Before this building was transformed into an art museum (a welcoming and thoughtful environment) its use to isolate and incarcerate!
Upstairs in the original 1877 section of our museum is a cell with a thick solid iron door. Today the walls of that cell are white- washed, the brick floor is laid in a beautiful pattern, and the glass of the six surrounding windows allows for natural light while keeping the elements at bay. However when John Hayden spent eighteen months in this jail cell in 1923- that space offered quite a different experience.
John Hayden was African American citizen of Albany Texas at the turn of the last century. He, his parents and siblings called the town home from the early days of its founding. At that time, jobs were limited for minorities, but Hayden had a good one as a cook for the local Sackett Hotel. Although the details of the event are hazy, after one dramatic evening at work he was he was accused of assault with intent to murder. John was then placed in the solitary confinement cell to spend a year and a half of waiting and isolation. It is difficult to imagine what that experience would have been, but it was certainly one without much hope or comfort.
When John finally saw his day in court he was found “not guilty” of all charges and released. And in many ways, that is where his notoriety ends. However, what he left behind in that small cell, lives on to this day as one of the most impactful visuals of the entire building.
During those 18 months, Hayden inscribed his name into the limestone rock of his cell. One can only imagine the crude tool he may have used, or the hours of scraping it took to carve those letters into that wall. Two of the most notable features of his graffiti are the surprising depth of the excision, and the backwards letter “J” that begins his inscription. We know the fact that Hayden wrote his full name is historically significant. In small rural Texas towns during the 1920s, possessing an academic education was a growing trend, but certainly not viewed as a ‘need’ in a man’s life such as the ability to perform manual labor on farms and ranches. Probably about three-quarters of the general population was literate, and this was even less for the African American population.
Although the jailers at the time probably viewed Hayden’s actions as destructive, his graffiti (along with the steel bars of the windows and doors) as what makes this historic space in our museum iconic.
And what of the remainder of Hayden’s story as an Albany citizen? Well, we know he married Blanche Smith. We also know that his family all stayed and worked in the town their entire lives and are buried at the Albany Cemetery. We love to recommend that our visitors go and find his grave after viewing his mark in the museum.
We also enjoy utilizing Hayden’s work to engage our museum visitors in conversation about changing social perspectives regarding race, justice and the continuing modern debate of graffiti as destruction of property versus/as well as personal expression.
We often conclude a tour of his cell with the notion that, if visual art is a form of self-expression, then John Hayden’s contribution to the Old Jail in 1923 was probably the first work of “art” in our museum.
Jewellee Kuenstler
THC&P Coordinator
