Early Kendall County Jails

Early Kendall County Jails. . Due to financial strains caused by the Civil War, the newly created Kendall County (1862) paused plans to build a courthouse. In 1869, the court accepted a design by Phillip Zoeller (1818-1900) for a courthouse with internal jail facility to be built on land donated by Boerne founders, John James and Gustav Theisen. Stonemason Johann Franz Stendebach (1826-1890) contributed to both design and construction. In that same year, Stendebach also became sheriff, a position he held until 1878. For the next decade, Kendall County experienced economic prosperity, attracting more settlers. The larger population strained the existing court facilities by the mid-1870s, and county officials decided in 1876 to build a stand-alone jail again designed by Zoeller, on the courthouse grounds. The commissioners court accepted a bid of $2,375 from Thomas F. Cavanaugh and Co. while the building was under construction, new sheriff John Reinhard and others boarded prisoners., The one-story stand-alone jail was completed in late 1878, but within a few months experienced a jailbreak. Once again, the sheriff and others boarded prisoners while the structure was improved to prevent another escape. The jail opened once more in late 1881. In 1883, Dr. Jacob West's report of the jail's unsanitary conditions laid the groundwork for calls to build a new facility. As Kendall County's population continued to grow, additional plans were passed to build a new structure, again on the courthouse grounds. The commissioners court accepted a bid from the Pauly Jail Building and Manufacturing Company for a new two-story jail. The 1887 jail utilized more sophisticated designs and building materials. Kendall County continued to utilize the 1887 structure as a jail for 99 years, until a new corrections facility was constructed in 1986.