Far too rare are cultural destinations like this one -- here in San Marcos, in a small but growing site, is the Calaboose African American History Museum, founded nine years ago by an ambitious woman named Johnnie Armstead.

Constructed in 1873 as the first Hays County Jail, this building was later used as an annex for black prisoners. When new facilities were constructed, it became a neighborhood recreation center, and during WW II, served as a USO center.

The museum is now a repository for artifacts and memories of the city's African American past and offers a broader look at the roles African Americans have filled in law, medicine, science and other fields. Among Armstead's displays is a local black history showcase and an exhibit on the Buffalo Soldiers who helped settle the Texas frontier and fought in the Civil War.

The Calaboose African American History Museum

Corner of Martin Luther King Dr. and Fredericksburg St.

Tours by appointment, call 512.353.0124