Farmersville
The Sanborn maps dated 1892 (Sheet 2), 1897 (Sheet 3), and 1902 (Sheet 3) depict a two-story wood calaboose at 209 South Main (city block 3) in Farmersville, Texas. In 1908, the structure at this address was an office building. In 1921 (Sheet 2) there was a small two-story wood city jail in city block 8 near the fire department. The 1908 map does not cover this area.
Farmersville 1892
Frisco
This calaboose is referred to on the 1949 Sanborn map (Sheet 1) as the city jail made of fireproof construction. It is in city lot 2 facing an alley that was 10 feet wide. The city block number is not depicted but that part of the block where the calaboose was located was bounded by Elm and 1st streets. The name of Elm Street is now Frisco Square Boulevard.
Sanborn Map dated 1949
This calaboose was made of concrete using the poured in place method. No traces of normal rebar were observed. Instead, it was built with a paucity of metal and included such atypical pieces as horse shoes. There is one door on the south side and it opens into a room divided by a brick wall with a space to the right that suggests a door used to be in that area. The presence of a brick wall inside a concrete jail may be an indication that it was added later. There are only two windows and they are both on the east side. The condition of this structure had become so bad that the city demolished it for safety reasons and built a replica using as much of the original materials as possible.
Replica
When the calaboose was demolished it was located in a vacant lot in a part of town where property is probably highly coveted. In order not to forget where it used to be, a map of the site was drawn to scale.
Location Map Before Demolishing
McKinney
The Sanborn map dated 1885 (Sheet 1) depicts a small brick calaboose at 132 Kentucky Street in downtown McKinney. It was located in city block 4 not far from City Hall. It was gone in 1892 and replaced by a two-story stone county jail.
McKinney 1885
Plano
A small one-story wood calaboose is depicted on the Sanborn fire insurance maps dated 1885 (Sheet 1) and 1890 (Sheet 1) in the town of Plano, Texas. It was at 540 Mechanic Street (block 2). The H. M. Beatty & Son Cotton Gin was across the street. In 1896 (Sheet 1) the earlier calaboose was no longer present. The city erected a two-story wood building at 524 East Mechanic Street (block 1) that housed the calaboose on the first floor and city hall on the second floor. It was still there in 1901 (Sheet 3), 1907 (Sheet 2), and 1921 (Sheet 2) but it was now in block 27. In 1921 it appears that the calaboose is smaller in size.
Plano 1885
Plano 1901
Sedalia
According to an article in the Brenham newspaper, The Daily Banner (Vol. 4, No. 189, Ed. 1) dated August 9, 1879, there was a local Negro who had the nickname of “Prince of Onery Cussess. Supposedly, he has “broken into the calaboose oftener than any living negro.”
Winnsboro
The first map for Winnsboro, Texas is dated September 1899. It depicts a small wood calaboose in an open area between Broadway Street and the railroad. In 1904 (Sheet 2) and 1909 (Sheet) it was in the same location. In 1921 (Sheet 2) a different calaboose is depicted. It is in the same general area but it is a brick structure with an apparent wood porch. Broadway Street is now North Broadway and the railroad is the Missouri, Katy & Texas.
Winnsboro 1899
Winnsboro 1921
Wylie
The first Sanborn map for Wylie, Texas is dated November 1901. On Sheet 2, a small one-story wood calaboose is depicted in the street at the end of an alley that divided city block 4. It does not appear anywhere on the next Sanborn map (dated 1906). In 1921 (Sheet 4), there was another wooden calaboose in town. This one was behind City Hall at 619 Ballard Avenue in city block 7.
Wylie 1901
Wylie 1921