Using information provided by some of the previously published “Footprints of Fayette” articles, we learn that the “old” Fayette County Jail, which stands at the corner of Crockett and South Main Street in La Grange, was completed in 1882, at a cost of $25,000. The stone used in the construction was hauled from a quarry near Muldoon.
The architect and construction crew provided cells for those housed there, along with living quarters for the jailor and his family. Separate upstairs quarters were provided for the women prisoners. By 1884, an iron fence was installed around the property. In spite of these accommodations, there were several prisoners who decided to check out early from their respective reservations at the jail. This article will deal with a few of these incidents, which occurred during the time in which August Loessin, C. E. Girndt, and Will Loessin were sheriffs of Fayette County.
The first incident, described in an April 13, 1916, front page article of the La Grange Journal, gave the details in which W. R. Brack, charged with forgery, and Roy S. Novin, charged with the burglary of the J. H. Wessels store at Halsted, were able to check themselves out of the jail without Sheriff August Loessin signing them out. The paper states that “after several nights of carefully working quietly, [they] slipped out by first sawing a small bolt which permitted them to enter the run-around, and from there they entered the jail yard by cutting a bar which protected one of the outer windows.”
The Journal went on to state that though the jailbreak took place during the early morning hours of April 7. By 9 o’clock that night, Mr. Will Siefken of Plum brought W. R. Brack back to the jail. Brack had been captured near an MKT railroad bridge north of Plum. The article further states that Roy Novin had been taken into custody later by the Houston Police Department.
During interrogations, it was discovered that “the saw… was secured by the prisoners from someone who came to see them. At the time… there were twenty other prisoners in jail, to whom the news came as a great surprise the morning after; they had not heard any noise during the night.”
The next incident, described in a December 23, 1920 article of the La Grange Journal actually is entitled “Discovered in Time, Tip to Sheriff Girndt Prevents Jail [break].” The article disclosed how Mr. Ivy Stern, charged with burglary, was released on bond, and was en route to his home in Edna, Texas when he described to officers the plan. He disclosed how "the prisoners confined in the county jail had been busy for the past week, sawing at one of the iron bars … and that the work would be continued as opportunity permitted until the job was finished and then --- out they would go.” Sheriff Girndt, acting on the tip, found the tool used, and “at the south end of the prison, over the bathtub, a bar was found with a deep cut on each side, nearly meeting.
A few hours more of untiring labor would have produced the desired result.” Seems that the tool, actually a pocket knife, notched like a file, belonged to a prisoner who was charged with the murder of a Houston woman and burglary of the New Ulm Telephone office. Officers from Houston soon arrived to pick up the suspect.
The last incident, described in the March 11, 1926 edition of the La Grange Journal tells the reader how two men described as “transients” were able to unlock their jail cells. The Journal stated that “Raymond Welsh and Milton Renean, claiming to hail from Dallas, were taken off the MKT train and after a cursory examination were placed in the city prison. This was near the midnight hour.
The two were not relieved of the keys in their possession, so they proceeded to unlock the door about four o’clock in the morning and make their way… At daybreak time, when the absence was announced, the sheriff [Will Loessin] and deputies instituted a search and finally effected their capture about three miles from town… on the railroad track.”
The paper states that Welsh and Renean were charged with unlawfully riding a train, and of- ficials from Dallas were notified of their capture.
These incidents, though interesting bits of Fayette County history tell the reader some important facts.
Namely, the criminal mind is always at work on some devious scheme, constant vigilance and training are necessary on the part of those working in law enforcement, including those working as jail personnel, and the use of modern technology, including video equipment, metal detectors, and eavesdropping devices are all necessary tools in our seemingly never-ending battle against crime.
Sources: Kulhanek, Katie, Footprints of Fayette: “The Jailhouses of Fayette County,” 2011 The La Grange Journal
