County Jail in the old Railroad Building - Milan, MO
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 40° 12.160 W 093° 07.409
15T E 489490 N 4450258
This building, built by the railroad, used as county courthouse for 30 years and used as county jail. Today it is a museum.
Waymark Code: WM11TAC
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 12/15/2019
Views: 1
County of building: Sullivan County
Location of building: 117 N. Water St., Milan
Built: 1898
Architect:
Architectural Style: Romanesque
"The Quincy, Omaha and Kansas City Railroad Office Building, 117
North Water Street, Milan, Sullivan County, was completed in 1898. Located at
the southwest corner of Second and Water streets, it is one block from the
courthouse square. The two story brick building was constructed with few
stylistic embellishments, other than the rounded, Romanesque entryway on Water
Street and the similarly arched second story windows on all four sides of the
building. It sits over a. full basement on a limestone foundation. Relatively
few alterations have been made over the years and it stands today very much as
it did when first constructed. As specified by the Quincy, Omaha and Kansas
City (QO&KC) Railroad, the building was constructed to accommodate 18 offices.
The intricate brick and stone work and the elaborate pressed metal cornice are
intact. The only outside entrance to the offices is through the arched
doorway on Water Street. The QO&KC Railroad Office Building retains its
integrity of location, design, materials, and workmanship.
"In 1940 when the county offices were moved to the new
courthouse and the building was equipped for a jail with housing for the
sheriff and family, some alterations were made to the interior.
"On the second floor, the partition was removed between the two rooms on the
north to accommodate prisoners. Iron-bar cells were installed and iron bars
were placed across the windows in that room. The cells and bars were removed
in 1964, but the area on the north remains one large room." ~ NRHP Nomination Form
"Built in 1898, this structure was intended to be the local office building for the Quincy, Omaha, and Kansas City Railroad. That setup never materialized, and in 1908, when the Sullivan County Courthouse on the square was destroyed by fire, the county moved into this edifice. Approximately 30 years later, the county finally got funding to build the current Sullivan County Courthouse in 1939. So this lovely masonry building functioned as the temporary county courthouse for much of the early 20th century. After 1939, it continued to be used by the county as the Sullivan County Jail. It was replaced as such in the 1960s" ~ Courthouselover in Flicker