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Texas | Architecture | Jails

THE OLD
ELLIS COUNTY JAIL

Ellis County

Waxahachie, Texas

Photos & text by Terry Jeanson

The old Ellis County jail was completed in 1888 and contained a rotary cage system. It was used until a new jail was built in 1929.

Old Ellis County Jail, Waxahachie, Texas
The Old Ellis County Jail in Waxahachie
Photo courtesy Terry Jeanson, February 2006

Historical Marker: At the corner of Rogers and Water St., Waxahachie

Old Ellis County Jail

Due to overcrowding in the existing jail facility, this structure was completed in 1888. The Ellis County Commissioners Court awarded the contract to Pauly Jail Building and Manufacturing Company of St. Louis, Missouri. A round turret with conical roof dominates the design. Decorative brick corbeling runs below the cornice.

The two-story brick and stone jail contained the Sheriff's family residence on the first floor. There were twenty 4' X 8' cells which accommodated two prisoners each. The solitary confinement and death cells were in the basement. A rotary system, one of the few in the United States, was installed to prevent escapes. A cylinder contained a group of ten cells. The outer walls were stationary jail bars with only one opening. The cylinder turned to provide access to the single door.

The entire jail yard was enclosed by a fence of iron bars. Bloodhounds were kept in the yard in the early days.

After a new county jail was constructed in 1929, this facility housed the relief work commission during the depression. Afterward a variety of commercial enterprises occupied the space.
1978

Old Ellis County Jail historical marker, Waxahachie, Texas
Old Ellis County Jail Historical marker
Photo courtesy Terry Jeanson, February 2006


1929 Ellis County jail, Waxahachie Texas
The 1929 Ellis County Jail in Waxahachie
TE photo, 2001

See Waxahachie, Texas
Ellis County Courthouse
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