Pilot Point
This calaboose is owned by the City of Pilot Point, Texas, and it is located at 106 West Division Street in a fenced area that serves as the water works plat for the city. According to historian Jay Melugin, it was constructed in the 1920s. The site where it is located was purchased by the city between 1912 and 1922. Therefore, he believes it was constructed sometime during this period. The only Sanborn map for this period is dated 1921 (Sheet 2). Since it does not appear on this map, it was constructed after that time. It was preceded by other small lockups (see Vanished).
This calaboose is made of concrete using the “poured in place” method. The walls were created by pouring concrete into wooden forms and the roof was probably constructed in a similar fashion except it would have taken two separate forms to create the peaked effect. The Pilot Point calaboose is 8.11 feet across the front and 13 feet on the sides (105.3 square feet). The interior consists of two rooms, a foyer and cell, and both are 8 feet wide and 6 feet deep (48 square feet). The door and bars are three-quarter inch steel.
The distance from the floor to the top of the interior walls is 6.9 feet and the distance to the peaked room is 8 feet. The exterior door is on the south wall and measures 24 by 70 inches. There is a single window on the north wall with bars and it measures 16 by 19 inches.
Mario Cisneros, employee of the City of Pilot Point, took the photos and measurements on June 16, 2013. This structure conforms to Floor Plan 1b (see Floor Plans). It has been recorded at TARL as historic site 41DN585.