Calaboose

Calaboose. Replica. , The word calaboose comes from the Spanish word calabozo and literally means “dungeon”, in the Southern United States it was also a term used for a jail. The Frisco calaboose got its start in 1911 as recorded in the City Council minutes from April 8, 1911. A committee consisting of Geo Robertson, W.O. Hill and F.E. McIntyre was appointed to look into the feasibility of building a city calaboose and to select a location to build it., There was little crime in the early days, but on Saturday night the small farming community came alive. The farmers and their families came into town to do some weekly shopping, visit and catch up on the local news. The sidewalks were crowded on Main Street, even at midnight. Those Saturday nights created a little more excitement for some than others. The calaboose was the place where those who enjoyed themselves a little too much were placed to regain their composure. It was also where mischievous teenagers stayed a while to reflect on their antics. , The Frisco calaboose was built in 1912 on the east side of the railroad tracks near present-day First Street and Elm Street. It was a small concrete structure of about 170 square feet with two cells. No rebar was available in those days so the walls were reinforced with whatever scrap metal could be found including wagon rims and horseshoes. Some of those reinforcements were salvaged from the original calaboose and incorporated into this replica. The door, which was forged by local blacksmith John Gaby, faced south and two barred windows were on the east side. The overall dimensions were approximately 6’ tall, with an interior height of 5’8”, 15’ long and 12’ wide. There were no comfort features in the calaboose with its dirt floor, no lights, no water or heat. Its main purpose was to hold a prisoner until they could be taken to the Collin County jail in McKinney, which was a 15 mile trip over dirt roads. Others would find themselves in the calaboose until they could sober up. , The calaboose was in use until the 1950s and was razed on June 25, 2013 after being a part of Frisco’s history for over 100 years. , Heritage Stories , Look inside the darkness. If the walls could talk what stories would you hear? Would you hear the sounds of sleepy voices calling for help or animals looking for food? One law breaker was placed in the calaboose on a Friday night and somehow he was forgotten until Monday morning when he was calling for help. He was very hungry, thirsty, and sober by then. In later years, the calaboose was used for a time as a pigpen. At another time, vagrants actually carpeted the floors to make it their home. , One Halloween night in 1945, a group of teenage boys decided to make a little mischief and pull the fire alarm switch in a local business. The boys waited until the night watchman, Jarvis Hays, was away from the area and then they pulled the switch and ran. It was an all-volunteer fire department in those days and blowing the fire whistle would summon the firefighters to respond. Mr. Hays was the only law enforcement in town at the time and he couldn’t be everywhere at once. The boys continued in their prank until Mr. Hays caught them in the act. They were marched down the street to the calaboose and locked inside. That ended the problem with the fire whistle for the evening, but the boys were still having fun in jail. The boys began to wiggle the bars in the windows. After a time they got them loose and they were able to crawl out the window opening. The calaboose was surrounded by a cotton gin at the time and the boys would crawl out the window and sit on cotton bales. When they saw Mr. Hays coming, they would get back in the calaboose and hold the bars in place. About midnight, Mr. Hays snuck up on the boys and found them sitting on bales of cotton and told them to go home. These boys were the only ones to ever break out of the Frisco calaboose!