Jackson County Jail and Marshal's House
Jackson County Jail and Marshal's House | |
Location | 217 N. Main St., Independence, Missouri |
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Coordinates | 39°5′36″N 94°24′55″W / 39.09333°N 94.41528°W |
Area | 0.2 acres (0.081 ha) |
Built | 1859 |
Architectural style | Federal |
NRHP reference No. | 70000333[1] |
Added to NRHP | June 15, 1970 |
The Jackson County Jail and Marshal's House in
Construction
The building was designed by A. B. Cross, a notable early architect in Kansas City, Missouri, and was constructed in 1859. The front is a home for the countymarshal, and the rear has twelve limestone jail cells. A brick structure was added on to the rear of the original jail in 1907, to house chain gangs who worked on roads, sewers, and other public projects.[2]
The marshal's office formed part of the residence, but has a separate entryway from the house. The jail consisted of six upstairs and six downstairs cells, with two-foot thick walls of limestone blocks. A single kerosene lamp in the hallway provided the only light at night. Two doors, one of grated iron and one of solid iron, were provided for each cell, as was a window covered with grated iron that permitted wind from the outside to enter.[3] The cells were not heated, and some prisoners died of exposure.[4] Each cell is six by nine feet and intended for three prisoners, though during the Civil War, up to twenty prisoners were confined in each one.[3]
The marshal's wife cooked meals for her family and the prisoners, in a small kitchen at the back of the house. The Marshal was paid about US$50 (equivalent to about $1,700 in 2023) per month plus the use of the house.[3]
Some of the crimes charged upon its prisoners prior to the Civil War included: horse racing on public streets, firing guns in town, operating a gaming house, assault and battery, disturbing the peace, disturbing a religious meeting, or building a privy "not over a pit".[3]
Notable prisoners
During the
References
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ a b 1859 Jail, Marshal's Home and Museum Archived 2011-09-04 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ a b c d e f "Teaching guide for 1859 Jail, Marshal's Home and Museum". Archived from the original on 2011-09-30. Retrieved 2011-08-30.
- ^ Team Searches for the Supernatural in 1859 Jail Archived 2012-03-20 at the Wayback Machine. Independence Examiner, 18 June 2010.