{"nrhp_refnum":"79003005","name":"Palo Pinto County Jail","other_names":["Old Sandstone Jail of Palo Pinto County"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Elm St. and 5th Ave","address_restricted":false,"city":"Palo Pinto","county":"Palo Pinto County","state":"TX","lat":32.75689140500003,"lon":-98.29842708699994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-09-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story sandstone county jail at Elm Street and Fifth Avenue in Palo Pinto, Texas, built in 1880 by the firm Martin, Byrnes and Johnston of Comanche, Texas. It combines jailer's quarters on the first floor with cells on the second.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as a well-preserved example of the rugged, functional masonry jails common in 19th-century Texas, with simple carved stone detailing. It was designed and built by Martin, Byrnes and Johnston, a prominent firm that later built courthouses and jails elsewhere in Texas. It is also the oldest public building remaining in Palo Pinto County.","narrative":"Built in 1880 at Elm Street and Fifth Avenue in Palo Pinto, this two-story sandstone jail replaced an earlier log jail. The Commissioners' Court sought plans and bids in 1879, and Martin, Byrnes and Johnston of Comanche, Texas, was chosen as architect and contractor. The building is a masonry cube thirty by forty feet and twenty-eight feet high, with brown sandstone walls thirty-two inches thick quarried near town. Cut-stone pointed arches, segmental lintels, sills, imposts and an entablature give it modest decoration. The jailer's family lived on the ground floor, while free-standing iron cages served as cells upstairs. A hanging device was installed in 1907 but never used. County offices later occupied the first floor, and after a new courthouse with a jail opened in 1941, the building served as a residence. It was vacated in 1968, given to the county historical association, and opened as a museum of pioneer artifacts in 1976. It is the oldest surviving public building in the county.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Martin, Byrnes, and Johnston","architectural_style":"Late 19th-century Texas masonry jail","criteria":[],"status_note":"Vacated in 1968 and deeded to the Palo Pinto County Historical Association; converted into a museum in 1976. Condition listed as excellent and altered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:19.621479-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/50/9731/40973150/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/79003005.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003005/52b4b33882-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003005/52b4b33882-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Mark Fisher","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:0011Palo_Pinto_County_Jail_Old_E_Texas.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Mark Fisher</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:0011Palo_Pinto_County_Jail_Old_E_Texas.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973150","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110001294"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/palo-pinto-county/palo-pinto-county-jail-79003005/"}