Overview

A calaboose is, quite simply, a tiny jail. Designed to house prisoners only for a short time, a calaboose could be anything from an iron cage to a poured concrete blockhouse. Easily constructed and more affordable for small communities than a full-sized building, calabooses once dotted the rural landscape. Though a relic of a bygone era in law enforcement and no longer in use, many calabooses remain in communities throughout Texas, often hidden in plain sight. In The Texas Calaboose and Other Forgotten Jails, William E. Moore has compiled the first guidebook to extant calabooses in Texas. He explores the history of the calaboose, including its construction, use, and eventual decline, but the heart of the book is in the alphabetically arranged photo tour of calabooses across the state. Each entry is accompanied by a vignette describing the unique features of the calaboose at hand, any infamous or otherwise memorable occupants, and the state of the calaboose at present. Most have been long abandoned, but because many remain on city or town property, some have been repurposed into storage buildings or even government offices. In certain ways, these small jails encapsulate the history of outlying communities during a time of transition from the “Wild West” to the twentieth century. Some of the structures have been preserved and cared-for, but despite the stories they can tell, many more are endangered or have already been lost. This definitive guide to tiny Texas jails serves as a record of a unique and disappearing feature of our heritage.

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9781623497156

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Reviews

The Texas Calaboose is a delightful, thorough history of these often overlooked, small, vernacular Texas buildings. The book includes current and historical photographic documentation and in-depth descriptions of the design and materials. It is comprehensive and an immediate valuable resource for professionals and Texas travelers alike. --Anna Mod, director, MacRostie Historic Advisors Southwest--Anna Mod William E. Moore is an archeologist who digs into the Texas past. On these pages we read the fruits of his delving into unexpected places, little one- and two-room jailhouses found sprinkled across the whole of the Lone Star State. Calabooses typically were erected in small towns that were not county seats with proper jails. Instead these miniature lockups typically housed inmates only until they slept off the effects of alcoholic binges or until the more serious among them could be moved to the county jails. Thanks to Moore's efforts, we now know where to go to examine these architectural vestiges of old-time law enforcement. --T. Lindsay Baker, author of Gangster Tour of Texas --T. Lindsay Baker This book is the only volume that addresses Texas calabooses in detail--structures that are almost completely forgotten but nonetheless remain surprisingly ubiquitous across the state. The most ardent Texas and law enforcement history buffs will read it cover to cover straight through. Most casual readers will likely seek out the towns they are familiar with on the first read and then work their way through the other jails afterwards. Others may use it more as a field guide. In any case, it will certainly find a home on my bookshelf. --Jonathan H. Jarvis, author of Cemetery, Cementerio: Necrogeography at the Merrelltown Cemetery and Cementerio Guadalupe, Travis and Caldwell Counties, Texas --Jonathan H. Jarvis

This book is the only volume that addresses Texas calabooses in detail--structures that are almost completely forgotten but nonetheless remain surprisingly ubiquitous across the state. The most ardent Texas and law enforcement history buffs will read it cover to cover straight through. Most casual readers will likely seek out the towns they are familiar with on the first read and then work their way through the other jails afterwards. Others may use it more as a field guide. In any case, it will certainly find a home on my bookshelf. --Jonathan H. Jarvis, author of Cemetery, Cementerio: Necrogeography at the Merrelltown Cemetery and Cementerio Guadalupe, Travis and Caldwell Counties, Texas --Jonathan H. Jarvis

The Texas Calaboose is a delightful, thorough history of these often overlooked, small, vernacular Texas buildings. The book includes current and historical photographic documentation and in-depth descriptions of the design and materials. It is comprehensive and an immediate valuable resource for professionals and Texas travelers alike. --Anna Mod, director, MacRostie Historic Advisors Southwest--Anna Mod William E. Moore is an archeologist who digs into the Texas past. On these pages we read the fruits of his delving into unexpected places, little one- and two-room jailhouses found sprinkled across the whole of the Lone Star State. Calabooses typically were erected in small towns that were not county seats with proper jails. Instead these miniature lockups typically housed inmates only until they slept off the effects of alcoholic binges or until the more serious among them could be moved to the county jails. Thanks to Moore's efforts, we now know where to go to examine these architectural vestiges of old-time law enforcement. --T. Lindsay Baker, author of Gangster Tour of Texas --T. Lindsay Baker This book is the only volume that addresses Texas calabooses in detail--structures that are almost completely forgotten but nonetheless remain surprisingly ubiquitous across the state. The most ardent Texas and law enforcement history buffs will read it cover to cover straight through. Most casual readers will likely seek out the towns they are familiar with on the first read and then work their way through the other jails afterwards. Others may use it more as a field guide. In any case, it will certainly find a home on my bookshelf. --Jonathan H. Jarvis, author of Cemetery, Cementerio: Necrogeography at the Merrelltown Cemetery and Cementerio Guadalupe, Travis and Caldwell Counties, Texas --Jonathan H. Jarvis

Author Information

William E. Moore is an archaeologist, a consultant, and the owner of Brazos Valley Research Associates in Bryan, Texas. He is the author of several books, including Bastrop County, 1691–1900, as well as articles in local and national magazines. He lives in Bryan.

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