The Old Allen County Jail is a former

jail A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

in Iola,

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Built in the late 1860s, it operated as a detention facility for nearly a century before a replacement opened; today, it is the Old Jail Museum, operated by the Allen County Historical Society, and it has been designated a

historic site A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been rec ...

Structure

The jail is a stone

rubble masonry Rubble stone is rough, uneven building stone not laid in regular courses. It may fill the core of a wall which is faced with unit masonry such as brick or ashlar. Analogously, some medieval cathedral walls are outer shells of ashlar with an inn ...

structure, two

stories Story or stories may refer to: Common uses * Story, a narrative (an account of imaginary or real people and events) ** Short story, a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting * Story (American English), or storey (British ...

tall and constructed of large blocks of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. Its walls are approximately thick. As originally designed, the jail contained living space for the jailer on the second story and prison space on the first story; the cells were built of steel bars and placed on the solid stone floor. The facade includes two second-story windows and a central door on the first story.Pankratz, Richard D. ''National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Allen County Jail''.

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

, 1974-09-04. Although it was called the finest jail in southeastern Kansas at the time of its completion, it was never secure; over the course of its history, many prisoners escaped by removing bars from windows or cutting holes in the roof.

Early history

As a result of disputes between residents of different areas of the county, Allen County lacked a jail for its initial years. The situation was resolved in 1868 after voters approved a $10,000

bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemical ...

for the erection of a jail in Iola. Under the direction of the local

contractors A general contractor, main contractor or prime contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and the communication of information to all involved parties throughout the course of ...

White and Hays, the building was finished in October of the following year at a price of $8,400; it was the first public building to be erected by the county government. Due to its reputation as the region's best jail, two other southeastern Kansas counties contracted with Allen County to use the structure for their own prisoners during the 1870s.

Recent history

By the middle of the twentieth century, the original design of the jail had become insufficient for the county's needs. No more did the jailer live in the jail; the first floor cells were abandoned, and the prisoners were confined to the second floor. In the late 1950s, county officials came to the decision that a new jail was needed; a contract for the construction of such a structure was signed in early 1957, and the new jail opened in January 1959. During this process, many local citizens expressed a desire to see the old jail preserved; the 1957

Kansas Legislature The Kansas Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. It is a bicameral assembly, composed of the lower Kansas House of Representatives, with 125 state representatives, and the upper Kansas Senate, with 40 state senators. ...

passed a law to permit the county to convey to the Allen County Historical Society, which has since converted it into a museum. In 1971, the jail was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

because of its significant place in local history; key to its inclusion was its place as the first building erected by Allen County and its service as a rural jail for nearly ninety years. It was Allen County's only National Register property for over twenty-five years, until Iola's Northrup House was added to the Register in 1997. The current Allen County jail was built in 2004.

References

External links

Allen County Historical Society

{{National Register of Historic Places Government buildings completed in 1869 Infrastructure completed in 1869 1959 disestablishments in Kansas Museums in Allen County, Kansas History museums in Kansas Jails on the National Register of Historic Places in Kansas Prison museums in the United States Jails in Kansas 1869 establishments in Kansas National Register of Historic Places in Allen County, Kansas

Structure

Early history

Recent history

References

Further reading

External links