Pottawattamie County Jail
( Squirrel Cage Jail )
| Dates: | 1884-1885 |
| Location: | 226 Pearl Street, Council Bluffs, Iowa |
| Architects: | Eckel & Mann, architects, of St. Joseph, Missouri |
| Contractors | Wickham Brothers, of Council Bluffs (J. M. Carter, Superintendent of Construction) |
| Rotary Jail: | Haugh, Ketcham & Co., of Indianapolis ($21,000) |
| Cost: | almost $30,000 |
In 1882 from architects Eckel and Mann provided Pottawattamie County officials with plans for a new county jail. They had also designed the Nodaway County Jail in 1882. In 1884 plans were approved and the county officials visited the St. Joseph and Mayville, Missouri, jails. Bids opened in April, 1885, and the building was completed in 5 months, opening on September 10, 1885. As construction of the jail was completed, a new court house was commenced, being finished in 1888.
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| Pottawattamie County Jail, side view showing jail wing, 1977 (Image from HABS/HAER) | Front facade, c.1990 (Image kindly provided by The Historical Society of Pottawattamie County, Iowa) |
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| Interior of one of a cell showing bunk beds and water closet niche, 2005 (Image kindly provided by The Historical Society of Pottawattamie County, Iowa) |
The Pottawattamie County Jail has a three-tier cell block with ten cells per tier. The massive cell block weighs 45 tons and seems to have been too heavy to function properly. It became stuck frequently and required constant amateur modifications to keep it running.
Originally the jail was intended to rotate continuously throughout the night by means of a water wheel in the basement. Brown & Haugh wrote in the patent specifications: “We have also conceived the idea of keeping the cell structure in continual rotation during the night, or at any other time when the prisoners cannot be conveniently watched, and thus prevent even an attempt on their part to cut their way out at such times.” They proposed a weight or spring system similar to a large clock. This seems to have been the only jail built with a continual rotation system. However, the system did not work well and a Night Jailer was hired. All traces of the water wheel system were removed at an unknown date.
The fourth floor was originally meant to be the quarters of the Jailer (officially the Deputy Sheriff), the Matron (his wife) and their family. No Pottawattamie County Sheriff ever lived on the fourth floor. The jail’s sewage system does not seem to have worked well, forcing one jailer to convert the second floor women’s cells into an apartment so he could escape the smell.
In 1960 a prisoner died of natural causes in his cell. The cellblock jammed and the body remained inacessable for several days. The cylinder was disabled following this incident, and doore were cut into each cell. Electric lights were also added to the individual cells. The jail closed in 1969. A new courthouse was built in 1975 and the 1885-1888 courthouse, also designed by Eckel & Mann, was demolished in 1977.
The Pottawattamie County Jail was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. Much of the building has been restored during 2003-2005, including replacement of deteriorated bricks and windows, and so forth. The jail is likely to be designated a National Historic Landmark in the next few years.
The Historical Society of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, has a great deal of information on the Pottawattamie County Jail on its web site, along with information on architects Eckel & Mann.