DUANE
Get the App
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm going to let this old building speak for itself. Back in 1884, they put up a building in Cooke County that was doing about three jobs at once, and doing all of them under the same roof. The architect was J.
J. Kane, and whatever Kane was getting paid, he earned it. Down on the first floor, you had the fire station.
Not just a couple of buckets by the door, either. We're talking a ladder truck, hose wagons, and honest-to-goodness horse stalls. And just so you knew whose turf you were on, the insignia for three separate fire companies appeared right above the doors.
Three companies. One building. First floor handled the emergencies.
Second floor handled the business. That's where the city offices were. And if you were the kind of person who required a little more persuading, well, out in the rear they kept the jail.
They called it the Calaboose. That name alone ought to have been enough to keep folks in line. So there you have it: fire protection, civic government, and a place to think real hard about your decisions, all in one 1884 building.
Then came 1933, and somebody decided the second story and the bell tower had to go. Just like that, the top came off. The building sat lower and quieter, and the years kept piling on.
By 1966, things had gotten serious enough that demolition was on the table. That's where the Cooke County Heritage Society stepped in and saved the building from exactly that fate. After that, G.
C. and Gladys Morton saw to the renovation through their generosity. A building that held a city's fires, its laws, and its wayward souls, nearly lost, and then pulled back from the edge. Some things, it turns out, are worth keeping.
What the marker says
Erected 1884. First floor was fire station, with ladder truck, hose wagons and horse stalls. Insignia for the three fire companies appear above doors. Second floor contained city offices. Jail or "Calaboose" was in rear. Architect was J. J. Kane. Second story and bell tower were removed in 1933. The Cooke County Heritage Society saved building from demolition, 1966. Renovated through generosity of G. C. and Gladys Morton. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark--1968.