Along with the settlement of the Texas frontier came rustlers, 
public drunks, gunfighters, and other outlaws. A jail in which to 
incarcerate the lawbreakers was thus often the first public building 
raised in a new town.

    Later, as government developed, public buildings—notably 
county courthouses and jails—assumed not only practical but 
also symbolic importance. The architecture of these buildings in 
the nineteenth century reflected the power and status with which 
the community imbued the government; many of the same 
architects applied the aesthetic standards of the day to both. In 
later years, the safety and at least limited comfort of the prisoners 
became concerns and jails were remodeled or abandoned to other 
uses in favor of modern, more utilitarian structures.

    In this heavily illustrated guide to the historic county jails of 
Texas, Edward A. Blackburn, Jr., takes readers to each of the 254 
counties in the state, presenting brief histories of the counties and 
the structures that housed their criminals. He provides general 
information about the architecture and location of the buildings 
and, when possible, describes the present uses of those that have 
been decommissioned.

    Interviews with local officials, historians, and newspaper 
publishers have yielded colorful anecdotes for many of the jails. 
Revealing photographs of many of the old jails have been gathered 
from local and archival sources, and Blackburn himself has taken 
pictures of extant buildings. Together, these words and images not 
only provide a survey of the way Texans have housed their 
criminals, but also, with the aid of thumbnail maps of county 
locations, offer residents and tourists throughout the state a guide 
to a fascinating aspect of architectural and cultural history.

_________________________________________________________

EDWARD A. BLACKBURN, JR., a retired Houston physician, 
visited all 254 Texas counties to collect information and 
photographs, both historical and contemporary. He has long had 
an interest in Texas history and is an avid collector of Texana.


Number Eleven: Clayton Wheat Williams Texas Life Series


What people are saying about this book

"Though built for specific purposes—to house the components of 
local government and justice—civic architecture had another value 
to early Texans. Raising elegant courthouses and sturdy jails 
became a means of demonstrating community pride. Place-proud 
Texans saw grand buildings as symbols of economic growth and 
development . . . Blackburn . . . spent more than three years touring 
the state, visiting every jail and gathering information on the history 
of each. The result is a useful reference work for those interested in 
architecture or Texas history or both."—Austin American-Statesman, 
January 2007

". . . no author heretofore has successfully produced an inventory 
of historic jails in all the state's 254 counties. . . . [This] fills a gap 
in the history of county buildings, including those well known and 
those eagerly sought by mobile and armchair heritage tourists."
—Jim Steely

"The author is to be commended for his diligent field work and 
research."—T. Lindsay Baker, Director, W. K. Gordon Center for 
Industrial History of Texas, Tarleton State University