This spring the Robert E. Nail Jr. Archives will debut a new exhibit with a focus on the history of our own fine art institution. The Old Jail Art Center (OJAC) opened in 1980 with four small galleries in the first permanent jail built in Shackelford County. Construction began in 1877 and the limestone work was done by Scottish stonemasons who carved their initials into the large blocks to insure payment for work done once the fledgling county was solvent.
The jail building was closed in 1929 and remained vacant until June of 1940 when playwright and Fort Griffin Fandangle creator Robert E. Nail, Jr. purchased the building and land. Nail used the jail as a writing studio until in death in 1968. Reilly Nail, Princeton graduate, former television producer, and local author inherited the building from his ‘Uncle Bobby.’
Within a decade, Reilly and his cousin, Fort Worth Circle artist Bill Bomar, decided to combine their collections of 20th century Modern Art and the collections of their mothers to form the core of the OJAC permanent collection, which now numbers over 2,400 works of art. After three years of planning and renovation, they opened the Old Jail Art Center to the public in December of 1980.
Spear-headed by the vision of Reilly Nail, the museum has become a respected, accredited, and nationally recognized fine art institution. Nor could any of the success and recognition the museum enjoys have been accomplished without all of the hard work and dedication by past and current board members, staff, donors, docents, interns, and countless others.
Molly Sauder, Archivist and Librarian
