Wanted: Historic County Jails of Texas

By Ed Blackburn Jr.

Along with the settlement of the Texas frontier came rustlers, public drunks, gunfighters and other outlaws. A jail in which to incarcerate the lawbreakers was often the first public building raised in a new town.

Later, as government developed, public buildings – notably county courthouses and jails – assumed not only practical but also symbolic importance. The architecture of these buildings in the 19th century reflected the power and status with which the community imbued the government; many of the same architects applied the aesthetic standards of the day to both. In later years, the safety and at least limited comfort of the prisoners became concerns, and jails were remodeled or abandoned to other uses in favor of modern, more utilitarian structures.

In this heavily illustrated guide to the historic county jails of Texas, Ed Blackburn Jr. takes readers to each of the 254 counties in the state, presenting brief histories of the counties and the structures that housed their criminals. 

412 pages, hard cover with dust jacket

Retail value $39.95. Item #3562

Sale Price $23.95

The Parker Ranch of Hawai'i: The Saga of a Ranch and a Dynasty

By Joseph Brennan

In 1809 John Palmer Parker, son of a New England whaling captain, jumped ship in Hawai’i and became one of the first white men to settle there. He soon befriended King Kamehameha and married his granddaughter, Kipikane. Kamehameha gave Parker charge of the wild cattle, left years earlier by a British captain. As more and more ships visited the island, the cattle business boomed. In 1845, the king bestowed a land grant on Parker and so began the Parker Ranch, which has been operated by the Parker family ever since.

But even more fabulous than the story of this huge and flourishing ranch is the tale of the Parker family. Ebenezer, John Palmer Parker’s son, fought to marry the Hawaiian woman he loved. Colonel Sam Parker, friend of King Kalakaua, lived a life of lavish parties. Elizabeth Jane Lanakila Dowsett married John Palmer Parker III who died only a few months after the birth of their only child, Annie Thelma Parker. Elizabeth raised Thelma alone and hired the manager to bring the ranch back to its former glories. Then Thelma, at the age of 18, married Henry Gaillard Smart and bore him a son, Richard Palmer Smart. When the baby was barely a year old, Thelma died tragically, trying vainly to return to Hawai’i from a European voyage. Eleven months later, Henry Smart died. Again, Elizabeth was left to raise the only heir to the ranch.

220 pages, paperback

Retail value $11.95. Item #4792

Sale Price $8.95