Coke County Museum - 1970 Coke County Jail, Robert Lee, Texas. (original) (raw)

Historical Marker:

Coke County Jail

Successor to county's first one-room jail of rough lumber built about 1891, this building was erected 1907 by Southern Structural Steel Company, San Antonio. Officials who let the contract were P.D. Coulson, county judge; C.M. Barger, S.W. Gaston, T.J. Goss, M.C. Jones, Commissioners.

At least seven early sheriffs lived downstairs, acting as jailkeepers. The prisoners averaged about four a month, jailed only for short terms for minor law violations. Coke County never has had a felon assessed the death penalty. The gallows on second floor were never used.

Visit Robert Lee, Texas

Coke County Jail historical marker
Photo coutesy Barclay Gibson, December 2009