Cole County Sheriff Greg White took time from his busy schedule to give +George Kopp and me a tour of the old Cole County jail which was in use until two years ago, when the new jail was completed. The old jail was designed to house 52 prisoners but was housing as many as 98 by the time they moved to the new facility. Not good. A portion of the old jail is still used for holding prisoners when hearings are held in the attached Cole County Courthouse.
Category Archives: Local History
The Missouri State Penitentiary
“The Missouri State Penitentiary, also known as “The Walls”, was a prison in Jefferson City, Missouri that operated from 1836-2004. Prior to closing, it was the oldest operating penal facility west of the Mississippi River. It served as the State of Missouri’s primary maximum security institution. The current Jefferson City Correctional Center was opened on September 15, 2004, replacing the Missouri State Penitentiary.” — Wikipedia
My first tour of the old prison was prior to 2004 so the inmates were still there. A very different place than the empty cells and halls we toured in 2008 (photos).
Mark Schreiber — our guide in ’08 — was once a corrections office and, at one time, Associate Superintendent at the penitentiary. He’s also and avid historian and the co-author of Somewhere In Time: 170 Years of Missouri Corrections (out of print I’m afraid).
I regret I didn’t record the full tour because it was fascinating. As you will see from the excerpts above.
Cell Block
I shot this little clip during a tour of the Missouri State Penitentiary a couple of years ago, and forgot about it. One of my favorite prison factoids: The prison was opened in 1836… the same month the Alamo fell.
Tour of the old Missouri State Penitentiary
I spent a chilly two hours this morning touring the old Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City. The prison was decommissioned in 2004, replaced by a new facility east of the city. I took a similar tour several years ago when the prison was still being used. Not sure which was more interesting. I was lucky to get in on this one, since they don’t do tours. Thanks to Jeff City Mayor John Landwehr for making it happen.
The old facility is rich in history and our guides –Charlie Brzuchalski and Mark Schreiber– shared one fascinating fact and story after another. It was the oldest prison west of the Mississippi (opened the same year the Battle of the Alamo was fought?) and, at one time, was the largest prison in the world, with 5,200 inmates. Former inmates include James Earl Ray, Pretty Boy Floyd, Sonny Liston and Stagger Lee. Plans for the old prison and grounds include redevelopment and restoration.
I’ll be posting some photos here in coming days but you can check out the flickr set and slideshow now. Titles and captions to come.
UPDATE: Mark Schreiber is the author of “Somewhere in time : 170 year history of Missouri Corrections.”
Demolition of state lab in Jefferson City
Demolition of the State Lab in Jefferson City. I should point out I was there during the noon hour a couple of Saturday’s ago. The guy resting his eyes had probably worked all morning and was catching a few winks before going back to work.