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Council Bluffs, Iowa is purportedly the home of the only
squirrel cage jail. The old Pottawattamie County jail. I don't believe it's been in use since the 60's but now is on the National Register for Historic Places.
The jail was designed to provide "maximum security with minimum jailer attention." The jail is essentially a three-story cylinder with each level of the cylinder divided into small, pie-piece-shaped cells.
The jail just sat empty off an on for years. I remember hearing it would be open for tours, then closed again. For a few Halloween's it was dressed up inside for a haunted house. The place was spooky. Dark, way too quiet and just a place you would not want to be stuck in over night.
Past inmates names are still scratched on the wall. I know I seen my brother in law's name there.
It seems they are finally doing some restoration on the old jail and looking for donations.
For video and information on the jail see here and here.
Cool I love stuff like this!
The last Wooden jail in existence is down near Lafayette somewhere. I read it in the paper. The way it was built was really col. It used to house Union prisoners during the civil war. Someone was using it as a storage shed when it was found by historians. Thats a testament to its craftmanship.
My dad's from Carson. He tells many a story about going to Council Bluffs, but I don't recall the jail figuring in any of them.
He used to tell people he was born in Pottawattamie County on the banks of the Nishnabotna, but only because they'd accuse him of making it up.
Posted by: LittleA at October 2, 2003 04:18 PM