Early Bell County Jail
Belton, Bell County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1854, four years after the county was organized, a 2-story structure of logs was built on this site, to serve as the first Bell County jail. That log jail was replaced in 1873 by this building of native limestone. In 1874, vigilantes from all parts of Texas raided this jail and executed nine men charged with murder, robbery, horse theft and other crimes. This citizens' attack was regarded as a major factor in ending lawlessness in Bell County during the 1870's. Building was rented to city of Belton in 1884 when third county jail was completed. Sold later. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1967
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
A two-story log jail first stood on this site in 1854, replaced in 1873 by this building of native limestone. In 1874 vigilantes gathered from across Texas raided the jail and executed nine men held on charges of murder, robbery, and horse theft—an act contemporaries credited with helping end the region's lawlessness. The building later served the city of Belton before being sold, and was recorded as a Texas Historic Landmark in 1967.
Why it matters
It is a stark reminder of how fragile the rule of law remained on the postwar Texas frontier, where vigilante justice sometimes filled the gap.
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Related events
- · 1874 Bell County jail raid
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
William Whitaker Reed
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William Whitaker Reed came to Texas from Tennessee in 1833 and joined Robertson's colony, taking land along the Little River just as the Texas Revolution swept the region. His family fled in the 'Runaway Scrape,' and he and his brother enlisted in the Republic of Texas Army, helping bury the remains of Fannin's men massacred at Goliad. Settling permanently after the war, Reed helped organize Bell County in 1850 and served as its first sheriff.
Bell County Courthouse
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Designed by Jasper N. Preston & Son of Austin and built in 1885, the Bell County Courthouse rose in Renaissance Revival style with arched passageways, a columned clock tower, and rusticated limestone. Its original tower was removed in the 1950s but faithfully rebuilt in 1999 from historic photographs. The building's style echoes through downtown Belton, much of which was rebuilt after an 1889 fire.
Bell County Courthouses
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Three successive courthouses have stood on this square since Bell County was organized in 1850, on land donated by Matilda F. Connell Allen for the county seat. Before any courthouse existed, the county's first business was conducted in John Danley's blacksmith shop, where his anvil served as the council table. A modest $199 frame building of 1851 gave way to a limestone courthouse in 1859 whose cost so angered voters that every commissioner was turned out of office, and a grander third courthouse followed in 1885.
Peter Hansbrough Bell
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