Frisco
Side View (only side with windows)
At the time of my visit, this jail was located on a privately owned vacant lot in Frisco, Texas and was in very poor condition due to the nature of its construction and neglect. The vacant lot is bordered by Frisco Square Boulevard on the north, West Elm Street on the south, First Street on the west, and South Second Street on the East. According to the City Council minutes dated April 8, 1911, a committee was appointed “to look into the feasibility of building a city calaboose and selecting a site for same.” The calaboose was built and put into service in 1912 and was located near several hotels, cotton gins, a livery, and the railroad. At the time of my visit, it was the only surviving structure on the block. It was used to house drunks, troublesome teens, and others on their way to the county jail until sometime in the 1950s. A site map showing its location on the city block appears below. Part of the town is also in Denton County, but the calaboose was in Collin County.
It was made using concrete, but rebar was not available. Therefore, any available metal such as old bedposts and horseshoes were used. The lack of rebar is a major factor in the deterioration of this structure. It was measured at 15 ft.long by 12 ft. wide (180 square feet). It was 6 ft. high and the distance from the floor to the ceiling was less than 5 ft., 8 in. The exterior walls were 20 cm thick and the interior wall that separates the two cells was 10 cm thick and it consisted of brick covered with plaster.
View of interior showing brick wall and missing door
The concrete structure had two windows on the east side with bars and one steel door on the south side that was forged by local blacksmith John Gaby. The windows were 54 cm wide and 57 cm tall and spaced 1.80 cm apart. The door was 1.84 cm tall and 90 cm wide. Part of the floor was covered with a thin layer of what appears to be cement and the rest was dirt. It was never equipped with lights, heat, or water and was used mainly as a temporary holding facility designed to house prisoners until they could be transferred to the county jail or released after a short stay.
View of horseshoe embedded in roof during demolition
The original calaboose was demolished on June 18, 2013 by the Heritage Association of Frisco and a replica now resides at the Frisco Heritage Center. The above information was provided by Tre Colvin (Senior Librarian at the Frisco Public Library) and Judy Isbell (a member of the Heritage Center of Frisco). The photos of the replica are courtesy of Ms. Isbell. There were no Sanborn maps at the agencies visited for Frisco, Texas at the time of this study. This structure conforms to Floor Plan 2f (see Floor Plans). It has been recorded at TARL as historic site 41COL250.
Front of replica calaboose
(note the horseshoe in the corner)
Side of replica calaboose with original windows