Erected 1877-78 by architects and builders Thomas & Woerner of Fort Worth. Gerard B. Allen of St. Louis furnished ironwork. Initials on many of the native limestone blocks show masons' claims to payment for work. An early prisoner, John Selman, later killed notorious gunman John Wesley Hardin in El Paso. Superseded 1929 by a new jail, this became vault for archives (1940-68) of playwright Robert Nail. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1962.