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Old Jailhouse Museum
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| The Wilson County Jail house Museum was built in 1887 at a cost of $14,000. It is a two story building made of white limestone. The front of the first floor and all of the second floor is where the sheriff and his family lived. The rest of the building was where the jail cells were. The sheriff's wife would do the cooking and laundry for the prisoners, who would do the yard work. There are many interesting stories in the jail's history. One is when two prisoners tried to escape. The sheriff's wife saw two sets of legs coming down from the attic door and then she screamed, "Escape! Escape!" The prisoners got so scared that they ran back to their cells. Another story is when they tried to hang a man inside the jail. The trapdoor for hanging went through the floor of the upper level of the cell block. The man they tried to hang was very, very tall. In fact, he was so tall that when he went through the trap door, his feet went all the way down and landed on the floor below. I don't know if they tried again. The jail house is now inactive and now is a
museum. The cell blocks are still as they were when they were in use and are open
for visiting. The living quarters have many interesting and historical objects from
Floresville and Wilson County. The kitchen, living rooms, and bedrooms all have antique
furniture and appliances. The museum is operated by Wilson County Historical Society and
is open on the first and third Saturday of each month. |
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