Wilson County Jail - Retired Prisons on Waymarking.com

On February 17, 1887 plans were made to build a new jail facing C Street in the center of the courthouse square. It was designed so the Sheriff and his family could live on the first and part of the second floor. The jail cells were in the back of the second floor and up a third floor. A separate entrance was made in the back for the prisoners. The Sheriff’s wife cooked for the prisoners. This jail was used until 1974. Now it is a museum maintained by the Wilson County Historical Society. During the years some modifications have been made but the floor plan and the jail cells are the same. An interesting study of the “Jail Cell Graffiti” was done by Ralph Gerhardt. “It was not normal graffiti; it was a kind of a limited narrative… The most interesting thing about the lettering is that it was done very carefully in block letters”. Gerhardt also has information about this prisoner who was in jail in 1942. He tells a great story about some school children locked in a jail cell when the door was slammed shut during a tour. Other stories are about hangings – one that happened and another about a trap door upstairs that didn’t work – “the prisoner almost died” (Thurman).

Address: C Street Floresville, TX USA Open to the public: Yes Hours: 1st Monday and 3rd Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. and also by appointment Fees?: $2.00, children 12 and under free with paying adults Web link: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
In order to add a new log to the waymark of this category, simply take another photo of the prison from a different angle than the other posts. Also add to the history of the jail when possible.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log   01/16/2021 WayBetterFinder visited it 06/29/2018 WalksfarTX visited it 02/16/2016 Sissyta visited it 04/14/2015 Tygress visited it 01/07/2007 rilekyle visited it

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