Thursday, July 4, 2024
County Commissioner Ryan Basham and county maintenance worker William Snell move an antique 1887 filing cabinet from the jail into the Coryell County Museum.
An upstairs window was removed from the jail so that boxes of documents could be removed from the structure before demolition begins.
The fourth jail built in Coryell County, which housed the sheriff’s family living quarters downstairs and the cell blocks upstairs in the building.
Coryell County Clerk Jennifer Newton examines some of the documents found in the old jail – some dating back to the 1850s.
With the upcoming demolition of the old Coryell County Jail, several items housed in the structure were recently donated to the Coryell County Museum and Historical Center and some historic paperwork has since been returned to the Coryell County Clerk’s office. The 90-plus-year-old jail was first occupied by Sheriff Walter (Holly) Hollingsworth, his wife Willie Birdie, and their children. Back then, becoming sheriff meant the family would move into the county jail. Living quarters were located downstairs for the sheriff and his family, and prisoners were housed downstairs.
County Commissioner Ryan Basham stated, “I met with the museum, and we found some things that the museum would like to have. We’ve moved the JP’s over to the city hall and then we reached out to the museum. They’re also interested in an old jail door that has the combination like an old safe. We’re happy to share with the museum a part of Coryell County history.”
In addition to an old jail door, the museum received a Woodruffs suspension file holder cabinet, which was dated 1887. Museum Board President Ervin Adams said, “It helps us to continue the legacy since we have the original jail that was built in Coryell County in 1855 and we have one of the doors from the second jail after that and now this. It continues the legacy being able to show the jail history and about law enforcement in Coryell County.”
The boxes of historic paperwork found stored in the jail’s upstairs cell blocks were recently moved to the county clerk’s office. Coryell County Clerk Jennifer Newton reported that at least 12 boxes of records had been returned, most of which was early-day civil records, some reported to be from the 1850s. Newton said the documents would be examined and indexed.
