National Register Listing

Appanoose County Sheriff's House and Jail

527 N. Main St., Centerville, IA

The Appanoose County Sheriff's Residence and Jail (1872) is locally significant for its century of service as a county jail and because it illustrates Centerville's importance as the seat of county justice. It is a good example of the sheriff's quarters/jail subtype of a local corrections facility.

The development of correctional facilities in Iowa was covered in detail in Joyce McKay's survey and later the National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form prepared for the State Historical Society of Iowa, "Municipal, County, and State Corrections Properties in Iowa (1992). In the section County and Municipal Corrections Properties in Iowa: 1849-1942" she addressed the development of local jail facilities. In summary, the county sheriff was charged with maintaining all felons committed by the county court in a jail facility. In the early years of Iowa history, this often meant a single room within the sheriff's own residence. Originally the local jails were primarily places for detention prior to trial and for debtors. However, as times changed, the county jails became the location of prisoners convicted of misdemeanors and other minor crimes who were serving terms of less than one year, and the need for larger jails became apparent. At that time the counties began building proper jail facilities. These were almost always located in the county seat community within a few blocks of the county courthouse. The most common type built in the state between the 1840s and c. 1950 was the sheriff's quarters/jail combination. In this type, the sheriff's residence looked much like any other dwelling but was physically attached to a wing containing the actual jail cells. There are 52 examples of the sheriff's quarters/jail subtype remaining in the state of Iowa that are more than 50 years of age. (At least one identified by McKay, that in Keokuk County, has been demolished since her survey).

The sheriff and his family resided in the house, with his wife usually in charge of providing meals and laundry services for the prisoners. The jail wing contained multiple cells, often in the form seen in the Appanoose County facility, a cluster of individual cells within a larger steel cell block. In addition, there would usually be one or more cells isolated from the main cell block that could be used for female prisoners or juveniles. County and municipal jails were viewed as places of incarceration, custodial in nature, with no effort being made toward reform. These jails have been referred to as "publicly maintained facilities for the teaching of vice." (McKay, MPD, P. 101) Although a study of Iowa jail facilities was conducted as early as 1911, there was no statewide program of inspection until 1968. Marked improvement has been made since that time, with many of the county jails, including the one in Centerville, no longer in use.
County jails were viewed as important public buildings and usually given a place of prominence along a major street, just as the Appanoose County Jail is located one and one-half blocks north of the Courthouse Square on Main Street. Like other public buildings these were built of brick and/or stone to give an appearance of mass and permanence. Note that the two parts of the Appanoose County building were defined by the use of different materials: brick for the residence, and stone for the jail.

Early in the history of Appanoose County arrangements were made to build a jail, and specifications were prepared, but the project was abandoned, probably due to lack of funds. About 1855, a small stone building was constructed to serve as a strong house." This was used for about ten years until an alleged horse thief easily escaped. For several years following this, prisoners were sent to Ottumwa for incarceration. (1878 History of Appanoose County, Iowa, p. 433)

In 1871 the Board of Supervisors agreed to the need for a new jail facility, and on June 9, 1871, awarded a contract to Jacob Shaw and Thomas Wentworth to furnish the material and do all the masonry work necessary for the erection of a county jail. J.D. Jenks was given the contract to supply the material and provide all the carpenter and iron work for the same. Shaw and Wentworth's bid was for $6,176.37, while Jenks' was for $2,545.22. (Weekly Citizen, June 17, 1871) The jail was completed the following year. In addition to carrying a complete description of the new facility, the newspaper noted that

...something like 100,000 bricks and 800 perches of stone will be used in its construction. The stone used is of the best quality and is from quarries near town. It is blue limestone and age and weather will not have the least effect upon it............ When completed the jail will be one of the best and strongest in Iowa. With a $30,000 Courthouse, a $10,000 jail, a $6,000 poor farm, and the County Treasurer prepared to redeem outstanding warrants, who can say that the financial condition of Appanoose County is not of the best? (Centerville Citizen, May 18, 1872)

In 1904 the Board of Supervisors again had problems with the county's jail facilities. It was felt that in 'its present condition it was both unsafe and exceedingly unsanitary. The newspaper noted that

At present there is a great danger of disease and resultant damage case. Also, men and women cannot be secluded, there being at present four women in the jail and no way of putting more than a thin wall between them and the men. (Centerville Iowegian, April 8, 1904)

The improvements recommended for the jail included the installation of new steel and iron cells, new windows to provide more light and ventilation, and a new ceiling. The Board of Supervisors contracted with the Pauly Co. of St. Louis, Missouri to provide the cells at a cost of $4,087. The contract for the other necessary work (windows, etc.) was given to W.M. Peatman for $798. The Pauly steel cells installed in the Appanoose County Jail are of the Auburn type, that is, the steel cell block is located in the center of the room, with open space around it, rather than the cells being built along the exterior walls of the building. The cell block contained four cells arranged two to a side with a central corridor. The Auburn type became the most common in the late 19th century.

According to McKay's MPD (p. 124), the Pauly Co. was also known as P.J. Pauly & Bro. and as the Pauly Jail Building and Manufacturing Co. It has been determined that they supplied the ironwork for at least eight other county jails in Iowa between 1878 and 1912 (including those in Franklin and Wapello counties).

The building was utilized as the sheriff's residence and jail until the mid-1960s. In 1973 the Board of Supervisors presented the deed to the building to the Appanoose County Historical Society for use as a museum.

The integrity requirement outlined by Mckay for the sheriff's quarters/jail subtype includes the original location; original design and workmanship; original floor plan for both jail and dwelling post-1942 additions to the rear of the building which do not alter the function or change the overall exterior appearance is acceptable; equipment contemporary with the building of the jail is preferred; and, while original materials might suffer some changes, retention of the original materials and their massiveness, as well as the interior materials of the jail and equipment, is particularly important. The 1904 remodeling altered the interior arrangement, but it installed new equipment which is significant in the development of corrections facilities. This remodeling is an important part of the jail's history and is not considered intrusive The Appanoose County Sheriff's Residence and Jail retains a high level of both exterior and interior integrity and meets the registration requirements established by McKay.

Local significance of the building:
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1997.