Rochester

City Hall and Other Offices

When I was at City Hall in Rochester asking about the calaboose in town I was told there was a jail in the building I was in at the time.  They directed me to a narrow door around the corner.  Inside is a strap iron cage with one cell.  There is very little room in front of or on one side.  I don’t know the age of the building but it seems to me that maybe it was built around the cage because I can’t figure out how it could have been assembled in such a tiny space.  When I asked about the age of the cell I was told that has been there over 60 years.

Like so many such cells and jails, this one is also being used for storage.  There is barely any room to walk around.  This cage probably predates the other calaboose that is discussed below and perhaps both were used at the same time. Because of the crowded conditions, it was very difficult to get good photographs.  Normally, I would put this one under “Cages and Cells” but since it was used as is for perhaps a very long time I think it can be considered a calaboose, although not what I consider to be a typical example.

I did not measure the size of the room but the cell measures 6 ft. x 7 ft. (42 sq. ft.) and it is 7 ft. tall. The door is 2 ft. wide.  There is approximately 3 ft. clearance on the right side and maybe 5 ft. in front of the cell.  Unless there was a different exterior door at one time or there is some place for ventilation at the back of the cage, this would have been a very difficult place to be in the summer.  The metal is very shiny, very unlike any of the other cages on this site.  Perhaps it was covered with a metallic paint. This calaboose conforms to Floor Plan 1d (see Floor Plans).

Entrance to cell

Interior of Cell

Brick Calaboose at Water Plant

This brick calaboose is located at the city water plant (4th and Lincoln) behind a fence with a locked gate.  The fence is so close to the front of the calaboose that it is not possible to get a picture of the front without being outside of the fence. It rests on a concrete slab and the roof was made of concrete using the poured in place method.  It measures 10 ft. across the front and 12 ft. on the sides (120 sq. ft.).  There is a window on each side and one at the back.  The windows on the sides measure 2 ft. x 2 ft. and the one at the back was not measured.  Those on the side are 35 in. from the ground and the one at the back is 29 in. from the ground.  The door measures 34 in. wide and 6 ft. tall. On the ceiling next to the back wall is a metal hook embedded in the concrete.  Its function is not known but it could have been associated with chains or shackles for prisoners.  This calaboose is owned by the city and is being used for storage.  Its age is not known.  It conforms to Floor Plan 1a (see Floor Plans).

Side View

Detail of Door

Interior View Depicting Ceiling

Stamford

This calaboose is located in ____ park in the town of Stamford.  It is rectangular in shape and has a gable roof.  Construction consisted of 2 x 4 or 2 x 6 boards placed flat on top of one another to form a secure wall 4″ or 6″ thick.  A second wall was added by affixing  wooden planks over the boards in an upright position.  The structure is capped by a gable roof covered with tin that may be original.  There are two small windows on each side and one door on the front that is off center.  The overall condition is poor.

Photos and history courtesy of Tomzie Steele.  

Mrs. Steele talked with some of the elders in her community and found out this is the old jail from Stamford.  The story is that a gentleman (last name Ulmer)  that moved to Sagerton that has Stamford ties and he rescued it from being torn down. He brought it to Sagerton around the 1980s and placed it in the city park.  It was never used as a jail in Sagerton but it was supposedly mainly used to dry out the town drunks in Stamford. It has always been a joke here in Sagerton that the town has its own jail if it ever needs to make a citizen’s arrest. The population of Sagerton is just a little over 100 people and there is no police department.  Its not unusual for people who are traveling to camp out in the park and they will pitch a tent in front of the old jail.  One tossed a beer bottle in there – kind of symbolic of what the jail used to be used for.