We Bet You Didn't Know That Indiana Was Home To One Of The Only Rotary Jails Left In North America
By Tori Jane|Published March 04, 2022
×
Tori Jane
Author
Tori Jane is a storm chaser, writer, photographer, and the village idiot - in that order. When she's not out and about dancing with the meanest storms on planet Earth for funsies she can be found wandering, shooting landscapes, writing, editing photos, and otherwise up to no good. Legend has it that she can also be occasionally spotted typing up short bios in the third person, but those rumors are unsubstantiated.
A long, long time ago, in a galaxy not so far away, rotary jails used to be a thing. In fact, in 1882, the first one ever was built in Indiana – Crawfordsville, to be exact. Over the years, many more would be constructed, most of which were in the Midwest; nowadays, though, that number has dwindled to just three. All three are museums, and one of those museums is the same one originally built right here in the Hoosier State. It’s the only one that’s still operational, and you can tour it to this day. Of all the unique historic places in Indiana there are to check out, this one is one of the most uncommon, and we’re pretty proud that it’s ours.
The Rotary Jail Museum is now a museum in what used to be the Montgomery County Jail and Sheriff's house.
We find it just a little odd that the Sheriff would want to live at work at all, but considering this writer is in her office at home penning this very piece right now, perhaps we haven't a lot of room to talk. Either way, the Rotary Jail Museum has become something of a Hoosier State icon, and its rarity lends to its high value.
It's one of just three old rotary jails remaining today, and it's the ONLY one that still works; i.e., the rotating mechanisms are still activated for tour guests these days.
The design was complicated and simplistic at the same time; designed so that the jailers would have as little contact with the prisoners as possible, it was built with a series of cells in two tiers.
Advertisement
The cell blocks were situated around a central column with one enormous iron cage with a single exit surrounding it.
While this design was clever in the sense that it was highly effective at both minimizing contact with prisoners and preventing escape entirely, it was foolish in many more ways - enough so that the concept of the rotary jail didn't last long.
For example, one major issue that it seems nobody thought of was that in the event of a fire, inmates could only be freed one at a time, fairly slowly, and not without some effort, as it required a hand crank to operate the outer cage.
...you know, the outer cage with the only way out built into it. This would require the guard releasing each man to stay while the building went up in flames to release each prisoner, who would have to patiently wait their turn to escape our hypothetical blaze.
There was that, and there was also the pesky thing about how people have things like limbs that can be very easily injured if caught in a rotating metal cage.
Crushing and grinding injuries were not uncommon. These factors, as well as numerous mechanical issues that came up time and time again in almost every rotary jail, ensured that rotary jails would only have a brief stint in history before being mostly dismantled by the time the 1930s rolled around.
Somehow, three of them managed to survive over the decades, including the nation's first one - and it's right here in Indiana.
Tours of the Rotary Jail Museum are available for free with admission to the museum. Kids five and under are always free, and make sure to visit the official website for the most up-to-date hours and ticket info.
