This was the first stone
house in Decatur, erected by prison labor about 1859. The main
house was the residence of the sheriff or deputy, while the basement
was used as the jail. Meals were sent down a dumb-waiter located
outside the east end of the house. The County sold the property
in 1888 to A. H. Whitehead. It was used as the city water works
building until 1938. Then it was kept as a private residence until
1967 when it was purchased by the Wise County Historical Society
as a museum. It was recorded as a Texas Historic Landmark in 1968.
It is not open to the public.
Click
here to locate the Stone Prison in Decatur.
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