TOURISM - a part of history "Squirrel Cage Jails"

PART THREE

Davies County Jail - Squirrel Cage

Gallatin, Missouri

In this writing, I will be looking at the “squirrel cage” jail that is located in Gallatin, Missouri – a short drive from the Kansas City area. Great day trip for those living close, and it is open to the public for tours.

This jail is one of the only three jails of this type still standing. While the others were designed under the patent of Brown-Haugh and built by their company, Gallatin was built by Pauley Jail Building & Mfg. Company out of St. Louis, Missouri.

The jail was built during 1888-1889 and kept open until 1975 when it was closed. The cost of building the jail has been recorded as $11,261.15.

The jail had one of the first indoor plumbing systems in Gallatin. The refuse collection and disposal system was one of a kind back then. With every revolution of the cage, the flushing of the collection would go to pipes below and out.

This particular jail featured a one door entry to the cells and was one story. The jailer used a hand crank to rotate the cells. The continued maintenance of the gear system below was a nightmare to the jailers who had to perform the tasks. It was a tight crawl space and often filled with raw sewage.

In 1964, the jail was condemned as a fire hazard by the State of Missouri. The jail was then modified, but closed permanently in 1975 as a jail. Today it is a museum of sorts, and open to the public for tours.

Gallatin’s rotary jail differs from others built; the sheriff’s home was attached to the jail during the original construction.

Confinement in these jails was almost a cruel and unusual punishment for prisoners. One prisoner served a yearlong sentence in the jail. The small cells (8ft tall and 7 ½ ft. long) were so cramped and offered no room for a lot of movement. There was a bunk and toilet area. Bathing was done outside the unit. The cell lacked proper ventilation, and the floors were iron which made them cold during the winter months.

A fear of the prisoners, as well as jailers was the amputation of limbs that might be hanging through the bars when it rotated. The fire hazard was always there, and could be a death trap if the jail was to catch on fire.

Another health hazard for the prisoners was that they had to eat in their cells. Food was good though, as the Sheriff’s wife did the cooking and prisoners were served the same thing as the family. The prisoners’ food was passed through a “grub hole” in the area where prisoners were allowed.

The diagram below shows the pie shaped cells – they were tight and very uncomfortable. This drawing is from the original patent, but does represent the way the Gallatin jail cells are arranged. Gallatin was a one story jail.

As the years started to take a toll on the workings of the rotary, parts began to break and repairs were becoming harder. Decisions were made by counties that had these jails, to modify them, close them or tear them down. They are a part of history, so thankfully three survived.

I would highly recommend a day trip to the Gallatin “Squirrel Cage” jail to see part of the American history that is still available. Walk through the area and see the pie shaped cell, along with all the scribbling’s on the wall from the prisoners.

The Gallatin jail is also listed on the National Registry of Historical Places!

Enjoy!

Marilyn


Note: Learning about the past is always exciting. Just a side note, many paranormal invetigation groups have been visiting these three remaining jails for activity.

SQUIRREL CAGE JAILS - a part of Missouri History

TOURISM - Squirrel Cage Jails

PART ONE

I am going to have to break this writing into three separate blog postings. The topic is part of American history, and writing about it takes some time. I first wrote about these jails during my senior year at University of Missouri - Columbia. I am going to try and condense my thirty-five page research paper into a three part blog. I will not be able to cover everything I included in the paper, but hopefully I will be able to entice you into looking at these jails further.

Researching items and locations in Missouri that attract tourists has been a passion of mine for several years, and while at MU I was able to fine tune my interest. I am not necessarily interested in the numbers (although they matter), but I am interested in the why. Why do tourists visit some of the points of interest, but not all. I am trying to highlight some of the little known attractions that would make great day trips for local tourists.

It took four months for me to research this topic and to visit the three remaining locations. I will cover a little of the history and basics of this unique type of jail, and then finish with a look at the Missouri connections and locations.

The topic is “Squirrel cage jails”, “human rotary jails” or also known as “lazy Susan jails”. Originally there were 18 of them in the late 1800’s and mainly located in the Midwest.

In the late 1800’s, William H. Brown – an architect and Benjamin F. Haugh – an ironwork businessman, both from Indianapolis, Indiana designed and patented the rotating jail concept known as Squirrel Cage Jails. The patent was issued on July 12, 1881 to Brown and Haugh. They declared in their paperwork that the object of their invention was to jail where prisoners could be easily controlled without constant supervision from the jailer. The overall concept was to provide maximum security with the least amount of jailer supervision. The Gallatin, Missouri jail was built by a St. Louis company that changed the patent jail a little.

The pie shaped cells and the revolving mechanism proved to be a problem as the jails were used. Living conditions became almost unbearable with sewage conditions, and several prisoners lost arms and hands from the rotating of the cells. The mechanism would also lock up, keeping the jail from rotating to allow for meals and other tasks. These type of jail was not as efficient as its designers had intended. They actually become so dangerous that their use was discontinued in the early 1900's.

There were originally 18 of these jails built, and today only three are left standing. Most were closed in the period between 1960 -1978. All but the three were torn down. Today those still standing are being used as museums of some type and are open to visitors. They are all on the National Historical Registry.

In the next blog posting I will be writing about two of the rotary jails that are unique in their own right, and are in other states. My last posting will be about the jail in Missouri, located in Gallatin.

Enjoy a little history and tourism information!

Marilyn