USA > Illinois > Shelby County > Historic sketch and biographical album of Shelby County, Illinois > Part 3
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REPORT OF BUILDING COMMITTEE.
Whereas, The honorable board of super- visors of Shelby county, State of Illinois, re-
solved to build a court house for said county, proceeded to appoint the following gentlemen. a committee to procure and locate a site and adopt a plan for said court house, viz : Wm. M. Wright, Harmon Kelley, Skelton Birkett. Nelson Neil, and W. A. Carlisle.
"The committee. after mature considera- tion, located the site for said new court house on the original court house square. to be built on a line of Main street, north of the present old court house.
"Said new court house to be constructed on the following general plans and specifica- tions, viz: The size of said building to be seventy-six (76) by one hundred and ten (110) feet. fronting to the south. with basement and two floors above basement-with twelve foot hall through full length of building. from front entrance to rear entrance. on the first floor : said first floor to be so constructed as to ac- commodate the circuit clerk, county clerk, pro- bate court, sheriff, county treasurer, school commissioner, and county court ; the second floor to be so constructed as to accommodate the circuit court, supervisors, grand jury. petit jury, witness-room, judge's private room. law- vers' consultation room, and such other rooms as space may permit.
"The floors are to be reached by front stairways ; the circuit court room, petit jury room, and other private rooms on the second floor, to be reached by private stairways in the rear of the building. The water closets to be located in the basement. The gas pipes, steam pipes and water pipes to be placed in the con- struction of the building ; fire places to be in all the rooms : to be heated by steam ; boilers to be erected outside of main building : proper and sufficient sewerage to be constructed.
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"The. whole building to be fire-proof : to be built of stone, brick (pressed brick), and iron : all the floors to be of tile or marble : a burglar- proof vault to be constructed in the office of the treasurer. The whole not to exceed seventy thousand dollars in cost. The stone to be used in said building to be procured in Illinois, Mis- souri, or Indiana, or from either or all of said States, as may be most practical.
"Resolved. That the above plan and gen- eral specifications be submitted to five compe- tent architects, to be selected by the committee : that a premium of three hundred dollars ($300) be offered to the aforesaid competing ar- chitects, for the best set of drawings for the proposed new court house, which shall be in ac- cordance with the above named plan. Such drawings shall include a correct view, in per- spective, of such new building, from a point southwest of said building.
"Said drawings shall include full, complete and accurate plans of such new building, in all parts showing all the necessary details of the work, together with working plans suitable for the use of mechanics or other buikdlers, during the construction thereof, so drawn and repre- sented as to be easily understood ; and also ac- curate bills showing the exact amount of all the different kinds of material to be used in the erec- tion thereof, to accompany said plans ; and also full and complete specifications of the work to be done, showing the manner and style in which the same will be required to be done, and giving such directions for the same as will enable any competent builder to carry them out, and afford to bidders all needful information to enable them to understand what will be required in the construction of said building, and make a full. accurate and complete estimate of each item of
expense, and the entire aggregate cost of said court house when completed.
Provided, however, That the working plans above referred to and the bill showing the exact amount of the material to be used, and also the full and complete specifications of the work to be done, showing the manner and style of the same. and giving such directions as will enable any builder to carry them out, and afford bidders all information above referred to, shall not be required to be made out and furnished until after the award of the aforesaid premium shall be decided by the board of supervisors and that after such decision, the successful com- petitor shall immediately proceed to complete the same in accordance with the terms of this resolution, and said premium of three hundred dollars ($300) shall be advanced to such success- ful competitor, and shall be deducted from a compensation to be allowed him of five per cen- tum upon the aggregate cost of said building ; upon the execution by and between him and the board of supervisors, of a contract prescribing his duties, obligations, and compensation as supervising architect of said building, and the execution of a proper bond, with acceptable se- curity, to the board of supervisors in such amount as may be by them prescribed, not ex- ceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for the faithful performance of his duties, as such super- vising architect. in the erection of said build- ing in accordance with the plans and specifica- tions thereof adopted.
"Resolved, That the drawings as submit- ted must be furnished by the tenth day of Sep- tember. 1879, and must be accompanied by esti- mates of all the work and material necessary in the construction of the proposed building, made sufficiently in detail to enable the board of supervisors to verify them, and approximate
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closely to the probable cost, and accuracy in detail in this respect will be regarded as im- portant in determining the award of the pre- miums.
"Resolved, That a premium of one hun- dred and fifty dollars ($150) shall be awarded and paid to the drawings and elevations second in merit, the board of supervisors reserving the right to use any part of said plans and specifica- tions of second merit, for and in consideration of said award of one hundred and fifty dollars ($150).
"Shelbyville, Illinois, August 8. 1879. "WM. H. WRIGHT. "HARMON KELLEY. Signed. "SKELTON BIRKETT. Sr. "NELSON NEIL. "W. A. CARLISLE."
Before the completion of the work of this committee, death claimed W. A. Carlisle, and the vacancy thus created was filled by the ap- pointment of T. J. Graybill. as the fifth mem- ber of the committee.
A more detailed description of the beautiful structure, which is now the county capitol, will be of interest, even though it may have been viewed repeatedly by very many of our readers.
Mr. O. H. Placey, of Chicago, was the suc- cessful competitor among the architects, and it was upon his plans and specifications that Thomas and Hugh Caldwell. of Ottawa. Ill., erected the court house which is so pleasing to the eye. an'd a source of pride to the citizens of Shelby.
The building is rectangular in shape, being 110 feet in length from north to south, and 76 feet wide. The height from the ground to the cornice is 58 feet. while the height to the apex of the dome is 124 feet. Above the eave, one on each corner. are four magnificent pavilions,
each one being 16 feet square and 16 feet high. These add largely to the pleasing effect of the entire structure. The pavilions and dome are constructed of iron and brick, and are sur- mounted by artistically designed iron castings. The main part of the outside finish of the build- ing is of St. Louis pressed brick, with Bedford and Joliet trimmings of stone. Galvanized iron form the cornices. The basement is most sub- stantial, being all stone, with floors of marble tiling, laid on solid masonry and girders of iron.
Broad, handsome stone steps approach the southern entrance, which is the principal one to the court house, there being another at the north. On the east side of the broad hall are the offices of the county judge. county clerk. treasurer and sheriff, while upon the west side are those of the circuit clerk. superintendent of schools and master in chancery. In the base- mient are storage rooms for old official records and documents, and the abstract offices of Craig & Garis.
Four columns of stone, of handsome and elegant pattern, support the pediments. The bases and capitols are of Bedford stone, while the shafts are of Joliet stone : the height of each column, base and capitol inclusive, is twenty- three feet. The front pediment rests upon eight columns, and has a greater projection than those on the side. Statues of the Goddess of Liberty and of Justice occupy niches on the south side, of the second story.
Great credit is due to the men who were the prime movers in the erection of this beauti- ful and valuable structure. As chairman of the building committee. Hon. Wm. M. Wright gave much of his time and attention to the work, and though other members of the committee should receive proper credit, still to Mr. Wright be- longs the "lion's share." Few counties in the
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State of Illinois can boast of a more beautiful, substantial and conveniently arranged court house than that which stands in Shelbyville.
FIRST GAOL.
It is a matter greatly to be deplored that the criminal element entered into fair Shelby, making necessary the erection of the penal in- stitution, of which we now speak. But so it is, the wide world o'er, and very early in the his- tory of our county it was deemed necessary to provide a place for the safe-keeping and pun- ishment of the lawless ones. At the beginning of 1829 the county commissioners ordered the building of a jail on lot eight, block number one, of Shelbyville, of which the following is a description :
The timbers entering into the construction of the walls were well hewed, eight inches thick. with the edges squared, that they might fit to- gether nicely. The building was thirteen feet six inches in length, and the same in breadth. there-by making of it a square enclosure. The lower floor was let into the ground about twelve inches, and from this foundation to the eaves of the roof was about sixteen feet, thereby making it possible to have two stories, each of about eight feet in height. The gable ends were weatherboarded, and the roof shingled. The lower part of the structure was composed of a double wall, with a space of ten inches between, into which were put upright poles, shaved smooth and placed closely together. The ceil- ing of the second story consisted of squared timbers, six inches thick, laid closely together. Two windows only furnished light for the lower story, one at the north and the other at the south, and were four and one-half feet from the ground. There were also but two windows in
the upper story, small affairs, being only twelve by six inches ; but they were made secure by grates and iron bars one inch in thickness and three inches apart. In the upper story was a door two feet wide and four feet high and a trap door in the middle of the second floor, two by three feet in size. Crude as this may seem to us in this, the last year of the century, still that little jail answered every purpose for which it was erected, as well as do the massive stone structures now built for like purposes. J. W. Johnson was the builder of the above, which was completed according to contract early in the year 1830.
After about nine years of use, however, this first jail was found to be inadequate for the re- quirements of the county, and at the Septem- ber term of court, 1839, a contract was entered into with John Stone and Samuel Wilson, to erect upon the site of the first jail,
CAOL NUMBER TWO.
This new building was also constructed of hewn logs and was twenty-two feet long by fourteen feet wide. It was composed of double walls, built one foot apart. This aperture was filled with upright timbers one foot square. A partition was placed through the centre of the building, making two rooms on each floor. Each room had one window, which was secure- ly barred. A trap door was placed in the centre of the upper floor, which was two feet by two and one-half, and strongly bound with iron. The outer door to the lower story was secured by iron bolts, jail lock, and spiked with iron spikes about two inches apart, making it im- possible for a prisoner to cut his way through even though he should be possessed of a good knife.
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HISTORIC SKETCH.
By the side of this building, and of the same height and under the same shingle roof. was erected a frame jailor's residence. twenty- two feet long by twenty feet wide. It was weather-boarded and had one door in the south side, with a window each side of the door, and two windows in the west side. These were twelve-light windows, with 8 by 10 glass, quite a contrast to those in the jail building. A par- tition crossed the frame building, with a door in the same. The floors were of plank. Stair steps were built, commencing at the partition of the log building, between the log wall and said partition, running north up to the upper floor of the log building, the steps reaching front the wall to the partition. A brick chimney stood on the north of the building, connecting with one fireplace below. The whole was built of durable timber. completed in 1840. and for which the contractors received $745.00.
GAOL NUMBER THREE.
In 1856 William Hidden received the con- tract for building this jail, and completed it in the following year. the cost of which was nearly $5.000. It was a two-story brick building. twenty-eight feet wide by thirty-eight feet long. and consisted of a jailor's residence of foui- rooms. a debtor's cell. four single, wooden cells, with iron doors, and four double iron cells. The cells were in the upper story of the buikling, with a hallway or corridor of about four feet in width on both the north and south sides, with a nar- row passage connecting the two corridors on the west side of the building. Six windows were on the north side, five on the west, and five on the south, with one door to the west. another to the east, and one on the south.
Seven years after the erection of this build- ing. a contract was given Samuel Rector, the
requirements of which were that he shoukl en- case the four wooden cells with boiler iron. These cells were seven feet square by six and one-half feet high. This alteration added $3.000 to the original cost of the jail, which was $4 .- 989.46. making the entire cost to the county $7.989.46.
THE PRESENT GAOL.
The building mentioned in the preceding paragraph was deemed suitable for the needs of the county for a number of years, but later, many complaints were heard regarding its insufficient ventilation, and its unsafe condition. The pre- dominating sentiment on the board of supervi- sors, and amongst others who were interested in the matter, was that a new jail was needed : and as a result of this wide-spread sentiment. the following resolution was presented in the Sep- tember. 1891. meeting of the board of super- visors :
"Resolved by this Board. That the chair appoint a committee of three members of this board, with the clerk of this board to visit and investigate some of the modern jails in this or . adjoining states, and ascertain as near as can be the best plans and probable cost of same, with a view to the erection of a jail in this county. and the said committee report at the January. 1892. meeting of the board."
It may be determined from this and the fol- lowing documents, which we transcribe from the official records, that no efforts were spared to secure for the county a jail which would be among the best procurable. That which im- mediately follows is the
REPORT OF GRAND JURY
of the October. 1891. term of circuit court. and
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presented to the board of supervisors at their meeting in the following January :
"To the Honorable James Creighton, Circuit Judge, Sir :
"We, the undersigned grand jurors, at the October term of the circuit court. A. D. 1891. would respectfully represent that we have visited the county jail in a body, and after a careful in- spection of the same, do hereby report the con- dition, as follows, to-wit :
"We find the jail neatly whitewashed, and the jailor has everything in as good condition as can be made under the circumstances. We find the jail to be an old, dilapidated structure, seem- ingly constructed in an early stage of the world ; and we find that the prisoners are insecure, and the jail is unsafe, owing to the fact that the old board sheds, belonging to the livery stables, are connected with the jail on the east ; and we find that the old sheds and seemingly cow stables, are all attached to or in some way connecting with the jail ; and we find that the old buildings thus connected with the jail, together with the bad ventilation, creates a terrible stench, which we believe to be unwholesome. And we are of the opinion that the old sheds and boards are extremely liable to take fire at any time, in which event the inmates would perish before they could be removed.
"We, therefore, earnestly recommend the honorable board of supervisors, at their next meeting, to make the necessary appropriation to build a new county jail, and to proceed to build and complete the same as soon as can be done ; and until such new jail is built, we would recommend the sheriff, especially in hot weather, to remove all persons to some other county jail, owing to the unwholesome ventilation and the terrible stench, which is equal to the stench of a menagerie of wild beasts.
"And we further report by saying that we consider the county jail as being. in very bad re- pair, and not worth repairing, and we declare it a public nuisance."
This report was well calculated to agitate to a greater degree the feasibility and necessity of a new place of confinement for the criminal class, and the board of supervisors could not well do otherwise than entertain and adopt, at its January, 1892, meeting, the following
RESOLUTION TO BUILD A NEW JAIL.
"Whereas, the present county jail is unsafe and insecure for the detention of prisoners, and the improper construction of the building, its ceilings, insufficient ventilation, and other de- fects, are circumstances which are considered to be injurious to the health of its inmates ;
We, therefore, consider it to be expedient and necessary to build a new jan, that is ade- quate and in conformity with the needs of this county.
Therefore, be it Resolved, To build a new jail of modern design, with latest improvements, at a cost that shall not exceed the sum of $12,- 000, and that we appoint a committee of five members of this board as a building committee.
It shall be the duty of said committee to choose and fix upon a site for such jail, and to obtain plans and specifications for the same. the cost not to exceed the sum above mentioned, and then report at the next meeting of the board of supervisors."
Upon motion of C. W. Stewart the above resolution was adopted, and the chairman ap- pointed the following named gentlemen to act as building committee :
C. W. Stewart, Samuel Fuget. B. F. Mober- ly, James Barton and Solomon Yantis.
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Supervisor Stewart then presented the fol- lowing resolution, which was unanimously adopted :
"Be it resolved by this board, that an ap- propriation be and the same is hereby made of $12,000, to build a county jail."
The amount thus provided was sufficient to cover the cost of the handsome and commodious structure of modern architecture, now used for jail and sheriff's residence.
That portion of the building used as a dwelling by the family of the sheriff, contains seven large rooms, four below and three above. In addition to these, there is a basement of three rooms, besides the boiler room ; and an at- tic, which, however, is not used. The floors of the basement rooms are of brick and concrete. The foundation is of stone, and the walls of pressed brick, as, indeed, are the walls of the entire structure. The bath and toilet room is on the second floor, and hot and cold water is supplied both up stairs and down. The entire building is heated by steam radiators being placed in each of the rooms. In two of the rooms of the first floor there are grates, which add to the comfort of the home during the cool- ness of the spring and autumn, when the fur- nace is not in use. And even when -heat is sup- plied from some other source a grate fire can never be supplanted by any modern device, in point of homely cheeriness.
The entrance to the sheriff's residence is found on the south side, opening from a broad and pleasant veranda into a spacious hallway. from which doorways lead into the parlor and into the dining room, and from which a stairway leads to the rooms on the second floor. Another short passage way leads from dining room to kitchen, which latter is within the jail. proper. . \ good pantry is between the two. On
the south side of the residence portion of the building, are nine windows and one door : five windows on the east, and on the west side, three windows.
The inside walls of the jail are made of iron. covered with plaster, and are considered fire proof. The foundations are of concrete. The entrance is on the west side, and is well guarded with double doors of steel, with round iron bars on the outside. The entrance is approached by a walk and steps of concrete, and, in itself, has a concrete floor. From this little room a stair- way leads to the basement, and another, with iron steps, to the second floor. The most com- monly used portion of the jail is that on the first floor, where there are six steel cages, one of which is used as bath room and closet. These cages are about eight feet high, and the doors secured by patent locks-a perpendicular bar running from the top to the botton of each, and worked by levers at one side. By this means it is possible to secure each door without ap- proaching it. In addition to these bars, pad- locks are used as an extra precaution. The cages are arranged in double rows. three in each row. Between them and the outer wall of the large room in which they are placed, is a corri- dor about four feet in width, and one about eight feet wide running between the two rows, and from which the cages are entered. The mate- rial used in the construction of these cages, is saw and file proof.
On the second floor, immediately over the kitchen and entrance, are four cells of common iron, two on each side of a passage way about six feet wide. One of these is used as a bath room, and in each one is found the requisite toilet appliances. The floors of these cells, and that of the corridor, are of concrete. In each of these cells there is a window, guarded securely
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by a double set of bars, those inside being round, and the outer ones being flat. The precaution of the extra bars was made necessary by several almost successful attempts of prisoners, to es- cape. The large room on the second floor is of the same dimensions as that in which the cages are built, below : and it is so constructed as to make it possible to add a like number of cages. as necessity demands them. It has an iron floor. with the parts, which would comprise the floors of the cages, if they were built, of steel. There are three windows upon each of the east and west sides of the jail, and one on the north, both above and below. These are securely guarded by round iron bars, and outside of them, by perforated iron shutters, thereby making it im- possible for friends of prisoners to pass any arti- cles to them, by which they might gain their freedom.
Altogether, this jail is strong and substantial. handsome of design, and is to be placed in the front rank of county jails throughout the state. Sheriff Miner and his able assistants keep it cleanly and in perfect order, and those who are so unfortunate as to be confined within its walls have no cause for complaint in the matter of kindly care and provision for bodily needs, and in comfortable accommodations. Following is
REPORT OF BUILDING COMMITTEE.
January 3. 1893.
"Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of Board of Supervisors :
"Your committee, to whom was referred the matter of contracting for the erection of the county jail and sheriff's residence, according to the plans and specifications, would beg leave to submit the following report on the matters before them :
"We met on the 14th of March, 1892, and let the contract for erection of the county jail and sheriff's residence exclusive of steam heat- ing. to the Champion Iron company, of Kenton. Ohio, for the sum of eleven thousand and mine hundred and fifty-two dollars. At the same time we let the contract of steam heating to J. B. Herrington, of Shelbyville, Illinois, for the sum of eight hundred and fifty dollars.
"The contractors report the work complete. and ready to be received, by the county board. and we would recommend that the board take action on the matter, as it is very expensive as it is now.
"We would further report that we met on March 28, 1892, and soll the old jail and out buildings at public auction, for the sum of one hundred and twenty dollars and seventy-five cents, which amount was duly turned in to county treasurer."
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