Trenton Calaboose - Trenton, TX
N 33° 25.843 W 096° 20.415
14S E 747284 N 3702202
The old Trenton Calaboose is now the centerpiece of Trenton Heritage Park, located across from city hall where Hamilton St becomes Holmes St at the end of downtown Trenton, TX. It used to live down by the railroad tracks nearly 2/5 of a mile away.
Waymark Code: WM12V2Y
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 07/16/2020
Views: 1
After being vandalized, the Tiny Texas Jails website (see below) has returned to us, and the work upon which it's based is William E. Moore's "The Texas Calaboose and Other Forgotten Jails". It features nice color photographs and brief histories of many of Texas's surviving calabooses. Moore notes that while Trenton was quite active in 1875 -- there was actually settlement here in the 1850s -- its receiving a post office in 1881 contributed to its growth, as did the arrival of farm workers in the 1930s when cotton and onions contributed significantly to the local economy. He suggests that there was a jail in town at some point, but for whatever reason, this one was built in the 1930s. It was constructed of boards placed atop one another, with tin used for the walls and pyramidal roof. It occupies 120 square feet, with benches for prisoners to get some shut-eye, while the only ventilation is provided by two barred windows on each side elevation. Of course, it is locked, but it's not difficult to peek in through the windows and see that it's in pretty good condition.
Moore relates that the calaboose fell victim to mischief early in its existence. Sometime during the 1930s or 1940s, pranksters attached the calaboose to a train box car at its original location by the railroad tracks at E Sanders and N Pearl Streets. Of course, when the train pulled away, the calaboose was dragged and destroyed, but fortunately, it was rebuilt using as much of the original material as was possible. Its replacement was located elsewhere, of course, but it was returned to its original home during the Bicentennial celebrations of 1976. A newer sign at the door notes that it was moved here by the Trenton Fire Department for the Eagle Scout Project spearheaded by Tyler Gray. His LinkedIn profile indicates that he achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in July of 2017, so the calaboose was probably moved here sometime in 2016-2017, and maybe his Eagle Project involved some restoration work. The sign also notes its 1930s construction -- to "house Saturday Night Rebellers" -- by D.H. Glenn, who was responsible for maintaining law and order at that time.
As of this posting, the calaboose can be seen by the train tracks on both Google Maps and in Google Earth. When the camera trucks make their rounds again, you'll have to rewind on Google Maps.