Squirrel Cage Jail - Council Bluffs, IA
Posted by: 
Hikenutty
N 41° 15.464 W 095° 51.106
15T E 261085 N 4571291
The Squirrel Cage Jail is a lazy-susan style building, where a hand crank turns the separate levels of the jail so only one door at a time is able to be unlocked.
Waymark Code: WM1VX7
Location: Iowa, United States
Date Posted: 07/16/2007
Views: 78
The following information is from "A Sightseer's Guide to Engineering".
The county jail was built in 1865 at a cost of $30,000, most of which was spent on engineering. The so-called "Squirrel Cage Jail" is essentially a three-story lazy-susan, with each level divided into 10 pie-shaped cells. A jailer could rotate the entire unit with just a hand crank. The design was patented in 1881 by William H. Brown and Benjamin F. Haugh, both of Indianapolis, "to produce a jail in which prisoners can be controlled without the necessity of personal contact between them and the jailer." The jail held up to 63 prisoners, who could not leave their cells unless their cell was cranked around to the single doorway on their level.
The jail is now operated as a museum. Hours vary so check out the website below for current schedule of tours.
Location:
226 Pearl St.
Council Bluffs, Iowa
Type of structure/site: Building
Date of Construction: Late 1800's
Engineer/Architect/Builder etc.: by William H. Brown and Benjamin F. Haugh; architects: Eckel and Mann of St. Joseph, MO; contractor: Wickham Brothers of Council Bluffs.
Engineering Organization Listing: National Society of Professional Engineers
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Secondary Web Site: [Web Link]
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