Get Involved!
There are many ways to help us save the Old Jail. The next is a Public Hearing on Wednesday, September 18, 2019 from 9:00 AM-10:30 AM in the Commissioners Meeting Room. This meeting is in regards to CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) through Southwestern Indiana Economic Development Coalition with Debbie Bennett-Stearsman for the Old Jail. This could be the funding we need to continue our efforts! Please make plans to attend!
This year's Jailbreak 5K is scheduled for Saturday, October 26! Click here to register!
A landmark worth saving
The Old Jail, located on the corner of Main and Fourth streets.
The “Old Jail” has been vacant for well over a decade. Time is taking it’s toll on this beautiful historic structure.
The crown jewel of Boonville, the “Old Jail” was built in 1876 at a cost of $39,200. That would be equivalent to almost $1 million today. It was built to fill the needs of a rapidly expanding town. Just a few of the “modern” features: a mansard observatory on the porch roof, a well with a rotary pump with a storage tank in the attic, 22-inch thick walls with a boiler plate lining and a toilet, lavatory and double bunks in each cell. The jail has two distinctly different areas. The front two-story section is where the sheriff and his family lived. It had a modern kitchen, parlor, pantry and main hall on the first floor.
On the second floor were the bedrooms and a room that “held” female prisoners. The rear section that is one-and-a-half stories held two halls (46 feet by 15 feet each) and connecting them are gothic arches. Each hall had a cell block containing six cells. Above this, in the attic, there were two rooms that were used occasionally as a hospital or sleeping quarters for sheriff’s employees.
The Old Jail was used as a jail until the mid-60s. The Warrick County Senior Citizens and Jaycees started using the building in 1970. In 1977, then-Warrick County Commissioners Paul Gore, Keith Shelton and Jerry Aigner sent a letter which began the process of getting the building listed on the National Historic Register. A committee of Mildred Hendrickson, Louise Johnson, Elois Griffin, Mabel Miller and Luella Gerhardt worked hard the next two years working on the application process. Russell McCormick provided the photos and that was a labor intensive process in those days. All their hard work paid off and the building was entered into the National Register on Feb. 14, 1979, by the Department of the Interior. The Senior Citizens group utilized the building until 2006, but it has remained vacant and slowly deteriorating ever since.
In 2017, the county received a grant to get a structural analysis. So, Boonville Now partnered with them and part of the Jailbreak 5K proceeds were utilized as the local funds part of this grant.
Unfortunately, the county, along with Economic Development Coalition of Southwest Indiana, didn’t receive two different grants they applied for in 2018/2019. They’re continuing to look for opportunities and options for this grand old building.
The Jailbreak 5K is making a difference! It’s going to take more community involvement and an even greater commitment to see this building revitalized to its original grandeur. The time is now, Boonville NOW!
The crown jewel of Boonville, the “Old Jail” was built in 1876 at a cost of $39,200. That would be equivalent to almost $1 million today. It was built to fill the needs of a rapidly expanding town. Just a few of the “modern” features: a mansard observatory on the porch roof, a well with a rotary pump with a storage tank in the attic, 22-inch thick walls with a boiler plate lining and a toilet, lavatory and double bunks in each cell. The jail has two distinctly different areas. The front two-story section is where the sheriff and his family lived. It had a modern kitchen, parlor, pantry and main hall on the first floor.
On the second floor were the bedrooms and a room that “held” female prisoners. The rear section that is one-and-a-half stories held two halls (46 feet by 15 feet each) and connecting them are gothic arches. Each hall had a cell block containing six cells. Above this, in the attic, there were two rooms that were used occasionally as a hospital or sleeping quarters for sheriff’s employees.
The Old Jail was used as a jail until the mid-60s. The Warrick County Senior Citizens and Jaycees started using the building in 1970. In 1977, then-Warrick County Commissioners Paul Gore, Keith Shelton and Jerry Aigner sent a letter which began the process of getting the building listed on the National Historic Register. A committee of Mildred Hendrickson, Louise Johnson, Elois Griffin, Mabel Miller and Luella Gerhardt worked hard the next two years working on the application process. Russell McCormick provided the photos and that was a labor intensive process in those days. All their hard work paid off and the building was entered into the National Register on Feb. 14, 1979, by the Department of the Interior. The Senior Citizens group utilized the building until 2006, but it has remained vacant and slowly deteriorating ever since.
In 2017, the county received a grant to get a structural analysis. So, Boonville Now partnered with them and part of the Jailbreak 5K proceeds were utilized as the local funds part of this grant.
Unfortunately, the county, along with Economic Development Coalition of Southwest Indiana, didn’t receive two different grants they applied for in 2018/2019. They’re continuing to look for opportunities and options for this grand old building.
The Jailbreak 5K is making a difference! It’s going to take more community involvement and an even greater commitment to see this building revitalized to its original grandeur. The time is now, Boonville NOW!
The Jailbreak 5K is scheduled for the last Saturday in October each year.
The next is October 26, 2019!
The next is October 26, 2019!
