Hays County Jail
170 Fredericksburg St., San Marcos, TXA low-pitched roof and bracketed eaves bespeak the Italianate character of the old Hays County Jail. This style, more often used on residences, adds grace to the otherwise almost undecorated, forbidding edifice. The building served county law enforcement efforts for more than half a century.
The County Commissioners met on Valentine's Day, 1884, to sign a contract for the construction of the new jail on the same lot as the one built in 1873. Edward Northcraft and B. F. Donalson were given until August 12 to complete their task, for which $11,500 had been allocated. Specifications were firm. The jail was to be constructed of the best stone, brick, and lumber.
Hays County's only official hanging was held in the jailyard on April 9, 1915. One Benjamin Guerrero is reported to have puffed a cigar and quipped "Fine show, no?" to the crowd just before his execution. The jail lasted until 1937 when frequent breakouts and repairs necessitated a new one.
Bibliography
San Marcos Record, April 16, 1915.
Hays County Times-Leader, April 16, 1915.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.