1878, Thomas and Woerner, builders; 1983, 1996, 2009 rehabilitated and additions, Arthur Weinman. 201 S. 2nd St.
John Thomas of Fort Worth designed and built the two-story jail of Lueders limestone (a high-quality limestone quarried in western Shackelford County) when the courthouse was still a two-room cedar picket structure. The jailer lived in two rooms on the first floor, and the second floor contained iron cells with doors that were controlled from below. The jail served until 1929. In 1940, playwright and creator of the Albany Fandangle (an annual outdoor musical event) Robert Nail purchased the building, using it as a writing studio until his death in 1968. His heirs converted it into Albany’s art museum in 1980.