{"nrhp_refnum":"75002073","name":"Old McCulloch County Jail","other_names":["Heart of Texas Historical Museum"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"117 N. High St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Brady","county":"McCulloch County","state":"TX","lat":31.13546129100007,"lon":-99.33599772099996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-04-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story red brick Romanesque Revival jail at 117 North High in Brady, McCulloch County, Texas, built in 1909-1910 by Southern Structural Steel Company of San Antonio.","why_significant":"It served as the county's second jail and the sheriff's residence from 1910 to 1974. Its medieval-style design, with twin crenellated towers, made it a picturesque city landmark symbolizing strength and stability. It has been preserved as a local history museum.","narrative":"Brady's old county jail is a three-story red brick building at the northwest corner of the Courthouse Square, finished in 1910 for McCulloch County. Its Romanesque Revival design includes twin square towers with crenellated parapets flanking the main facade, round-arched openings, brick stringcourses and corbel tables in a contrasting color. Inside, the first floor held the jailer's quarters, usually the sheriff's family home, while the upper floors held steel cell cages, and a hangman's trap door stood beside the second-floor landing. Southern Structural Steel Company of San Antonio built it to replace an inadequate 1878 jail. It remained in use until 1974, when the county opened a new law enforcement building. Local citizens then formed the Heart of Texas Historical Museum and bought the structure to house their collection. The building is recognized for its symbolic architecture, which conveys strength and impregnability, and for its long role in county law enforcement.","period_of_significance":"1909-1910","architect_builder":"Southern Structural Steel Company of San Antonio (builder/contractor); architect unknown","architectural_style":"Romanesque Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Used as a jail until 1974; then acquired by the Heart of Texas Historical Museum for conversion to a museum. Described as structurally sound and in good condition, with no major alterations since 1910.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:18.919485-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/72/9729/40972972/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/75002073.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75002073/621bf8c15e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75002073/621bf8c15e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 4.0","author":"Larry D. Moore","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_mcculloch_county_jail.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Larry D. Moore</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_mcculloch_county_jail.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40972972","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_McCulloch_County_Jail","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7084494"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/mcculloch-county/old-mcculloch-county-jail-75002073/"}