Shackelford County's First Permanent Jail
Albany, Shackelford County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Erected 1877-78 by architects and builders Thomas & Woerner of Fort Worth. Gerard B. Allen of St. Louis furnished ironwork. Initials on many of the native limestone blocks show masons' claims to payment for work. An early prisoner, John Selman, later killed notorious gunman John Wesley Hardin in El Paso. Superseded 1929 by a new jail, this became vault for archives (1940-68) of playwright Robert Nail. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1962.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Built in 1877–78 by the Fort Worth firm of Thomas & Woerner with ironwork shipped from St. Louis, this native limestone jail served frontier Shackelford County when Albany was a raw cattle town. The masons' initials still cut into the blocks are a rare record of stonemasons claiming payment for their labor. Among its early inmates was John Selman, who years later would gun down the infamous John Wesley Hardin in El Paso. Superseded by a new jail in 1929, the building later safeguarded the archives of playwright Robert Nail.
Why it matters
It preserves the machinery of law and order on the West Texas frontier and a tangible link to the era's most notorious gunfighters.
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Related people
- · John Selman
- · John Wesley Hardin
- · Robert Nail
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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