caldwell county jail museum

We enjoyed touring the old jail and hearing some of the thrilling history of Caldwell County. The person who guided was knowledgeable and willing to answer any questions we had. Well worth the time...that one needs to digest some of the best Texas barbecue...from whichever eatery you chose in Lockhart!

We had a great time walking off our BBQ at the Jail. The building was really cool to explore. The 1st floor looked like a normal house. The Sheriffs family lived here and the wife cooked for the people in jail upstairs. Can't imagine living right below them. You go upstairs and there are a couple of floors of Jail. You can see writing on the walls and get a good feel for how they lived. This jail was in use up till 1983. Enjoy!

Most museums are closed off and you are only able to view from the doorway. Here you may enter the different floors of the jail. It kinda makes you feel apart of what occurred during that time. I don't know if I would have had my family living on the first floor. But, I'm thankful times have changed. Make sure you get a "Good" flashlight. Well worth "2" bucks.

One of the first things we did after moving to Lockhart was tour the old Caldwell Jail (from 1909-1982), now turned museum. The first floor is full of artifacts and furniture from when the sheriff's family lived there. The wife cooked meals for the prisoners and sent them up a dumbwaiter. The cells are still intact and provide an excellent vision of what prison life was like back then. The Caldwell County Historical Commission now oversees the museum and works hard to maintain authenticity while renovating and restoring as appropriate.

We recently stayed in Lockhart as our home base for tubing and hang gliding. Our host suggested we take the tour of the jail. It was really interesting and kinda creepy all at the same time. The woman who gave us the initial information was very knowledgeable about her Lockhart history. It's hard to believe it was an operating jail until 1983. We were there for about an hour, you can do it much more quickly, but we enjoyed taking photos of the old cells.

On a recent trip to the Austin area we visited the Lockhart County Jail Museum. The docent was very knowledgable and had interesting stories to tell. The museum is very small but interesting...most of the artifacts were donated by local families. The price for entrance was just $2...well worth it for history lovers. The jail cells were kept in the original condition and were not cleaned up which gives you an eerie feeling of doom and lightless life. As I said it is very small so we only spent about 30-40 minutes there. Be sure to ask him about what to eat at the local barbecue restaurants!

This museum, formerly a working jail built in 1908, is open only on Saturdays and Sundays at present. A doctent working for the Caldwell County Historical Commission took the very modest $2 admission fee and gave us a great explanation of the prison's history and a tour of the first floor. Then he set us free to explore further.The jail (which has unusual "castle" style architecture) was built on the site of a former log jail that burned down in the 1850s. Some say the place is haunted by ghosts.The first floor of the jail served as housing for the sheriff and his family. Now it's got photos and exhibits of items from the period the jail was in operation. The upper 3 floors housed a trusty (a prisoner who oversaw things) and 9 prisoner cells. The top floor (which is smaller than the others) was used for isolating sick or particularly dangerous prisoners. The jail areas have not been "restored" or changed since the place became a museum; be prepared for lots of dirt and peeling paint inside, and watch your step as the lighting isn't the greatest.Since the interior of the jail was built from steel and coated in paint, you'll see lots of peeling paint on the walls and ceiling. With the dark atmosphere, open restrooms in each cell and bunkbeds on the walls, this is an eery place that was no doubt much harder on inmates than any prison currently in operation.

Pretty Cool Place to see. If you're in the area for the BBQ...you should stop in...Small Town Texas History

We were in Lockhart for lunch and saw this old jail, We went in and met a very nice lady who explained a lot about it. After paying a very small fee we took the tour, the jail cells were very minimal back then, (I think they should be that way now) anyway a lot of interesting things to see.I you have an extra thirty minutes or so stop by it is well worth it.

not a very long tour. it smells old in there. it's closed alot. u go once and your done.

You would never believe how jails used to operate in Texas. Maybe we should revisit the old days

Dont miss the old jail there. We liked the whole town as we saw it................................