The county’s first jail was built in 1852, six years before the founding of Fredericksburg and was located near the current City Hall.
A second jail was built in 1859 and was located behind the first Gillespie County Courthouse.
By 1870, plans were underway for yet another Gillespie County Jail. In 1874, the third Gillespie County Jail was completed, but in 1885 completely burned in a fire.
The Historic Jail was built immediately after and was completed in 1885. It is 25 feet wide, 35 feet deep, and 20 to 22 feet high with two stories.
The ground floor has four rooms. One was used for lockup and others for the jailer. On the second floor are steelclad cells. The jail has a heavy solid steel plate door and another one with bars at the front entrance.
Cells in the jail include the lockup cell on the ground floor, later used for female inmates. The upstairs also includes a maximum-security cell in the back portion of the second floor.
Surrounding the jail is a five-foot stone wall, originally embedded with broken glass to discourage prisoner escape.
The last inmate of the Historic Jail was transported to the fifth Gillespie County Jail, located in the third Gillespie County Courthouse upon its completion in 1939.
Today, the Historic Jail is owned and maintained by Gillespie County under the care of the Gillespie County Commissioners Court. The Gillespie County Historical Society provides public access and interpretation of the building.
Haunted Fredericksburg Ghost Walk and Jail Tour also provides a unique tour experience of the historic building.
The Historic Jail gives visitors a chance to see the Fredericksburg of yesteryear. Tours of the jail are offered through the Gillespie County Historical Society and as part of Haunted Fredericksburg Ghost Tours
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