Henrietta
Calaboose at the Fair Grounds in 2015
Clay County was created in 1857 and organized in 1861. The county seat was moved from Cambridge to Henrietta and it remains so today. The sequence of events surrounding the various jails in town does not appear to be very clear.
This structure may be moved to jails as it is too large for a typical calaboose.
According to Ed Blackburn, Jr. in his book entitled Wanted: Historic County Jails (Texas A&M University Press 2006, pp. 70-71), the first jail in Henrietta was a two story wooden dungeon built in 1874. Katherine Douthitt writes in her book Romance and Dim Trails: A History of Clay County (published by W. H. Tardy in 1938) that it may have been replaced by a one story building. Blackburn states that the jail she refers to may have been an 1893 structure ordered by the Commissioners Court for use on the county farm three miles northeast of town. That structure was 20 by 23 feet (460 square feet) and consisted of beams (2″ x 6″) stacked on top of one another and nailed down. The photo below taken from Portals to Texas History, shows the wooden calaboose currently located at the fair grounds next to the courthouse 1875. Neither source mentions this calaboose. If there were no metal cells or cages on the inside, this calaboose would conform to Floor Plan 1a (see Floor Plans). It has been recorded at TARL as historic site 41CY20.
1875 calaboose next to the courthouse
In 1878, the county commissioners contracted with J. S. Thomas of Fort Worth to build a two story stone jail for $7,000 (Blackburn 2006:71). It was reported to be the first lockup in the county with steel cages for prisoners. The picture below is used courtesy of Portals to Texas History and it shows the stone jail on the right of a row of wooden buildings.
Henrietta, Texas in 1878
The first Sanborn map available is dated 1885. It shows the 1878 stone jail at the corner of Main and Ikard streets in City Block 18. A two story wooden calaboose was also present. The stone building could be the one that Blackburn refers to as the first jail in town that was built in 1874.
Henrietta 1885
In 1891, the stone jail was no longer being used as a lockup and it is referred to on the Sanborn map as the “old jail” located at 516 Main Street. The jail in 1891 was a stone building with three tiers of cells and a Sheriff’s dwelling that was built in 1890 by the Pauly Jail Building and Manufacturing Company of St. Louis at a cost of $24,000. It was on the corner of Ikard and Graham streets. In the center of the block was a one story wooden calaboose.
Henrietta in 1891
In 1896, City Block had been divided by an alley that ran north-south. The old stone jail had become a Chinese laundry. The one story wooden calaboose was still standing but it appears that it had been moved from the center of the block to make room for the alley.
Henrietta in 1896
In 1902, the old jail was a photo shop. The calaboose is not depicted.
Henrietta in 1902
In 1907, the old stone jail was still a photo shop and the one story wooden calaboose was shown as being at 817 1/2 Graham in city block 18.
Henrietta in 1907
In 1912, the old jail was vacant. The one story calaboose appears again next to the alley in the approximate center of the block.
Henrietta in 1912
In 1922, the old stone jail had been converted for use as the City Hall. The calaboose depicted on the 1912 Sanborn map was gone and a one story wooden calaboose was behind City Hall next to the alley.
Henrietta in 1922
In 1929, the 1890 county jail and Sheriff’s quarters were remodeled and stuccoed. The building continued to be used as a jail until 1973 when a new jail was built. Today, this jail is a museum.
Petrolia
This privately owned building is located at 114 Benton Street in the town of Petrolia, Texas. A recent conversation with a worker at city hall revealed that there is doubt that it ever functioned as a jail. Therefore, it is being moved to the category of suspicious structures until its use as a jail can be verified.
One brick with the makers mark “Globe” was observed near the back window. The walls consist of a double row of bricks, probably for strength and stability since they are the entire walls and not a vaneer. In the picture above, the two rows of bricks are clearly visible in the corner where the outer wall is missing some bricks. The original door is missing and the entrance is covered with a sheet of wood screwed to the frame. There are two windows (60 cm x 118 cm), one on the back and side. The door measures 83 cm x 200 cm. The front is 4.3 m wide and the sides are 2.94 m long (135.4 square feet). The distance from the ground to the top of the walls is 2.36 m. The structure sits on a cement slab and the roof is wood covered with a cement slab. There are several places where bricks are missing, and there is a large crack in the northwest wall.
According to local informant Mike McDonald, the jail was used at one time as an office for the city water department. The bars were removed, and the window openings were replaced with modern windows. The age of this building is not known. There were no Sanborn maps at the agencies visited for Petrolia, Texas at the time of this study. If there is a cell to the right of the door, this structure would conform to Floor Plan 1c. Otherwise, it conforms to Floor Plan 1a (see Floor Plans). It has been recorded at TARL as historic site 41CY21.
Floor Plan