Smith County Jail, 1881
Tyler, Smith County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Houston architect Eugene T. Heiner and builder Henry Kane designed and built this structure in 1880-81 to serve as Smith County's fourth jail. An 1894 second-story addition doubled the jail's cell space. The building was replaced by a new jail in 1916 and subsequently housed the Lewis Hotel until 1986. It features classical detailing of the Italianate style, a stucco finish scored to look like cut stone, elaborate window molds and consoles, and classical beltcourses. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1993
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Houston architect Eugene T. Heiner and builder Henry Kane erected this Italianate structure in 1880–81 as Smith County's fourth jail, its stuccoed walls scored to imitate cut stone and dressed with elaborate window molds and classical beltcourses. A second story added in 1894 doubled its cell space. After a new jail replaced it in 1916, the building found a second life as the Lewis Hotel until 1986.
Why it matters
A substantial county jail like this marked a frontier community's coming of age, its architectural ambition signaling the permanence and order a growing East Texas county sought to project.
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Related people
- · Eugene T. Heiner
- · Henry Kane
Themes & tags
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