Emory

Front View

This very fine metal cage is located in a modern building on the grounds of the Heritage Park in Emory.  It used to sit outside but was cleaned up and moved inside where it will be protected from the elements.  Cages like this were ordered from firms that specialized in the construction of cages and cells such as E. T. Barnum in Detroit.  They could be ordered from a catalog and special features were optional such as metal toilets.  Also, the panels that comprise the floor, walls, and ceilings could be solid metal or lattice bars.  Both are on the front of this cage.  The Barnum company states in its catalog that floors were not usually included because many towns wanted to bolt the cage to an existing floor such as concrete or wood.  The massive metal box on the front contains two levers that allow the cell doors to be opened and shut individually.  The cells are equal in size and there is a piece of flat metal against the wall that served as a platform for a bed.  Many things could have been used as a mattress and in some cases a mattress may not have been provided.  A much smaller cage in the Billy the Kid Museum in Hico (Hamilton County) still has the original straw mattresses.  This cage has a solid metal floor and that suggests to me that may have been an inside fixture that did not need to be fastened to the floor.  On the back wall are holes that were cut into the metal after it arrived. The size and placement of these holes are consistent with the plumbing needed to install a toilet and sink.  In the pre-restoration image below a sink reposes against a cell well.  Perhaps this was one of the early fixtures.

Main Room of the Cage Prior to Restoration

This cage was originally located where the Rose Community Center sits today near Quitman Street.  From there, it was moved to the courthouse and housed in an annex building.  The county donated it to the park in 1999.  I visited this jail on March 28, 2016 with Floyd Kent who helped me take measurements.  Jeanine Hayes works in the office of the County Judge and she made it possible for us to see the jail at a time when the building was locked.