Fort Griffin
This stone calaboose is in its original location on Main Street at the site of the town of old Fort Griffin (aka Fort Griffin Flat or The Flat) and is the only remaining original building in the town. The owners are Lynne and Clifford Teinert of the Collins Creek Ranch. They restored it and are adding to the flavor of the area by constructing replicas of 19th century buildings in addition to an original building of the period that was brought to the site and sits directly across from the calabose. The jail was made of local limestone in 1878 and it faces southeast. The span of use is not known but according to the historical marker it was used as a cow shed sometime after 1880. On the front of the jail is the date 1867. According to park employee Jane Lenoir, this is not the date of construction. Its size is 3.14 m across the front by 3.50 m on the sides (118.5 square feet) and 3.88 m from the ground to the roof. The only ventilation is the metal door (81 cm x 97 cm) and four narrow vertical windows (two on each side) that measure 10 cm x 61 cm.
The walls are approximately 49 cm thick. Inside, there are three metal bars just below the arched ceiling that span the entire interior of the structure from side to side. The purpose of these bars is not known. At the time of my visit, there was a very dense scatter of historic trash (mainly fragments of glass bottles and ceramic vessels) over a large area. In a historic photo (provided by Jane Lenoir), the door is wood and the windows are not visible. There were no Sanborn maps at the agencies visited for Fort Griffin, Texas at the time of this study. It is fortunate when a photograph of a calaboose taken many years ago is found. The one below depicts this historic structure in the 1930s before it was restored to its current condition (courtesy of Shirley Caldwell).
This calaboose was moved to Albany in 1953 by Sam Webb who saw a need for their being preserved. It, along with the Ledbetter Picket House, were put into the city park now known as Webb Park. About 1984, the calaboose was returned to Fort Griffin and placed in its original location. Emmalyn (Sam) Gillespie grew up in Fort Griffin and he showed the Teinerts where the original foundation was located. This structure conforms to Floor Plan 1a (see Floor Plans). It has been recorded at TARL as historic site 41SF6.
Moran
This calaboose is owned by the county and is located in the 200 block of Fisher Street (northwest corner of Fisher and Ground streets) in the town of Moran, Texas. The original location was next to the Blacksmith shop on West Ground Street one block distant in the 200 Block of Fisher Street. The primitive latches on the door were likely made by the local Blacksmith.
Railroad Avenue used to form the eastern boundary of the block where the jail stands today. This jail sits on a large cement slab in a small city park. It is made of wooden boards, and the roof consists of wooden shingles. There are two windows (79 cm x 92 cm) that contain bars in a metal frame. There are two horizontal bars and three vertical bars.
The door is wood and measures 89 cm x 200 cm. The dimensions of this structure are 2.53 meters across the front by 3.12 meters on the sides (84.7 square feet) and the height is 2 meters. The wall construction consists of boards lying flat on top of each other and the space in between is filled in with shorter boards. The boards are covered with horizontal wooden siding attached to them with wire nails.
This type of nail was common during the later part of the 19th century. Therefore, the presence of these nails cannot be used to place this jail in a specific time period. There were no Sanborn maps at the agencies visited for Moran, Texas at the time of this study. This structure conforms to Floor Plan 1a (see Floor Plans). It has been recorded at TARL as historic site 41SF160.