Presidio
This interesting calaboose can be seen in the border town of Presidio, sometimes referred to as the hottest place in the nation.
It is located at 109 Jail Street at the corner of Jail and Madero. Brad Newton, is the Executive Director of the Presido Municipal Development District of Presidio and took the photos and measurements. It was constructed of concrete using the poured in place method. Later, a veneer of stucco was added. The exact date of construction is not known, but Mr. Newton believes this occurred sometime in the late 1920s or early 1930s. Presidio was another lawless Texas town and a jail was certainly needed and there was probably a previous structure.
This calaboose has six windows; two on the front, centered above the doors; one centered on each side wall; and two on the back, centered on the cells. These windows are larger than most in the current sample and are higher above the ground than most of those on other calabooses. Another feature of the windows is the presence of heavy mesh wire behind the bars. This has only been observed on two other calabooses so far.
The footprint is 22 feet across the front and 12 feet on the sides (264 square feet) . The roof and floor are also made of concrete. The structure contains two cells of equal size with doors in the approximate center of the cells. The interior doors are made of flat metal in a criscross pattern that created square openings for light and ventilation.
The exterior doors, however, are solid sheets of metal with no openings. When closed, the only light and air flow would have been through the windows. The two cells are divided by a concrete wall. There are three freestanding metal army cots and a maitress in the cell on the left but it is not known if they were used by prisoners. Each cell has a porcelain sink and toilet. (Figure 6-121a) Both cells are adorned with graffitti. At the tme of this writing, it was protected from vandals by a wire fence. There two sockets for lights above one of the doors that look quite old.
In 1942, Tomas Castaneda and Jose Chavez were arrested for smuggling. The arrest was conducted by the local Sheriff and two Texas Rangers. Members of the Texas Rangers did not usually participate in routine local problems. Therefore, this piece of graffiti may represent a rather important event in Presidio during the war years.
Mr. Newton interviewed Edmund Nieto who was 97 at the time. His grandfather, William Russell, was the first Sheriff in Presidio. Mr. Nieto stated that the jail was built in the late 1920s or early 1930s when he was a teenager. He said that “As kids, we would watch for the lights to come on. We would go peek in to see who they had locked up.” He also said that the local teens did not want to be in that place. A regular patron in those days was Ramon Baraga. When he got paid he would drink until someone would call the law and put him in the calaboose A possible special arrest occurred on January 14, 1942 when Tomas Castenada and Jose Chavez were arrested for smuggling by Sheriff Juan Ochan and two Texas Rangers. (Figure 6-121b) This jail was commonly referred to the old timers as el Boate that translates as “The Can.” The walls are adorned with graffitti written in chalk and pencil with dates from the 1930s and as late as 1969. This jail has been recorded at TARL as historic site 41PS1221.
