Franklin County Jail - Mount Vernon, TX
Posted by: 
WalksfarTX
N 33° 11.394 W 095° 13.288
15S E 292905 N 3674537
The 1912 jail designed by L.L. Thurmon is a utilitarian design with few distinguishing architectural features. Essentially square in plan, the jail features a modified hip roof and a grid of bars on most of the windows.
Waymark Code: WMVM3Z
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 05/02/2017
Views: 1
Texas Historic Sites Atlas
The jail has minimal architectural features and is a much more utilitarian building than the 1912 courthouse next door. The jail is two stories and essentially square in plan except that the south third of the building is slightly narrower, creating a recess of approximately one foot that divides the east and west elevations. The asphalt shingle roof is a modified hip with a flat center and hipped gables on the east and west sides. The exterior is unadorned smooth face ashlar sandstone. The windows, many of with which still contain the original grid jail bars, have flat stone sills and no headers.
The Franklin County jail moved to more modem facilities in 1993. Today offices for the County Agricultural Agent occupy the first floor. The second floor still contains jail cells, some of which were brought from the first county jail built in 1875. The upstairs is currently vacant but will be occupied by the Franklin County Arts Alliance, who plans to leave the cells intact. Some modifications were made to the first floor to convert it from living quarters and offices for the jailer, however these mostly consist of interior partitions and fumishings. The exterior of the building has undergone very few alterations other than some changes to the entry porches. The bars, a defining feature of the building have been left intact.