San Augustine County Jail
San Augustine, San Augustine County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This 1919 County Jailhouse is a two-story rectangular building with symmetrical facades and minimal classical detailing. It was built from portions of an earlier 1882 jail including its bars, pulled from their brick moorings by teams of horses, and jail cells. By the 1950s, additional cells were purchased from San Antonio by Sheriff N.L. Tindall. Originally built of red and buff brick, in 1973, the jail was coated with 2 layers of stucco like concrete which were removed in the 2016 restoration. The building continued to be used as a county jail until 2000. The 1919 jail was named in honor of Sheriff Tindall in 2002. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2017
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Built in 1919, this two-story brick jail was raised in part from the bones of an earlier 1882 lockup, whose iron bars and cells were literally hauled from the old brick by teams of horses and reused. Cells bought from San Antonio expanded it in the 1950s, and a coat of stucco added in 1973 hid its red and buff brick until a 2016 restoration stripped it away. It held prisoners until 2000 and was named for longtime sheriff N.L. Tindall.
Why it matters
The reused ironwork and long service life make the jail a tangible record of frugal, evolving local government in small-town Texas across the twentieth century.
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Related people
- · N.L. Tindall
Themes & tags
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