TOURISM - a part of history "Squirrel Cage Jails"

PART TWO

The Montgomery County Jail in Indiana (shown below) was the first of the rotary jails to be built. The cost of the facility was $29,000 and was completed in 1882. It is a limestone trimmed red brick jail with attached sheriff’s quarters. It was built in the Richardsonian Romanesque style of architecture. It was used until 1973 and is now home to a museum and on the National Register of Historic Places. It was a two story unit, and is one of the last three to be standing. It is now a museum and offers tours of the facility.


William Brown and Benjamin Haugh , along with John L. Ketcham joined together to form the Haugh, Ketcham and Company after the patent was obtained for the Rotary (also known as the squirrel cage and the lazy Susan) jail.

They would over the years in the late 1800’s build several of these jails throughout the Midwest.

Here are a few of them (only three are still standing):
Montgomery County Jail – Crawfordsville, Indiana
Nodaway County Jail – Maryville, Missouri
McCracken County Jail – Paducah, Kentucky
Pottawatomie County Jail – Council Bluffs, Iowa
DeKalb County Jail – Mayesville, Missouri

The jails operated as follows and caused many problems, physical injuries to the prisoners, sanitary, and equipment failures. Diagram and blueprint of the jail system below

The machinery in the jail consisted of a round cell block with pie shaped cells around the central core. The central core contained all the plumbing and ventilating systems. The cells were divided by plate iron partitions. They also contained iron bunks which were attached to the wall. There were no bars in this cylindrical cell block. Rotation of the cells happened within a stationary cylinder. There was only one door per level that was enclosed in iron-barred vestibules stacked as the cells. The cell block would rotate until the correct cell was aligned with the door, and then the prisoner could be let out or in. No cell had continuous access to the door, and there was not a cat walk around the cells.

Rotation of the cells was done by a hand-crank, located on each level just outside the iron-barred vestibule area. One man operated the crank. Below is the patent cover sheet.

Pottawatomie County Jail – Council Bluffs, Iowa(pictured below) is the home of the only three story rotary type jail which was built in 1885 at the cost of $30,000. The jail closed in 1969, but looks much like it did when it was in operation. The walls of the cells are filled with scratching’s from some of the infamous prisoners. It is well restored as a glimpse of that era of our society. It to is now a museum and is open to the public for tours. It also is on the National Registry of Historical Locations.

In Part 3 of this look at Squirrel Cage Jails, I will be taking a look at the jail located in Gallatin, Missouri. It is a one story rotary jail, and was copied and built by a St. Louis firm.

Until then........

GEN. JOHN J. PERSHING - A MISSOURI SON

ROAD TRIP

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2010

Traveling throughout Missouri, we are constantly seeking out those hidden sites of interest. This last weekend was no different. Our road trip took us up north in Missouri along Hwy. 36. We had originally planned the trip so that I could do some more research on Missouri County Courthouses, and also to look at possible sites to go quail and pheasant hunting. But we were pleased to find another gem of history on our journey! And it is so close to home.

We turned off Hwy. 36 at Hwy. 5 stopping briefly in Laclede, Missouri on our way to the county seat of Linn County, which is Linneus, Missouri. In Laclede we visited the boyhood home of General John J. Pershing.

General Pershing was born in Laclede, Missouri on September 13, 1860. He was born to John Fletcher Pershing and Ann Elizabeth Thompson. He had five siblings and attended school in Laclede. At that time school training was reserved for children of the prominent families of the community.

As we all know, General Pershing went on to accomplish a lot in his life through his military career. If you are interested in visiting this site, I highly recommend it. These little spots of history are scattered throughout our wonderful state of Missouri.

You might be surprised who comes from Missouri! I would suggest that you look up more information on General John J. Pershing, you will be impressed with his accomplishments!

Travel down the road.........

learn more about our history!

EXPERIENCING MISSOURI OFF THE BEATEN PATH

DOWN THE ROAD AGAIN

Curiosity is peaking and a road trip in the works for Sunday, where to – Kingston, Missouri. This little community is the county seat of Caldwell County Missouri. It seems to be almost a ghost town, but the county courthouse is still standing and functioning as the center of county government. Surely there has to be some tourist draw in this quaint little area. There are 287 residents in this small rural town, according the sign. So I am off to find out why people would be interested in this community as a tourist stop.

The history of this county is vast. Everything from Native Americans, civil war ties, and Mormon history comes out of this county. While there were not any “battles” here during the Civil War, there were famous skirmishes. Also during the Mormon War, fighting was fierce among the opposing sides in this county. This should be something that would draw history buffs to visit.

Kingston is the oldest city in Caldwell County, Missouri, becoming the county seat in or around 1843. The city is named for Judge King, a popular circuit judge in Richmond at that time, and later he became the governor of the state.

The courthouse that stands there today was built in 1898. The cornerstone was laid on September 2, 1898. It was completed on December 1, 1898 at the cost of $24,827. The building is still being used today for the county offices, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is a beautiful building and looks as if it should be surrounded by a bustling town square. However, that is not the case.

The present courthouse is the 4th courthouse to be built in Caldwell County. Kingston was not the original county seat, but won its challenge against Hamilton to become the county seat of Caldwell County when Far West was dissolved, and is still the headquarters of the county.

My curiosity was peaked when we got to Kingston. I was extremely curious about the former county seat of Far West. So we followed the signs to what once was Far West. There is a lot of history in this area with the Mormons. The town no longer stands, but there is a beautiful monument and picnic area where Far West once stood. Well worth a drive to see…even if you are of another faith. History crossed all barriers and religions…it is the history of our country.

Although I am not a historian, I will try to provide a little background about the creation of Caldwell County. It was created in December 1836 by the Missouri General Assembly and to be dedicated to Mormon settlers. At that time the county seat was a town called Far West. Mormons who were being driven out of Jackson County gathered in Caldwell County. There was a lot of friction between the non-Mormons and the Mormons. The Mormons were run out of this area when Joseph Smith was arrested. Far West was left to fade away.

My suggestion to you if you want to know more about this intriguing area’s history do some research and then take a road trip to see it for yourself. There is a lot available online, so push ahead and look it up. Then go see it!! Step out of the box of comfort. Experience Missouri!!!!!! Experience history!