Real County

Camp Wood

camp wood 3

Front of Calaboose

This calaboose  is located in downtown Camp Wood and is owned by the city.  At the time of my visit, it was enclosed within a chain link fence and locked gate.  According to the marker on front of the calaboose, it was built in 1928.  It is made of concrete using the poured in place method.  Eighteen episodes of pouring, including the slab and roof, were needed to finish the exterior construction.  The layers of concrete measure about 5 in. each.

camp wood 2

Side View Depicting Poured Concrete Layers

This calaboose contains three rooms.  The front room was used by law enforcement as an office and for other administrative duties.  This room measures 5 ft. deep and 12.9 ft. wide. No furniture was seen on the interior.  A water faucet is present inside the entry room and it was probably used for a sink.  There are two cells that were entered through metal doors.  Each cell has a window above the door that is secured with seven round bars.  Five are equally spaced and placed vertically in the frame and two are horizontal, creating a checkered effect.

camp wood 1

Window above the door to one of the cells

There is one window centered on the back wall of each cell and they measure 12 in. by 27 in. The bars in these windows are placed exactly like the ones above the doors. The walls of the cells are decorated with graffiti that is currently being examined for publication at a later date.

camp wood 4

View of Windows and Metal Pipes on the Back Wall

The door is in the center of the front and there are two windows of equal size on each side of the door.  They measure the same as the windows on the back.  When the door is closed, these four windows are the only source of ventilation and light.  Two round metal pipes on the back wall  protrude from the top above each window.  They may have served as ventilation as well.

The calaboose is 12.9 ft. across the front and 12.46 ft. on the sides (162.5 sq. ft.).  The door measures 33 in. by 74 in.  The two cells are approximately 64 sq. ft. in size.  The cell doors are 24 in. by 70 in. This calaboose conforms to Floor Plan 2c (see Floor Plans).  This calaboose has been recorded at TARL as historic site 41RE154.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *