The Montgomery County Jail at Crawfordsville, IN, was the first rotary jail constructed in the United States (1881).
The jail features a two story, 30-ton rotary mechanism that housed 16 wedge shaped jail cells. The jail mechanism was built above a basement which included a circular brick wall underneath the rotary jail’s perimeter to keep gear tracking stable. Although more expensive to build, this kept the rotary jail in working order far longer than other rotary jails such as the one later built at Gallatin, MO, where adjustment arms were used on jail cells suspended from an central axis. Thus, the Montgomery County Jail was the first rotary jail ever built in America and the last to be in actual operation (1973).
The Crawfordsville jail was also distinctive for its handsome sheriff’s residence which was added after the jail’s initial construction. A heating plant, located in an adjacent building, was converted into a community center in more recent years.
The first squirrel cage jail built in the United States was the Montgomery County Jail at Crawfordsville, IN. The handsome sheriff’s residence was added after the jail was constructed.
The first rotary jail built in the United States was at Crawfordsvile, IN. Daviess County Historical Society leaders visited rotary jails at Crawfordsville, IN, and at Council Bluffs, IA, to gain insights on what might be done at the squirrel cage jail in Gallatin, MO.
The first squirrel cage jail built in the United States was the Montgomery County Jail at Crawfordsville, IN. A handsome sheriff’s residence was added after the jail was constructed.
The first squirrel cage jail built in the United States was the Montgomery County Jail at Crawfordsville, IN. A handsome sheriff’s residence was added after the jail was constructed.
Postcards were distributed promoting interest in the antique rotary jail at Crawfordsville, IN. This postcard dates to 1929, a recreation of how inmates spent much of their time during incarceration.
The first squirrel cage jail built in the United States was the Montgomery County Jail at Crawfordsville, IN. A handsome sheriff’s residence was added after the jail was constructed. The heating plant for the jail facility, located in an adjascent building, was later converted to house a community center.
The first squirrel cage jail built in the United States was the Montgomery County Jail at Crawfordsville, IN.
Large windows for light and ventilation were features of rotary jail buildings. In its original design, horizontal bars were offset so that windows opened and closed on a centered pivot, thus keeping inmates constantly behind bars.
The first squirrel cage jail built in the United States was the Montgomery County Jail at Crawfordsville, IN. A handsome sheriff’s residence was added after the jail was constructed.
The first squirrel cage jail built in the United States was the Montgomery County Jail at Crawfordsville, IN. The hand crank still worked the antique squirrel cage as late as the 1990s when this photo was taken.
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