A HERITAGE OF PRISONERS

Brady’s Heart of Texas Historical Museum exhibits an unusual assortment of artifacts and mementos including pianos, telephones, typewriters, high school football jerseys, and a hangman’s noose. The noose, perhaps the museum’s most popular item among young visitors, would not be out of place should the museum’s building be returned to its original purpose — the McCulloch County Jail. Built in 1910, the three-story, red brick structure reflects the medieval profile of its Romanesque Revival style, a design element meant to let potential criminals know that McCulloch County means business. While the noose never came into play, the jail was prepared to use it as jail architects incorporated a ring for the hanging rope, a two-part steel trap door, hinged east and west, and a trip lever into the second-floor landing. The museum has also rescued the Curtis Field Control Tower, a 1940’s lumber construction used to guide pilots in training, as well as the Camp Brady guard shack utilized at the World War II German prisoner-of-war camp located a few miles from town. A restoration of both (the guard shack required a complete rebuild after a truck ran into it), join a third — the original Curtis Field guard shack — to create a museum complex around the jail, allowing a consolidation of Brady history into one location.

Watch the following video to learn more about WWII POW camps in Texas. The video was produced for inclusion in the World War II on the Texas Home Front mobile tour found in our Texas Time Travel mobile app. Learn more about the tour and the app at the following link.