Pottawattamie County Jail
Encyclopedia
The Pottawattamie County Jail in Council Bluffs, Iowa
, United States
was built in 1885 and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1972. The building is a Squirrel Cage Jail, also known as a Rotary Jail
.
. It was built at a cost of $30,000. The building was one of 18 such jails that were built in the United States and the only one that was three-stories tall. The front part of the jail had offices for the jailer, kitchen, trustee cells and quarters for women. The rest of the building is made up of pie-shaped cells that revolved inside of a cage. The building was designed for maximum security with minimal contact between the prisoners and the jailers. The building was used as a jail until 1969. In 1971 the Council Bluffs Park Board acquired the building and in 1977 the county historical society took ownership of the building and maintains it as a museum.
Council Bluffs, Iowa
Council Bluffs, known until 1852 as Kanesville, Iowathe historic starting point of the Mormon Trail and eventual northernmost anchor town of the other emigrant trailsis a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States and is on the east bank of the Missouri River across...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
was built in 1885 and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1972. The building is a Squirrel Cage Jail, also known as a Rotary Jail
Rotary Jail
A Rotary jail was an architectural design for some prisons in the US Midwest during the late 19th century. Cells in the jails were arranged so that they rotated in a carousel fashion; allowing only one cell at a time to be accessible from the single opening per level.-Design and patent:The rotary...
.
History
Construction of the jail was simultaneous with that of the county’s new courthouse, which was finished in 1888. It was designed by William H. Brown and Benjamin F. Haugh of Indianapolis, IndianaIndianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
. It was built at a cost of $30,000. The building was one of 18 such jails that were built in the United States and the only one that was three-stories tall. The front part of the jail had offices for the jailer, kitchen, trustee cells and quarters for women. The rest of the building is made up of pie-shaped cells that revolved inside of a cage. The building was designed for maximum security with minimal contact between the prisoners and the jailers. The building was used as a jail until 1969. In 1971 the Council Bluffs Park Board acquired the building and in 1977 the county historical society took ownership of the building and maintains it as a museum.