Calaboose after closing of the USO
African American Faculty at Southwest Texas Teacher Institute circa 1922, now Texas State University in San Marcos
Tuskegee Airmen
Originally built as the county jail in 1873, the city of San Marcos acquired the building in 1885 and repurposed it as a community recreation center after the county built a stone replacement jail. The Calaboose (from the Spanish word meaning dungeon or local jail), as it came to be called, was enlarged in the 1940s and used as a World War II United Service Organization (USO) center for African American servicemen at a time when segregation kept black and Anglo soldiers from mingling. Local historian Johnnie Armstead fought to preserve the site and create the museum.
Calaboose African American History Museum- Hours: Saturdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and by appointment.
- Admission: none
- 200 Martin Luther King Dr., San Marcos, TX
- 512-353-0124
