Old Cooper County Jail & Hanging Barn - Boonville, MO - History Museums on Waymarking.com

County of house: Cooper County
Location of house: E. Morgan St., 1st house E. 6th St., S side, Boonville
Built: 1848
Architect: William Spiers
Architectural Style: Greek Revival - Vernacular
Original Occupant: Sheriff & Prisoners
Current Occupant: Museum
District Map

"62. Cooper County Court Property, 612-614 Morgan Street, 1847-1848, 1871. The two-story, stone jail is the west section. In 1871, a two-story brick residence with Classical affinities was built. Both are under a gable roof." ~ NRHP Nomination Form

"Built: 1847-48, 1971
Style/Design: Vernacular
The jail 1is the section to the W and is built in a rough, quarry-faced ashlar. The 2/3 plan building has a heavy stone cornice and a T-shaped lintel over the entrance (Eastern bay) which is now closed in with stone. The small windows are now closed up with the exception of the 2nd story central window which hasa louvered treatment. The W end chimney has a parapet wall. Attached to the jail on the E is a 2/3 brick section used as the jailer's residence. The entrance is the western-most bay of its N facade.
  It has a transom and flanking pilasters and side lights. Windows are 6-over-6 and have iron lug sills and pedimented lintels with floral medallions. On the E and S facades the windows have segmental arches of rowlock brick work. The frame cornice is boxed and rakes at the gable ends. There are 2 end chimneys. On the SE there is a 1 story pent roof brick addition which repeats the window motifs, and 2 pent roof frame porches.
  On the interior, the millwork on the 1st story is heavily molded and reflects an early Greek Revival Style. The two fireplace mantels echo these motifs. These features would seem to indicate that this millwork might predate the building and was reused from some other early structure. The 2nd story has very plain millwork. The kitchen and bath are modernized. Considerable maintenance is necessary to the eaves and to some interior walls and ceilings due to water damage. The structure is sound and could easily be rehabilitated.
  The western half of the structure is comprised of the jail. At the first story level are a series of iron barred cells complete with bunks, toilets and small sinks. A shower stall is off of the hallway. On the second story level there are a number of iron box cells of varying dimensions and a toilet area at the end of a "u" shaped hallway. The interior outside wall at both levels is unfinished.

"Built in 1847-48, the Cooper County Jail is significant as being one of the oldest, if not the oldest, existing county jail in the State of Missouri. In operation from 1848 until 1978 the structure was known as the oldest continually operated jail 1n the state. In August 1846, County Commissioner of public buildings published notice for proposals to build a county jail in accordance to the following specifications: The house is to be two stories high, with two rooms and a passage in each floor, the rooms to be 14 x 15 feet, and the passages 6 by 30 feet in the clear. The foundation walls to be 2½ feet below the surface of the ground, thence to the surface 2½ feet thick - built of large rock, not less than 6 inches thick, 2½ feet broad and 3 feet in length ... ; there are to be partition walls, one 15 the other 30 feet in length, foundations for which to be of same dimensions as those of outer walls. All the wall from the foundation to the square of the building to be 2 feet thick ... and built of rock not less than 8 inches thick, 2 feet broad and 3 feet in length, to be securely clamped together with wrought iron clamps.... All the rock used in the building to be good sound limestone, all other materials to be well seasoned and of best quality, and the work done in the best manner, and finished in a workmanlike style, a plan of the building filed in the office of the county clerk."
  The jail was built by local contractor William Spiers, using hand labor supplied by slaves. The limestone blocks were quarried in the vicinity of Boonville. The building consisted of two large rooms each with rings protruding from the walls to which prisoners were shackled. By 1871 the second story's appearance changed with the addition of iron box cells that are present to this day. The jailer's residence was built in 1871 on land previously leased to the City of Boonville for hay scales by Marcus Williams. Records show that this brick addition consisted of three rooms and a hall. Later that year a second story was authorized as well as a rear unattached one story brick kitchen with cellar and a porch to its west: a fence, cistern, and privy were also added at that time. In 1875 a smoke house appeared. None of these outbuildings survive. The jailer's residence served as housing for the Sheriff or jailer from its completion until its closing in 1978.
  The most famous of the many prisoners associated with the jail-was Frank James, who along with his brother Jesse and other members of the gan1 halted and robbed a Missouri Pacific passenger train, one mile east of Otterville on the night of July 13, 1876. Restrained only a short time in the structure, his bond was made by a number of sympathetic local citizens. Later the case was dismissed.
  The area around the jail has been the site of numerous hangings with the last being held inside the jail barn.
  Locally significant on both architectural and historical grounds, the jail is important for its stone construction, for its associations with well known criminals and events, and for its long years of continued use.

"The structure faces N onto Morgan. An alley is to the E & S. A concrete well housing is to the S. The outbuilding, the jail barn, is at the SE corner of the lot (see individual listing)." ~ Boonville Historic Survey  PDF pages 2278-2283