Effort to fix historic jail gets assist

Associated Press

San Marcos June 23, 2009 11:07 am

— There hasn't been a desperado behind bars in more than 70 years at the old Hays County Jail in Central Texas, and now the building is crumbling and needs some help.
Hays County Commissioners have agreed to chip in funds and have hired an architect to produce a restoration plan.
Hays County Historical Commission chairwoman Kate Johnson said the two-story stone building could fall apart in a big wind storm if nothing is done.
The limestone building housed inmates from 1884 to 1936. It was the site of the county's only official hanging and was used as a set for the 1998 Matthew McConaughey film "The Newton Boys."
The county agreed to match the roughly $65,000 that has been raised so far for the estimated half-million-dollar project.