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| The
former Palo Pinto County Jail.
Today the Palo Pinto County Pioneer Museum.
Photo courtesy
Terry
Jeanson, May 2005 |
| One block south of
the courthouse
is the former county jail. The building, used as the county jail until 1941, is
the cornerstone of the museum area where contributors and members have several
historic structures and other relics of Palo Pinto's past. Noteworthy are the
bell and a wonderful hitching post of stone and iron that is perfect in its utilitarian
design. See Palo Pinto, Texas |
Historical
marker on the old Palo Pinto County jail.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, May 2005 |
Historical
Marker Text Old
County JailBuilt
to replace a log jail, this native sandstone structure was erected by contractors
Martin, Byrne and Johnston of Comanche.
J. C. McQuerry was sheriff when it was finished (1880). The first floor was used
for county offices until a new courthouse
was finished. It then housed the jailer's family, while the top floor held killers,
cattle rustlers, rowdy cowboys, and other prisoners. A steel trap door was installed
for hangings in 1907 but never used. Vacated in 1941, the building was acquired
by the Palo Pinto County Historical Association in 1968 and restored as its headquarters
and museum.
(1976) |
| Palo
Pinto County Courthouse, Jail & Museum
Photo
courtesy Mike Lewis |
Palo
Pinto County Solitary Confinement Cell
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories, and vintage/historic
photos of their town, please contact
us. | | |
