Tilden

Tilden Jail in 2016

In 1877, when McMullen County was officially organized, Dog Town was chosen as the county seat. During that same year the town was surveyed and the name was changed to Tilden. Information regarding the history of Dog Town and the county is contained in “McMullen History Book” written and published by the McMullen County History Book Committee in 1981.  Like many parts of Texas, this was a lawless area and a jail was considered a necessary part of the architectural landscape.  This one is located on the same city block as the courthouse.  The jail faces the courthouse and the rear of the building is on Ash Street.

In 1966, it was recorded as a Texas Historic Landmark and given marker number 1242.  According to the text on the marker the structure was built in 1880 at a cost of $2,800 and was the first county jail. Included in this cost were two blankets, one pair of leg irons, and two pairs of handcuffs.  It is possible that there was an interim lockup, perhaps a small wooden calaboose, but this has not been confirmed.

Marker

The picture below shows the jail before modifications were made to the roof.  It appears that at one time there were two windows on the front wall but the one on the right has been closed off.

During the time it was in use, the front elevation had one door and two windows.  One window has been sealed and bears a historical marker.  The rear elevation has two doors of equal size.

On the eastward elevation, there was one window and a door that is now sealed off.  The window on this side is the only one that has bars.

Window with bars and sealed off door

Detail of Window with Bars

The interior has been totally changed to accommodate various businesses  since it was no longer used as a jail.  Today, it serves as the office of the ______.  The only evidence on the inside that it was a jail is the metal door that leads to a cell and the view through the window with the bars.  How the rest of the building was used when it was a jail is not known.  The cell door measures 29″ x 74″ and the size of the cell as measured on the exterior is 13.66′ x 7.08′.  At the time of my visit, the cell was used for storage.

There were no Sanborn maps for Tilden at the time of this study.

Tilden Jail- unknown date

(Photo courtesy of Portals to Texas History)