County of site: Marion County
Location of site: W. Lafayette St. & S. Dickerson St., Palmyra
Built: 1858
Architectural Style: Greek Revival
"Constructed in 1858, the Marion County Jail and Jailor's Residence is located at 210 W.
Lafayette St., Palmyra, Marion County, Missouri. The two-part building consists of a brick, double-pile,
central passage main block, resembling a deep l-house and a broad two story ell constructed of dressed
limestone blocks. A full-width, one story front porch across the primary facade, a later addition, is
supported by smooth tampering Doric columns. Greek Revival styling is evident in a dentiled brickwork
frieze which wraps in to the gable ends for a pedimented effect, along with side lights and segmented
transom framing the main entrance.
"The Marion County jail in Palmyra was built in 1858 and is commonly known as the Palmyra
Massacre Jail. It is situated on the northeast corner of Lafayette and Dickerson streets. It is a vernacular
two story Greek Revival building with a large rear ell. The main block is 45 feet wide by 36 feet deep. In
the original configuration, the main block served as the jailor's house. The rear ell was the principal jail
space and was for male prisoners only. Entry to the female cells is through the main house, about two thirds up the stairs to the second floor. These two sizable cells are original, extending into the jail block on
the same level as the upper level men's cells.
"In all respects, both the residential portion and the jail itself retain a high degree of Civil War-era integrity,
with virtually no irreversible modifications. Much of the interior woodwork is intact, and the windows are
original. It is typical of many Midwestern house/jail combinations of the period mid-nineteenth and early
twentieth century and is virtually the twin to the jail built in 1864 on the square in Carthage, Illinois, which is
listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
"The jail sits on the west half of a double lot, with a parking lot on the east half of the lot along Dickerson
Street. North (behind) the jail is a modern wooden shed on a gravel foundation, constructed recently for
storage of equipment being used for the work being done on the courthouse. North of the shed, runs an
east-west alley. The facade of the main block of the complex sits back 20-feet from Lafayette Street. The
lot location is across Dickerson Street west from the present turn-of-the-century (and previous) Marion
County Courthouse. In the blocks north, south, and west of the jail are still a number of houses
contemporary to the Jail, all of which were built as residences and still retain some historic integrity. Main
Street, one block east of the jail and running in front of the courthouse, contains the commercial and
public buildings of "downtown" Palmyra. The historic character remains to a considerable degree intact,
some of it typical of the post-Civil War periods." ~ NRHP Nomintaion Form