After three years of renovations, the Hill County Cell Block Museum is preparing to reopen to the public Saturday, June 14. A ribbon cutting is planned at 10 a.m., and the museum will be open as the celebration continues until 4 p.m.
The museum has undergone foundation repairs, painting and repairs inside, mortar repairs and painting outside and electrical upgrades. The building has not been routinely open to the public since 2020.
The Historic Cumberland Presbyterian Church, which also sits on the museum property, has also received foundation repairs, painting and a new roof.
The museum building was designed by architect W.C. Dodson, who also designed the Hill County Courthouse, and was built by the Brown County firm of Lovell and Wood. The front part of the jail building served as living quarters for the sheriff’s family and jailer, and the rear housed the cell blocks and sheriff’s office. Meals for both inmates and the sheriff’s family were prepared in a common kitchen and served through a pass-through window in the wall of the kitchen.
Prisoners were kept in the facility until the mid-1980s, at which time the Hill County Historical Commission obtained the “old jail” to restore and use as a county museum. The building, which was completed in 1893, was awarded a Texas State Historical Marker in 1981 and is entered in the National Register of Historic Places.
Today, the Cell Block Museum houses exhibits on Native American artifacts, the cotton industry in Hill County, vintage clothing, as well as an early Texas kitchen and a Military Honor Room honoring veterans from Hill County.
Also included is the Willie Nelson Memorabilia Exhibit, featuring items related to the Hill County native, as well as a 1915 Model T Ford donated by the Billy Tom McKown family.
Also located on the grounds of the museum complex are the restored 19th century Cumberland Presbyterian Church, which was moved to the complex from Peoria when the church disbanded, as well as a picturesque gazebo.
The current museum board is encouraging former board members, docents, volunteers and former workers at the jail to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony. Anyone who has assisted in the past and present success of the museum is encouraged to be present.
Judge Bob McGregor served as the museum’s president for three years, during much of the restoration process, until January of this year. Conley Perry, a longtime resident of Mertens, has been acting president since January. Perry is an engineer and retired as a NASA space missions engineer, a position he had held since the 1960s.
A membership table will be set up during the reopening event to welcome new members or to renew memberships.
Anyone interested in serving as docent, volunteer or on a committee is invited to reach out to Brenda White at hillcountymuseumtx@gmail.com.
The museum is located one block north of the Hill County Courthouse on Waco Street.
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