The old jail building on South Van Buren Street was completed in 1913 at a cost of $140,000. It was built by the firm of Sam Fuller and Will Pulley. Its jail section was constructed to accommodate a maximum of 48 prisoners, four times the capacity of the previous jail which was located on South Madison Street across the street from the present entrance to the rear of the post office parking lot.
Moving day for the inhabitants of the old jail was quite an occasion, according to a report published Oct 1, 1913 in the Marion Evening Post.
There were 16 prisoners in jail at the time, and they were marched on foot from the old building, across the south side of the Public Square to their new home a block west of the Square on Van Buren Street.
Before leaving the building where they had been incarcerated, the newspaper reported, each of the prisoners shook hands with the Jailer, the late G.W. Sisney, who was to remain behind. Moving plans called for Sheriff M.L. Duncan and his family to move from their own home to the quarters in the two-story brick building that included the new jail.
Ample precautions were taken to make certain the transfer of prisoners was accomplished without incident.
“Breaks for safety were slightly expected, but not a man made a move”, the newspaper reported.
The prisoners marched swiftly the four blocks distance between the two jails under the watchful eyes of 12 guards who accompanied them.
Sheriff Duncan occupied the jail until December, 1914 when the late W.T. Harris became sheriff. Sheriff Harris’ son, Attorney Ralph W. Harris, recalls that during the first year of his father’s administration the sheriff’s family did not live at the jail where the living quarters were occupied by a deputy until 1915 when the sheriff moved in.
Attorney Harris recalls many incidents which occurred during the boyhood years he spent as a member of the family occupying the sheriff’s home in the jail building. Among them was a jail break which occurred when he and his mother were the only occupants of the residence section of the building. Several prisoners, who obtained a key from a trustee inmate, fled the jail, but made no effort to harm the sheriff’s wife or her son. Several other prisoners remained in their cells, refusing the opportunity to escape.
In more recent years, jail breaks have been more common, due to in some measure to the deteriorating condition of the jail and the building in general.
The peak use of the old jail came during prohibition years when it was used as a federal jail as well as a lockup for prisoners incarcerated on local charges.
Numerous bootleggers served their federal sentences in the jail here or were kept here awaiting trial. In those days, particularly during the administration of the late Oren Coleman as sheriff, the number of prisoners often exceeded the intended capacity of the structure.
For many years, including the administration of George Galligan as sheriff, the jail population was governed in many respects by a kangaroo court. The court was permitted by the sheriffs as a means of maintaining sanitation and good conduct in a crowded jail. Kangaroo court rules required prisoners to bath regularly, keep their cells clean, and respect the rights of fellow prisoners. The prisoners’ court had a “judge” who conducted trials of alleged offenders, and a “bailiff” to attend the court and see that orders were carried out. A homemade cat o’ nine tails type of whip was used to inflict punishment.
Activities of kangaroo courts may have gotten out of hand sometimes, but having attended some sessions of the court while posing as a prisoner, I found something to be said in its behalf. Prisoners arriving at the jail in those days without respect for rights and property of fellow inmates were taught some before they left.
It is perhaps fitting that the jail should be preserved as the home of the historical society, since it has been the witness of much of the county’s history. Some communities have capitalized on the public fascination for old jails by re-creating museum-like lock-ups for inspection of sightseers.
This jail is an original, it was a headquarters for one phase of activities during the internal strife that divided the county in the early 1920’s, and it was the central point for the county cleanup in the later years of that decade.
One gangster was hanged there, and another man on trial for murder hanged himself in one of its cells.
(Glances at Life by Homer Butler, circa early 1970’s)