Old Hidalgo County Jail

Historical marker location:

121 E McIntyre, Edinburg, Texas

( Museum of South Texas History)

Marker installed: 1966

Erected 1909-1910. One of first buildings in town after county seat moved here 1908 from Old Hidalgo. Spanish architecture, with red tile roof, white walls. A new jail was built in 1922; this became community center, and served as a meeting place for civic groups until 1931; then was city hall until 1966. Now the Hidalgo County Museum, its tower houses a hanging trap actually used only once, in 1913.

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1966.

buildings jails and prisons Spanish Colonial Revival (architectural style)

Texas has been a major oil-producing state for over a century. The first big oil discovery in Texas was the Spindletop field near Beaumont in 1901, which set off a massive oil boom that transformed the state's economy and made Texas one of the wealthiest states in the country.