After a jailbreak destroyed Carbon's 1905 jail, a more substantial calaboose was built in 1921. This unadorned square-plan building was made of reinforced concrete walls and a steel door. It had no lights or heat and was intended only for temporary holding until prisoners were transferred to other cities. The building often stood vacant, and during World War II it was used occasionally for scrap drive collections. Local brides and grooms were sometimes locked up there on their wedding nights. Today it is a rare surviving example of a once common building type in Texas towns.