Grapeland
Calaboose Before Restoration
This calaboose has been restored by the city and is located next to the fire station on West Oak Street in Grapeland, Texas. On Page 4 of Crossroads to Progress II: “Grapeland” – Queen City of the Sand Flats 1872-1987, privately published by the Grapeland Community Council in 1969, there is an undated photo of the jail that shows it in a previous location. This book states that this jail was built by private subscription during the first incorporation of the town in 1906.
A personal interview with Jayne Stuart revealed that the original location of the jail was near the home of Catherine Howard, a long time resident of Grapeland. Mrs. Howard recalled seeing recalled seeing young boys on bicycles stopping by the jail where they would talk to the prisoners through the windows. Often, the boys were given money to go and buy cigarettes for the prisoners. Sometime during the 1930s, the jail was no longer being used, and it became the property of Mrs. Howard who placed it in her back yard to be used as a chicken coop.
This interesting jail is divided into two parts or cells with doors at the north and south ends of the structure. The exterior covering is vertical board and batten over horizontal boards, and the roof is wooden shingles. There are four windows, two on each side. The windows in the north cell contain ten round metal bars placed horizontally within the window opening. The windows in the south cell have wooden shutters and fewer bars. The jail measures 2.47 meters across the front and 4.38 meters on each side (116.6 square feet). The distance from the ground to the top of the walls is 2.35 meters. The four windows are 54 x 100 cm, and the doors are 54 x 100 cm.
There were no Sanborn maps at the agencies visited for Grapeland, Texas at the time of this study. This calaboose conforms to Floor Plan 2e (see Floor Plans). It has been recorded at TARL as historic site 41HO285.
Floor Plan for Grapeland Calaboose
Calaboose after restoration