Old Atascosa County Jail - Texas Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

The history of the jail building actually started several years before it was built. The year was 1909 and Jourdanton had just succeeded in becoming the county seat of Atascosa County. The first order of business was to erect a new courthouse, a project that was completed in 1912.

The next building was the County Jail, a utilizing the best in construction materials and techniques, a reinforced-concrete structure with brick-cladding that housed new new steel cells. The pride of the community was evident in the crenelated towers which topped the structure. To ensure proper construction, the county chose Henry T Phelps, the architect who had designed the courthouse built several years ago to oversee the work.

That the county made the right decision in design, materials and workmanship was evident in the fact the jail was used up until 1982, where a larger modern facility was built. One oddity as stated on the marker was that "the first floor housed offices and living quarters for Sheriffs and their families, provided from 1916 to 1959."

Whether it is the past as reflected in the old cornerstone

Or the beauty of the structure itself, the people of Atascosa County can be continue to take pride in their heritage.

If you want to visit it, the address is 711 Broadway, which is a block back behind the courthouse.

Marker Number: 3687 Marker Text: County officials rented a small Jourdanton house for a jail in 1911 after the county seat was moved here from Pleasanton in 1910. A proposal to build a new jail with cells from the old Pleasanton structure was rejected and this reinforced-concrete, brick-clad building with new steel cells was authorized in 1915. This site was purchased that year from W.M. Abernethy (1851-1931), who had served as County Judge from 1901 to 1912. The architect of the 1912 Courthouse, Henry T. Phelps (1881-1945) of San Antonio, was chosen to supervise erection of the jail. The Southern Structural Steel Company of San Antonio was awarded the $20,000 construction contract. An electic blend of architectural elements was highlighted with crenelated towers and hood molds outlining the windows. The first floor housed offices and living quarters for Sheriffs and their families, provided from 1916 to 1959. A gallows room was built on the second floor, though its trap door was never sprung for execution. Standard and specialized cells were partitioned on the second and third floors. Additions were built in 1974, with bricks and detailing carefully matching original patterns. A new jail was built to replace this building in 1982. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986.

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