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Travis County was created Jan. 25, 1840, from Bastrop County and was named for William Barrett Travis, commander at the Alamo. The county was organized on Jan. 1, 1840, with Austin as the county seat. Austin was the largest city in the county, but Travis County included the small town of Abilene and covered 40,000 square miles. Travis County was later divided into 14 separate counties. There have been 32 men and one woman who have served as Sheriff of Travis County. The Travis County Sheriff serves a four year term. Originally, the terms were one year terms (1840-1846) and two year terms (1847-1956). The first Sheriff was elected on March 14, 1840 and won by six votes.In the 1850's, the city and county began to prosper. The population of the city was 629 and the population of the county 3,138 citizens and 2,063 slaves. One acre of land cost $1.28. With the population growing, Travis County became a breeding ground for lawlessness. The Sheriff was responsible for all law enforcement in the city until the city of Austin created its own police department in 1851. Although the Travis County Commissioners wished to create a county jail in 1840, it did not become a reality until 1847 when they authorized the construction. The commissioners court appointed S.M. Swenson to oversee the selection process for construction of the jail. An annoucement was made on March 6, 1847, that proposals including plans and specs would be accepted for erection of a jail until March 15, 1847, at “Swishers Tavern.” Thomas H. Jones was awarded the contract. Thomas William Ward, James G. Swisher, John J. Gambles, and Abner H. Cook were appointed to draft plans. Ward, Swisher and Lamar Moore were appointed to supervise the construction. The jail was built under contract with local Mormons for a cost of $1,800. The jail was a small double log construction built on the Old Courthouse block, the fourth block west of Congress Avenue, between Guadalupe and San Antonio, West 3rd and 4th streets. It was destroyed by fire in 1855. The second courthouse and jail facility was built in 1856. It was also on the “Old Courthouse Block” between Guadalupe and San Antonio streets, and between West Third and West Fourth.The following is a description of the jail taken from county records of the time. 'The courthouse and jail is to be of brick, 50’x70’ wide and 20‘ high. The jail is to have two walls, the outer of brick and the inner of dungeon stones, and four feet thick, 16’X16’. Mr. Jones is to receive $16,000 for the completion of said building. He is an energetic man, and proposes to finish the structure in time for the fall court. The jail was often referred to as ‘The Black Hole Calcutta.’ It was not uncommon to have as many as 34 prisoners in the jail at one time.” This courthouse and jail facility was razed in 1906.  Travis County obtained the property for the next location through a 99-year lease with the State of Texas. The property at 11th and Congress belonged to the Texas Game Fish and Oyster Commission. The courthouse moved to 11th St. and Congress Ave., with the jail at 11th and Brazos. The architects of Lamour & Klerke designed the jail facility. It was 50’X 60’, built in one large room enclosed with two foot walls made of solid hard stone. The cells were two stories in height, giving in all twenty-four cells, each cell 8’ X 10”. By a novel patent lever arrangement all of the cell doors can be closed and shut at the pleasure of the jailer, without coming in contact with the prisoners.The jailers residence was connected to the jail by means of a long corridor. The jail, jailers residence and courthouse cost $200,000. The construction was financed by a local property tax increase and a state approved bond election. In 1931, the State of Texas gave Travis County land in exchange to break the lease. Travis County broke ground on the current courthouse, which opened in 1930. The current courthouse was considered a “State of the Art” facility upon completion at a cost of $1 million. The jail was on the 6th and 7th floors of the courthouse with a capacity of 100 inmates. In 1950, the courthouse was expanded at a cost of $225,000 and the jail capacity was increased to 250 inmates. In 1978, a jail bond issue was passed and plans began for a new jail. It was scheduled to open in 1981-82. However, a series of design and operational problems ensued that resulted in litigation between Travis County and the architects and contractors. The original cost of the jail was $13 million, but when it was finally completed it cost $20 million. The county won its lawsuit and the jail finally opened in July 1986 with a capacity of 267 inmates. It is currently west of the county courthouse in the Criminal Justice Complex. As a result of a lawsuit filed in 1972, Musgrove vs. Frank, which said the jail atop the county courthouse was unconstitutional. This same lawsuit eventually resulted in the closure of the courthouse jail on July 3, 1990. Because of overcrowding, a minimum security jail facility was built in Del Valle, Texas, with a capacity of 96 inmates.The cost of that facility was $1.4 million. The largest portion of the Travis County jail population is at the Travis County Correctional Complex in Del Valle, Texas. There are more than 19 buildings that house more than 2,500 inmates.