East Side of First Street/South of Main Street

The word calaboose literally means dungeon, but in the southern United States it was also a term used for a jail. Frisco’s calaboose had its beginnings in 1911 when the City Council minutes from April 8, 1911 record a committee being appointed “to look into the feasibility of building a city calaboose and selecting a site for same.” The calaboose was built and put into service in late 1912 or early 1913 and was used by the City of Frisco into the 1950’s.

The concrete structure had two barred windows and one steel door that was forged by the local blacksmith, John Gaby. The calaboose was not designed for comfort as the floor was dirt and it was never equipped with lights, heat, or water. The structure was small and contained less than 170 square feet. Its primary purpose was to house a prisoner, and it could only hold about one, until they could be transferred to the county jail or released.