Hill County Cell Block Museum

10/19/2026

FRED O. GRIMES

“If anyone firm or individual can be given credit for spreading the name of Hillsboro (and Hill County) across the nation and around the world, this honor goes to Fred O. Grimes!”

In 1906, Mr. Grimes, the first auto mechanic in the area, opened the first garage in Hill Co. It was located in a building in the 100 block on South Waco St. in Hillsboro, Texas. At that time, there were only 3 or 4 cars in the area, and only 2 or 3 transients daily. This was not enough to support a garage, so the business was closed.

On September 27, 1911, Mr. Grimes married Miss Hazel McMillin of Waco. Following their marriage at Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church in that city, they began their long and active lives as citizens of Hillsboro. They had one son Fred Grimes, Jr., who worked closely with his father as Grimes Garage began to grow. He served as general manager throughout the years, and personally painted many of the garage signs which went out across the country and abroad.

During this period, from 1904 until 1914, Fred Grimes served in the Texas National Guard, being commissioned Captain of Infantry in 1913.

On January 1, 1913, Mr. Grimes opened another garage, in a building now located at 115 South Covington Street. He not only replaced parts in automobiles, he also learned the machinist trade and made unavailable parts in his shop when necessary. At this time, automobiles arrived at the local dealers in parts and had to be assembled locally. “We assembled them for the agency for $5.00 a car. Later, we went up to $7.50 a car. . .”

“When the Old King of Trails association started about 1913, to develop a highway system from Canada to Mexico, there was much competition from towns to be on the network. Grimes and a few others worked hard and saw that Hillsboro made it. (These same routes were later adopted by the State Highway Department, and the Trails became State Highways 77 and 81 through Hillsboro.) When the Texas Highway Department, started in 1917, began its program of improvements it naturally started with the best routes then in use. Because of Grimes and his helpers, Hill Co. was one of the first sections to get good roads.”

As automobile travel increased, so did business at the Garage. In 1914, Mr. Grimes purchased a livery stable at 110 North Waco St., which became the final home of the world-famous garage. He operated out of the livery stable until it was destroyed by fire on September 23, 1917. As soon as the smoke and embers died-down, business resumed as usual and construction of the new building and a new era began. Through aggressive and extensive advertising, merchandising and service, Grimes Garage became one of the largest in the country and the most famous in the world.

It never was just a station, but the Neiman-Marcus of its trade. . . (with 14 gas pumps, a machine shop, a repair shop, a tire store, 20 employees and free soft drinks to any customer who had to wait more than 30 seconds for service. Maids, dressed in white uniforms, greeted customers with ice water and ushered them into the first lounge and restrooms ever located in a service station. Customers were invited to sign a guest register, with many famous names appearing throughout the years.)

Signs, advertising Grimes Garage in Hillsboro, Texas, began to appear all over the United States, China, Europe and the South Pacific. The first sign was carved on a large stone on Pikes Peak by Mr. Grimes himself. As customers began to mention that they had seen it, Mr. Grimes decided to begin his widespread advertising. Later, friends and customers would pick up signs at the Garage and place them along whatever route they traveled. During World War II, service men from Hillsboro and Hill County placed signs in many foreign locations.

Although he pioneered the automotive service business in the Southwest, Mr. Grimes still found time and energy to be an active citizen of the community. He was a Director of the Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce for many years, serving on its highway committee for 35 years. He also served as Director and vice-president of the East Texas Chamber of Commerce.

Fred Grimes was a charter member of the Hillsboro Lions Club, serving as its president in 1930-31. He was elected the first district governor of Lions’ District 2X, and went on to serve as an International Director of Lions in 1934-35-36. In 1971, he was nominated into the Texas Lions Club Hall of Fame in Kerrville. He became recognized throughout Texas and around the world as one of the outstanding members of the organization.

In recognition of his 50 years of faithful services in the life of St. Mary’s Church in Hillsboro, Mr. Grimes was honored as “Layman of the Year” in the Diocese of Dallas of the Episcopal Church in 1961. His manifold services to his church and community included more than 45 years as a vestry man and as an honorary vestryman; many years as Warden in his Parish; more than 35 successive years as a delegate to the Diocesan Convention and he was a member of the Centennial Committee of the Diocese which arranged the great celebration of 1952.

On January 16, 1965, Fred O. Grimes once again closed the doors of Grimes Garage (as he did in 1906) because there were not enough cars passing by to support a garage. Traffic was now following the new Interstate 35, which by-passed Hillsboro. “He retired from a 52 year old career of fighting for better highways, a bigger (and better) Hillsboro and a prosperous Grimes Garage.” For these and the foregoing highlights of his life, he will be remembered. Yet there is more, as expressed by Walter R. Humphrey in the Fort Worth Press:
“But most of all, Fred O. Grimes, the famous garageman of Hillsboro, has been a modest, unassuming, helpful friend — always there when he was needed. Friends have placed his garage signs at strange spots around the world. But he isn’t known for that, nor for his fast service — but for the genuine qualities of friendship which never lose their lustre.”

Fred O. Grimes died on October 14, 1972, at the age of 87.

He was born on December 13, 1885 in Sorby, Wayne County, Tennessee, the only son of John James Grimes and Julia Shelby Grimes. He had four sisters: Floye Laura, Beulah May, Mary Letitia and Margaret. At the age of six, Mr. Grimes and his family moved from Tennessee to Hill County, near Whitney, Texas. He attended school at the Old Central School and Culberson Select School in Hillsboro, graduating in 1905.

Respectfully (and lovingly) compiled by: Betsy Allmon Grimes (Mrs. Fred Grimes, Jr.) June 22, 1980.

Source: A History of Hill County, Texas 1853-1980 is a comprehensive reference book compiled and published by the Hill County Historical Commission in 1980 (with publishing assistance by Texian Press of Waco). Copies are available at the Hillsboro City Library in downtown Hillsboro, Texas or through loan from the Historical Commission or Cell Block Museum.

10/14/2026

History can be both haunting and inspiring. Here's a memorable excerpt from The Heritage of Hill County, Texas Volume II regarding Sheriff Clarence J Smith who served Hill County from 1941 to 1945; told by his grandson.

My grandfather told me one story when I was in my early twenties, maybe late teens. He said, “The sheriff of McLennan County radioed him that they had run a band of Gypsies out of a campground south of Waco and they were headed this way. When they got to Hillsboro, they camped at the Old Market Square. I walked over from the jail and told the chief that they had to leave. I did this because all Gypsies were thieves and just looted the stores and even people’s clothes lines. The chief told me that they would leave the next morning because it was nearly dark and they were tired. Back then they still had horse drawn wagons and I asked which one was his. He showed me and I went over to it and turned it over on its side. Then I told him when they got it upright to get out of town."

I asked him if he wasn’t afraid being alone like that, and what did they do? He just looked at me and said, “They got it up and left town that night.”

Now it is still hard to believe that he turned the wagon over by himself, but my grandfather was a large and powerful man. As I write this, I know it sounds harsh, but you have to remember the way things were in that time period.

Submitted by: John Richard Smith of Hillsboro, Texas.

If you would like to join others in submitting history, or helping with year round projects collecting and displaying Hill County history throughout our cities and county, please send an email to [email protected], or visit us at the museum Saturdays through October.

Explore the museum website, support our work, and find ways to get involved in preservation at https://www.hillcountymuseum.org/

Photo In This Post:
Sheriff Clarence J Smith
Clarence Smith was elected sheriff Nov. 5, 1940; re-elected Nov. 3, 1942 and served until Jan. 1, 1945.
Sheriff Smith died 01/21/1966 and is buried at Ridge Park Cemetery in Hillsboro, Texas

10/12/2026

It’s been a sensational year for our museum in downtown Hillsboro.

As we near the close of our 2026 museum tour season, we invite our members, supporters, friends, and everyone interested in Hill County history to join us for our Annual Meeting.

Most of all, we want to thank the many people who have helped keep Hill County history alive, vibrant, and moving forward. Our mission continues to grow beyond the walls of the museum as we work to encourage collaboration among our cities, historical organizations, schools, volunteers, families, and communities throughout Hill County.

We look forward to sharing some of what we accomplished in 2026, welcoming new board members, and beginning the conversation about how we can work together to preserve and share even more of Hill County’s history in 2027.

Saturday, October 17
Museum Tours — 3:30 PM
Annual Meeting in the Historic Cumberland Church — 4:00 PM
Fellowship & Refreshments — 5:00 PM

Hill County Cell Block Museum
120 N. Waco Street | Downtown Hillsboro

Want to stay in the loop and be part of what comes next?

Email [email protected] to receive updates on off-season projects, research, exhibits, volunteer opportunities, and ways to collaborate throughout Hill County.

If you have a story, photograph, memory, artifact, idea, or simply an interest in helping preserve Hill County history, we want to hear from you. History belongs to all of us—and there is still so much of it left to discover, preserve, and share.

10/07/2026

Today is World Cotton Day — October 7, 2026.
The photo we are presenting is from Itasca, Texas — and if you remember any of these names or faces, please do leave a comment.

Cotton is a big deal in Hill County history.
By 1904, Hill County, Texas, had 75 cotton gins in operation. Cotton wasn’t just another farm crop here — it was one of the forces that built the county’s towns, businesses, transportation networks, and livelihoods.

Farmers grew and picked it. Gins separated the fiber from the seed. Compresses prepared bales for shipment. Cottonseed oil mills turned the seed into valuable products instead of waste. Railroads carried cotton and cotton products to distant markets, while warehouses, merchants, blacksmiths, banks, and other businesses benefited from the trade.

- Hillsboro — By 1890, the county seat had several cotton gins and a cotton compress. Cotton gins, compresses, oil mills, and textile operations all became important parts of the local economy.

- Itasca — The Itasca Cotton Manufacturing Company was organized in 1900 and began production in 1901. It purchased about 10,000 bales of local cotton annually, manufactured sheeting, drill, and duck, and eventually employed about 350 people. By 1906, Itasca also had four cotton gins.

- Hubbard — By the 1910s, Hubbard had several cotton gins, cotton oil mills, and a cotton compress, making it one of the county’s important cotton-processing centers.

- Malone — A cotton gin was operating when the town was laid out in 1903. By 1913, Malone had four cotton gins.

- Mertens — The community had a gristmill and cotton gin by 1890 and two cotton gins by 1914. Cotton and grain were shipped over its railroads.

- Abbott — Cotton was a major crop in the 1890s, when the town had two cotton gins, a gristmill, and numerous businesses serving the agricultural community.

- Blum — In 1908, Blum’s cotton gins processed more than 5,000 bales in a single year.

- Penelope — By the 1920s, this farming and shipping center had three large cotton gins among its local businesses.

- Whitney — Cotton became an important shipping commodity, and by the late 1800s the town had cotton gins and rail connections moving farm products to market.

- Irene — Cotton processing began early, with a cotton gin and gristmill operating in the community. By the 1890s, Irene had multiple mill-and-gin operations.

- Covington — A steam mill and cotton gin helped make the community a local business center for surrounding farmers.

- Vaughan — Even this small rural community had its own cotton gin by the late 1890s.

- Aquilla and Mount Calm — Both became significant local cotton points, with large numbers of bales being weighed and handled during the cotton season.

The 1936 photograph of the employees of the Itasca Cotton Manufacturing Company is a reminder that much of the Hill County we know today has deep roots in cotton.

10/03/2026

Electricity did not reach Hill County all at once. The larger towns developed electric-light systems first, followed by smaller communities, while many farms and rural homes remained without electricity for decades longer. By the time rural electrification began in the mid-1930s, some Hill County towns had already had electric service for roughly forty years.

1892 — Hillsboro
Hillsboro appears to have been among the earliest Hill County communities to establish an organized electric-light system. Records from 1892 describe plans for electric-light poles and arc lighting. By 1912, Hillsboro was being incorporated into the expanding Texas Power & Light regional system.

1896 — Whitney
Whitney had a local water and electric company by 1896. Early service was limited, but the town was electrified well before the turn of the century.

By 1900 — Itasca
Itasca had its own electric light plant by 1900. Historical records identify J. W. Hockaday as operating the Itasca Electric Light Plant that year. Itasca would later become the headquarters of Hill County Electric Cooperative.

1913 — Abbott
Electricity reached Abbott in 1913, the same year the electric Interurban railway reached the community.

By 1914 — Hubbard
A 1914–1915 Texas business directory describes Hubbard as having electric lights, waterworks, an ice plant, banks, cotton gins and other established businesses. The exact first year of electric service remains to be confirmed.

By 1914–1915 — Mount Calm
The Mount Calm Electric Light Plant was operating by 1914–1915.

After 1915 — Malone
Malone was a substantial railroad town by 1914–1915, but contemporary directories did not yet list an electric-light system. Its first confirmed electric-service date remains later than this period.

1915 — Mertens
Mertens received electric service in 1915, shortly after the town incorporated. This provides an important example of electricity reaching one of Hill County's smaller railroad communities.

1927–1928 — Penelope
Texas Power & Light came to Penelope during 1927–28, at the same time Lone Star Gas began serving the town.

By 1928 — Bynum

By the late 1920s — Blum

By the early 1930s — Aquilla and Covington

Rural Electrification
December 21, 1936 — Hill County Electric Cooperative began delivering electricity to rural customers from its headquarters in Itasca, with it's rural service energized on December 21, 1936. The cooperative was formally organized in 1937 and began extending electrical lines farther into the countryside.

Late 1930s–1940s — Electric service gradually spread to farms, crossroads communities and homes outside municipal systems. Rural families gained access to electric lighting, refrigeration, washing machines, radios, water pumps and increasingly mechanized farm equipment.

Hill County history is as far as it is wide. Come visit us at the museum on Saturdays through October from 10 am to 4 pm, or contact us to share your photos and stories, or to volunteer in one of our winter museum projects.

09/19/2026

Open today Saturday, September 19, 2026. Hope to see you there!

You've probably driven past our museum building a hundred times, and had no idea what was inside. For 90 years, this was both a working jail and a home — the sheriff's family lived in the front rooms while prisoners were held just steps away in the back. The floor plan above is exactly as it stood then, and now. This Saturday, come see it yourself.

📍 120 N. Waco St., Hillsboro
🕥 10am–4pm, Saturdays through October
Museum tours are by voluntary donations

09/16/2026

Ouch! Hill County has quite a colorful history of crimes, but the punishment if you were caught here, was rough.

This is our solitary confinement cell, known as “the hole” or “the sweatbox.” From 1893 to 1983, misbehaving prisoners risked being shackled inside this small, black-painted room, where they remained standing in the heat and musty air until they changed their attitude.

This original cell and ceiling ring remain a favorite part of our museum tours, and can be seen on Saturdays for tours from 10 am to 4 pm.

Built in 1893, the Hill County Jail was BOTH a county jail, and sheriff's family home - under one roof. While prisoners were locked behind iron bars in the rear, the sheriff and his family lived in the rooms just steps away.

Today, visitors can walk through the family residence, enter the original cell blocks and discover amazing new perspectives of the people and stories that shaped Hill County.

Read the fascinating account of the jail, written by Richard Greenhill, our former executive director of the Hill County Cell Block Museum. Read the account below, or on the home page our our website https://www.hillcountymuseum.org/

- - - -
A Description of the Historic Hill County Jail
By Richard Greenhill, Former Executive Director

This is the third jail, erected in 1893 at a cost of $26,170 exclusive of architect fees. The architect was Mr. W.C. Dodson of Waco, Texas who also designed the courthouse, built in 1891. The construction is load bearing masonry laid in common with a limestone band running laterally around the building. The walls are 18" thick and the roof is steep gable with brick battlements completely around the perimeter. It is situated on state highway 77, the former main route from south to north Texas, traveled by many settlers, desperadoes and even a few politicians.

​The front portion of the building was used as living quarters for the Sheriff's family and consisted of three bedrooms upstairs and entry hall, living, dining rooms, pantry and kitchen on the first floor -- the kitchen also serving to prepare food for the inmates, which was passed through a slot in the wall to a deputy for distribution to the prisoners. Diets varied depending on county budgets, but research indicates a main staple of beans and cornbread eaten only with a spoon.

The cell block area floors and ceilings are concrete over steel barrel vaults for strength and security. With outside doors and shutters of ¼" steel this is the strongest building in the county. The water supply came from a well near the present Pecan tree in the yard and outhouses and stables were at the rear of the lot. The prisoners toilet was a chamber pot until the 1920's brought plumbing, sewage and electricity. The lightbulbs were encased in a cage, and in the women's section were padlocked to prevent their destruction. Prior to electricity light was provided by coal oil lamps carried by the deputies. The half-moon portion of the interior barred doors gave protection to the deputies while observing the inside of the rooms, and also served as a convenient resting place for the coal oil lamps.

​The entire building is labor intensive, being built by hand, as no power tools existed at that time. The cell blocks were joined together and doors hung, using hammer, tongs and red-hot rivets heated by coal fires. Heat for the entire building was provided by a coal burning furnace in the basement, the heat rising through vents in the walls by gravity flow. The cell locking system is manually operated. Prisoners were taken in and out through the double steel doors of the sheriff's office where they were booked for the crimes committed. Note the worn depressions in the limestone steps outside the office area. In restoration work, the original hod carrier used to carry bricks, was discovered wired to a rafter over a bedroom in the sheriff's quarters, indicating that was the last portion completed.

​In the early days, each county carried out their own ex*****ons. The last legal ex*****on in Hill County occurred on a gallows outside the death cell on March 18, 1899. It was conducted by Sheriff Tom Bell. In 1924 the Texas legislature passed a law that all ex*****ons would take place in Huntsville at the state penitentiary.

​The only known breakout from this jail occurred on March 23, 1933 when Raymond Hamilton, member of the notorious Bonnie and Clyde gang, broke out with bank robbers J.B. Stephens and David Cates. He had been convicted at the courthouse for murdering local citizen John N. Bucher on April 30, 1932 -- the first murder committed by any member of that outlaw gang. They overpowered the deputies, stole a car from a gasoline station across the street, and taking some guns from the jail, headed toward Whitney. Sheriff Jim Freeland and deputies took off after them, and after a shootout, brought them back within 90 minutes. Hamilton later was transferred to the Eastham prison where he escaped again, killing a guard in the process. When recaptured he was tried, sentenced and executed in "Old Sparky" the electric chair at Huntsville. He was 20 years old when he died. Pictures from the Sheriff's file are on display elsewhere in the building. Another well-known person who spent the night here was a rock singer picked up for D.W.I. and known for recordings such as Hound Dog and Blue Suede Shoes, etc.

​In the large room at the rear, the cell blocks were two stories high with a cat-walk around three sides -- much like the prisons at Alcatraz and Sing-Sing. In order to utilize space, these have been removed along with some others, but a section adjacent to the Sheriff's office has been preserved for display. The solitary confinement cell, also known as "the hole," has been retained. In it's ceiling is a ring, from which a prisoner dangled until deciding to behave. Grim, painted black and with musty, stale air, many a prisoner quickly changed his attitude.

This jail, condemned for further use as such by Federal Judge Sarah T. Hughes, was in use until mid-1984, when the new facility in Hillsboro was completed.

09/11/2026

You've probably driven past our museum building a hundred times, and had no idea what was inside. For 90 years, this was both a working jail and a home — the sheriff's family lived in the front rooms while prisoners were held just steps away in the back. The floor plan above is exactly as it stood then, and now. This Saturday, come see it yourself.

📍 120 N. Waco St., Hillsboro
🕥 10am–4pm, Saturdays through October
Museum tours are by voluntary donations

09/04/2026

The Early Settlers Life in Texas and the Organization of Hill County offers a fascinating look at the early history of Hill County, Texas. The book includes the author’s journey to Texas, stories of the county’s first settlers, prominent early citizens, Native American conflicts, local government, and the organization and development of Hill County.

You can read the book page by page online through HathiTrust here:
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hn82n4&seq=5

The edition was released in July 1963 through the cooperation of the A. Y. Kirkpatrick family and the Hill County Historical Commission. Because the book is presented as scanned pages, it is generally easier to explore on a full-sized computer rather than a phone.

Hill County history, like Texas itself, is BIG—and this is only one of the many valuable resources available to local historians, researchers, and anyone interested in learning more about our past.

Come explore Hill County history at the Hill County Cell Block Museum. We are open Saturdays, May through October, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with private group tours and appointments also available.

08/25/2026

Historic News Footage: 1993 Hill County Courthouse Fire

This video preserves television news coverage of the devastating 1993 fire at the historic Hill County Courthouse in Hillsboro, Texas.

The fire severely damaged the 1890 courthouse, one of Hill County’s most recognizable landmarks, and became a defining moment in the building’s history. The courthouse was later restored and returned to its place at the center of downtown Hillsboro.

This compilation includes archival news footage from WFAA and other television coverage documenting the fire, the damage, and the community response as the story unfolded.

Shared for historical and educational purposes as part of an effort to preserve the history of Hillsboro and Hill County, Texas.

From the Hill County Cell Block Museum video archives
Hillsboro, Texas

Historic News Footage: 1993 Hill County Courthouse FireThis video...