An excerpt from the book, “Pensacola’s Finest,” available on Amazon
By Mike Simmons
The April 12, 1838, edition of The Pensacola Gazette contained the following article:
In 1836 the city erected a good and substantial jail on the site of the old Spanish Calaboose. This building was a two-story brick building. The bottom floor was for the prisoners, and the cell which housed all of them was 15 feet by 16 feet. The second floor was where Fransisco Touart and his family lived. Touart’s duties included looking after the peace and quiet of the city, committing and releasing prisoners, ringing the city bell on all proper occasions, and feeding the prisoners.
There had been several escapes made from the old jail on the same site. Prisoners were able to escape at will. The new facility was stronger and better built. However, escapes, while not as common, still occurred.
This building had two floors. The prisoners, who were housed on the bottom, had 24-hour access to the goings-on of the family above them. Accounts were written about the jailer’s habits and relationships with his family. There were also stories of how the jailer would be hired to beat a person’s slaves if they could not bring themselves to do it. The jailer’s wife was also the cook for the inmates.
