Ellis County Jail, Old

Due to overcrowding in the existing jail facility, this structure was completed in 1888. The Ellis County Commissioners Court awarded the contract to Pauly Jail Building and Manufacturing Company of St. Louis, Missouri. A round turret with conical roof dominates the design. Decorative brick corbeling runs below the cornice. The two-story brick and stone jail contained the Sheriff's family residence on the first floor. There were twenty 4' X 8' cells which accommodated two prisoners each. The solitary confinement and death cells were in the basement. A rotary system, one of the few in the United States, was installed to prevent escapes. A cylinder contained a group of ten cells. The outer walls were stationary jail bars with only one opening. The cylinder turned to provide access to the single door. The entire jail yard was enclosed by a fence of iron bars. Bloodhounds were kept in the yard in the early days. After a new county jail was constructed in 1929, this facility housed the relief work commission during the depression. Afterward a variety of commercial enterprises occupied the space.

Ellis County Jail, Old is a historical marker in Waxahachie, Ellis County, dedicated in 1978. It is one of 115 historical markers documented in Ellis County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 296 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 32.3867, -96.8475 near Waxahachie. The nearest cataloged historic site is Ellis County Courthouse (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Ellis County Courthouse, Ellis County Courthouse, and Site of a Confederate Powder Mill.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5139007094. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.