1892 Stone Jail in Roby, Texas
Roby, TX 79543
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Active law enforcement facility; no public tour offering. Exterior view only.
Access
Limited Access
Public sidewalks around the courthouse square
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1892 · 19th-Century County Jail · Local Historic Landmark
Roby has served as the county seat of Fisher County since the late 19th century, and the construction of a stone jail in 1892 was one of the early acts of formal county government on the rolling plains west of Abilene. Built in the masonry vocabulary common to Texas county jails of the era, the structure occupied a central location near the courthouse and served generations of sheriffs and deputies.
A new Fisher County jail opened in 2016, transferring custodial operations to a modern facility. The 1892 brick jailhouse was declared a historic landmark at that time, preserving the original building as part of Roby's small downtown core.
The jail remains part of an active sheriff's office complex. Public access is limited to the exterior. The Texas State Historical Association's Handbook of Texas entry for Roby provides the foundational documentation of the jail's construction and the broader development of the county seat.
Fisher County was organized in 1886, taking its name from Samuel Rhoads Fisher, a Texas Republic secretary of the navy. Roby developed as a small ranching and farming community on the rolling plains west of Abilene, and the original jail and adjacent courthouse formed the civic anchor of the town's downtown core. The Texas State Historical Association's Handbook of Texas entry documents Roby's development and the jail's place in county history. The current sheriff's office continues to operate out of the complex.
Sources
The Shadowlands-era account of the Fisher County Jail describes a presence that does not behave the way a typical residual haunting might. Inmates have reportedly felt unexplained touches, watched small objects move or fall, heard toilets flushing in unoccupied cells, and listened to noises in empty corridors. One frequently retold story has the entity lighting a stove for a jailer; another places a sighting in front of the sheriff himself.
The folklore connects the activity to a sheriff and deputy said to have been murdered by an inmate in 1927. Available sources did not corroborate this specific incident in newspaper archives, the Handbook of Texas, or county historical materials. Researchers interested in confirming the date and the names involved would need to consult the Fisher County Historical Commission or local newspaper microfilm.
With no public investigation reports and no formal interpretation by the sheriff's office, the lore exists primarily as oral tradition among current and former staff and the county's small population.
The 1927 murder narrative has not been independently verified in newspaper archives, the Handbook of Texas, or county historical materials. Researchers interested in confirming the date and names would need to consult the Fisher County Historical Commission directly or local newspaper microfilm. The lore exists primarily as oral tradition among current and former staff and the small population of Roby. Paranormal reporting on the jail circulates through Texas haunted-place compilations but lacks investigation publications with site-specific findings.
View the 1892 stone jail in Roby, the seat of Fisher County. The original brick-and-stone jailhouse was declared a historic landmark after a new facility opened in 2016. The building is part of an active sheriff's office complex; observe from the public sidewalk only.
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