Calaboose - Punta Gorda, FL
Posted by: rogueblack
N 26° 55.492 W 082° 03.383
17R E 395117 N 2978551
Punta Gorda's early jail
Waymark Code: WM3DEP
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 03/19/2008
Views: 14
The calaboose was an early jail in Punta Gorda. The roof is solid metal, two bunks fold down on either side, and the metal doors were padlocked. The walls had been set in concrete and were cut off when moved. Until 1921, Punta Gorda was part of DeSoto County and the county jail was first in Pine Level and then Arcadia. According to Charlotte County's local historian, the late U.S. Cleveland, no one worse than the town drunk was ever imprisoned in the town calaboose. The late Byron Rhodes remembers it in 1905 near where the old courthouse is now, alongside a holding pen for cattle caught roaming within city limits. Vernon Peeples - whose family arrived in 1935 - remembers it in the same location. It was later moved to the Parker family ranch on Washington Loop and used as an animal pen; they donated it to the History Park in 2001.
Original Location: N 26° 56.077 W 082° 02.997
How it was moved: Disassembled
Type of move: Inside City
Building Status: Public
Related Website: Not listed
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