooden shutters or doors that allowed them to be closed off from light and air.

This structure was made of concrete using the “poured in place” method.  Based on the horizontal lines created by the wooden forms for the concrete, it took seven pouring episodes to build the walls.  The roof was made by pouring concrete into a wooden form after the walls were finished.  Small pebbles were used as aggregate and they are exposed on the front of the calaboose where the exterior covering has eroded away.   This building conforms to Floor Plan 2a (see Floor Plans).  The Rosebud calaboose has been recorded at TARL as historic site 41FA89.

 

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