By:
Kimberly Suta
Vintage photos courtesy of
Paul Barwick, City of Boerne
There are some things that get lost to time and others that are so thoughtfully preserved that the thrill of getting a peak into a bygone era resonates through generation after generation. Such is the case with the Old Jail Museum in Boerne, thanks to local historian and Special Projects Director for the City of Boerne, Paul Barwick. Paul has spent years helping to preserve and renovate it, as well as curate the history of the town and its numerous characters through notable artifacts that reflect Boerne’s storied past.
But let’s start with the obvious — the jail itself, which is fascinating indeed. You might have even driven by this beautiful limestone building dozens (if not hundreds) of times without even knowing what it was. It’s situated next to the old courthouse at 208 E. San Antonio Ave., across the street from the current courthouse.
This building, also known as the Historic Kendall County Jail, housed both the sheriff’s office and his family residence on the first floor, with the jail itself being on the second floor. The jail was built in 1887, and was the third one for the county. The first county jail was located inside the aforementioned old Courthouse, which was constructed in 1869-1870, while the second jail, located behind the Old Jail Museum, was built in 1877.
“We like to call it ‘The Best Little Jail Museum in Texas,’” shared Paul. “It was formed in 2017, but took four-and-a-half years to restore. Visitors to the Old Jail Museum get to see an authentic jail that’s been thoughtfully restored. I find the style of architecture the most interesting, along with the construction method used to build the jail. It’s extremely durable, made from locally-quarried limestone block and shows very little wear. They used gin poles and rudimentary tools to build it, which seems amazing to me, and the fact that it’s lasted this long. They were skilled stone artisans,” he added.
The Jail
The jail itself is made up of four side-by-side cells — two for men and two for women. Each of the men’s cells contained hooks for attaching four canvas hammocks per cell, and the women’s cells could hold up to two women each with straw mattresses, although we imagine that was a rare occurrence.
“There was a [female] hairdresser in town who would overindulge [alcohol] and needed a place to cool down. They said she was rather robust and rowdy and would knock the deputies about as they forced their way up the stairs, and light mattresses on fire with cigarettes,” recalled Paul, amusedly.
One wonders what other kinds of characters found themselves behind those sturdy steel bars. According to Paul, there aren’t any stories of Jesse James-type bank robbers or nefarious criminal activity. Yes, there were a couple of murderers, but typically most prisoners were incarcerated for domestic violations or neighborhood brawls.
“There’s nothing really that noteworthy except one prisoner was able to shimmy up a sewer pipe and break through the roof back in the mid-sixties. His mom and sister were making a jail visit and noticed the deputy on duty was returning so they told him to hurry back down. Then they paid bail and left Boerne, but the man returned 60 years ago with his grandkids and told the short roof breakout story,” said Paul.
In 1924, another prisoner named Hilmar, who was being held for killing someone in self-defense, was able to successfully escape, thanks to the loaf of bread his family brought him disguising a file, which nowadays sounds like a comical wives’ tail, but evidently was a proven method. The man filed his way through a few bars on the window and jumped out, where they had a horse waiting for him. As the story goes, he rode to San Antonio where he caught the Southern Pacific train to the Wild West of California and became a contractor in Sacramento who did well for himself. Rumor has it, it was an inside job.
Interestingly, the original steel jail door had been removed 50 years ago, but retrieved when the location became known. A missing sign attached to the jail door listing visiting hours disappeared around the same time and miraculously returned to the steps of the old county courthouse about a year ago, wrapped in brown paper with a typed note. More rumors swirled — the note said the heist could have been by the act of wayward teenagers or possibly attributed to a UFO siting in Boerne at that time. Sadly, we might never know, but Paul has plans to have the steel door reinstalled.
The Collections
While the jail is enough to make the visit worthwhile, the artifacts, exhibits and oddities will keep you engaged for quite a while.
“I think visitors appreciate the types of exhibits we have because not only is it a snapshot of the typical lifestyle at that time, but we have ones that focus on Boerne history,” said Paul. “We’ve done a good job collecting unique stories.”
The artifacts span quite the gamut, including an impressive collection of arrowheads, tiny dice carved out of bone, a camel saddle used by the Texas Camel Corp, antique firearms, railroad artifacts and a piece of the 1923 Boerne meteorite. The exhibits are even more intriguing, featuring the Boerne White Sox Baseball team, Newton Boys’ Bank Robbery, the Texas Rangers, Texas Forts, the WWII bat bomb and more.
Hold on, did someone say bat bomb? The exhibit name exactly describes what it is. Paul explained: “The idea was developed by a dentist from Pennsylvania who wrote to Eleanor Roosevelt who passed it along to her husband. The plan was to attach a small napalm bomb to Mexican free-tailed bats with a fuse so that they could be dropped over Japan and the bats would fly under the eaves of paper wooden houses. After 30-minutes, there’d be a fire storm. They tried it out on a mock Japanese village and it worked. In fact, some of the bats accidentally got out and burned down barracks at Carlsbad Army Air Field. The bats were harvested locally at Bracken Cave, Frio Cave and Nay Cave, but ultimately the plan was shelved because of the Manhattan Project.”
Another notable exhibit showcases the talents of historical figures, Adolph and Plinky, known as the Wonderful Toepperweins, world-renowned sharpshooters, or trick shooters, who worked for Winchester Firearms and performed incredible demonstrations together. “Even Annie Oakley is on record as saying that Plinky was a better shot than she was,” said Paul.
But perhaps the best reason to visit the Old Jail Museum is to hear the stories first-hand from the man who has made Boerne history a part of his own. Paul is a living time capsule that inspires others to dive deep into the past.
“I started out with an interest in the local railroad and then helped develop the Old Number Nine Trail that runs through town, and developed interpretive signage to highlight sites you would have seen along the railroad,” noted Paul. “As anyone who gets the history bug, I soon was going down many rabbit holes. I never stop wanting to know how everything’s woven together — the fabric of the history of our town.”
Oh, and in case that’s not enough, they also have a (stuffed) native black bear named Buford and a two-headed calf from a local dairy.
You can visit the Old Jail Museum every second and fourth Saturday of the month or call 210.845.3693 to request a private tour. All donations go to support scholarships for local schools.
