ROCKWALL —
Historic Downtown Rockwall is aptly named and no building has more stories than the Historic Courthouse. Standing since the early 20th century this structure has served a multitude of purposes, it’s hosted a variety of events and even possesses what was the county’s jail for several decades.
Precinct One County Commissioner Jerry Wimpee is the steward of a good deal of this information and given that his father is a former county judge he has been around long enough to hear a few tales about the jail and its occupants.
“It is an important educational place that doesn’t exist anywhere else,” he said. “You can’t duplicate that because jails aren’t built that way anymore.”
The jail was the first to be incorporated into a courthouse in Rockwall according to Wimpee.
“All the courthouses set on this ground, but the jail was two blocks away in a separate building,” he said. “So when this one was designed in 1939 it was the fist one that had the jail inside the courthouse. So that made it unique.”
The jail, which sits on the fourth floor, holds the county clerk’s records for the moment.
“It was seen as the safest place so they put the files on the floor,” County Clerk Shelli Miller said.
Courthouses were seen as a priority in the late 1800s according to Wimpee.
“In 1890 the most important thing for the citizen was justice and their property,” Wimpee said. “The people took care of everything else.”
In the past year the commissioners court has spent numerous hours discussing whether to convert the jail into a tourist attraction.
“I think there is a lot of city clubs that would enjoy seeing it, not just school kids,” Wimpee said.” We were going to use the jail as a living museum. There were some offices and a big conference room where the walls were glass and you could see the jail. You could rent it at night for a function.”
Some may be hesitant to rent the jail at night though, as several ghost stories surround the building.
“I’m not real familiar with the ghost, but I’ve been around here my whole life,” Wimpee said. “Maybe I’m the ghost.”
Wimpee admits he does not spend much time in the jail, but he does know of a few bloody stories surrounding the jail.
“There was a time in the early 1900s where the police captured a serial killer,” he said. A mob formed, marched into the jail, dragged him (the killer) in front of the courthouse and burned him alive. The people were shouting ‘we are gonna show you what justice is.’”
Wimpee said he has also been told that a chief deputy died at the bottom of the stairs, but that’s the only death he said he knew of, which happened inside the courthouse.
Despite the few vulgar stories surrounding the building and its jail, Wimpee said most of the time the inmates were known as a loud group that drew laughs and jeers from the crowd.
“Everybody came to town on Saturdays and you would hear the people in the jail whistling and hollering at the women, or screaming ‘throw me a bologna sandwich.’”
Regardless of whether the ghost stories are true, there are no plans to remove the jail that will most likely soon become a place of tourism for the county.
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James Bright / Herald-Banner The fourth floor of the Historic Courthouse was originally built as a jail. Although there are stories of ghosts and hauntings the county commissioners are preparing to turn the jail into a tourist exhibit. James Bright / Herald-Banner Editor
Discussion
Fourth floor jail adds to historic building’s presence
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