{"nrhp_refnum":"79002941","name":"Old Frio County Jail","other_names":["Frio Pioneer Jail Museum"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"E. Medina and S. Pecan Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pearsall","county":"Frio County","state":"TX","lat":28.887437197000054,"lon":-99.09139094499994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-11-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story plastered brick Victorian jail built in 1884 at East Medina and South Pecan Streets in Pearsall, Frio County, Texas, now used as the Frio Pioneer Jail Museum.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it an outstanding example of a 19th century Victorian public building in Texas, with Italianate and Classical details and high-quality craftsmanship. Its sturdy design allowed 83 years of continuous county use with only minor repairs. As the oldest building in Pearsall, it is tied to the town's railroad-era founding.","narrative":"Built in 1884, the Old Frio County Jail is a two-story plastered brick building at East Medina and South Pecan Streets in Pearsall, Texas. It went up after the railroad arrived in 1881 and the county seat moved from Frio Town to Pearsall in 1883. The county's commissioners contracted with P.J. Pauly & Bro. of St. Louis, Missouri, for $11,000 to build an escape-proof jail. Its design combines Victorian massing with Italianate brickwork, such as hooded window mouldings and corbelled details, and Classical touches including pedimented gables and a dentil-like cornice. Barred windows, metal ceilings and a steel stairway reflect its function, and the first floor east end housed the sheriff and jailer. The jail served continuously until 1967, with only minor repairs. Cells later held seized liquor during Prohibition, and in 1969 the building distributed federal commodities. Since 1975 the county and the Frio Pioneer Jail Museum Association have converted it into a public museum. It is the oldest building in Pearsall.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899 (specific date 1884)","architect_builder":"P.J. Pauly & Bro., St. Louis, Mo.","architectural_style":"Victorian with Classicist and Italianate influences","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in use as a public museum (Frio Pioneer Jail Museum); condition listed as good and unaltered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:18.585307-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/82/9719/40971982/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/79002941.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002941/da8d5fbbaf-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002941/da8d5fbbaf-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Darrylpearson","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jail(old-frio-county)(pearsall-tx)2016-3.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Darrylpearson</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jail(old-frio-county)(pearsall-tx)2016-3.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40971982","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Frio_County_Jail","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q56282643"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/frio-county/old-frio-county-jail-79002941/"}