Armstrong County Jail

Armstrong County Jail, erected in 1953, was constructed of stone that had been used to build Armstrong County’s first masonry jail in 1894. That earlier structure replaced a primitive frame calaboose. Its stone was quarried 14 miles south at Dripping Springs in Palo Duro Canyon, hauled to the site in wagons driven by local citizens, and cut here. The 1894 building had two stories, a dome, and 20-inch walls. It was so sturdy that dangerous convicts from other counties were kept there, and old-timers remembered that only three prisoners ever escaped.

Claude, Texas · United States