Borden County Jail

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Borden County Jail, and friend, this one's worth slowing down for. Now, when folks out in Borden County decided they needed a jail, they didn't go halfway. They went to Gail Mountain.

That's right, they pulled native stone right out of that mountain, shaped it by hand, and stacked it up into something that was planned, from the very first blueprint, for maximum security. You want to talk about building with intention, well, there it is. The year was 1896, and the Diebold Safe and Lock Company, a name that ought to inspire confidence if any name does, walked away with the contract.

Four thousand five hundred dollars. That was the price of something that was not going to let go of what it caught. Now here's where the story gets interesting.

Those outside walls. Two feet thick. Two feet of hand-hewn native stone between you and the West Texas sky.

But the builders weren't stopping there. Inside those stone walls, the cell walls and the floor are lined with one-third inch case hardened steel plates. The marker is specific on this point, and specific for good reason: those plates are impervious to hack saw blades.

Somebody thought about that. Somebody thought about it hard. And the doors.

Fastened with huge hasps and padlocks, the kind that open with a six inch key. You don't misplace a six inch key. You know exactly where it is at all times, or somebody is having a very long night.

This jail stands today as one of the oldest jails still in use in all of West Texas. Hand-hewn stone, case hardened steel, a lock that needs a key the size of your forearm. Some things, it turns out, were simply built to last.

What the marker says

Built of hand-hewn native stone from Gail Mountain, this jail planned for maximum security. Is one of the oldest jails in use in West Texas. Diebold Safe and Lock Co. was awarded the $4,500 contract in 1896. Behind two-foot thick outside walls, the cell walls and floor are of 1/3 inch case hardened steel plates, impervious to hack saw blades. Doors fastened with huge hasps and padlocks opened by six inch key. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1967