Athens

Front View

Dolores Herrington of Athens found my website and wrote me about the metal cage in her town.  All of the photos, except the one by Mary Eggleston, were provided by her. This cage is interesting for several reasons.  There is a major difference in the way it was fabricated.  The doors and panels containing square holes for light and ventilation were cut from a single sheet of metal unlike those made by companies such as J. Pauly and E. T. Barnum who used narrow strips of iron that overlapped to get the “lattice” appearance.  These strips were cold riveted to keep them in place, a process that predates welding.  Raised letters on the exterior appear to spell Carnegie, a name not associated with the manufacture of jail cells.  The most likely scenario appears to be that the steel was made by Carnegie and sold to the company that made this cage.  Cages of similar construction exist in Asherton, Dessau, La Plata, Leakey, Lockhart, and Teague but they lack the Carnegie name.  This is the only metal cage in my sample with two locks on each door.  Perhaps the most striking difference is that this cage came equipped with a metal bucket of sorts that was the toilet.  Other companies provided similar amenities at an extra cost.  E. T. Barnum advertised corner commodes and sinks as well as folding bunks.  This is the only cage in the sample with this type of convenience.

Photo courtesy of Mary Eggleston

Commode

Other options typically available was size and types of panels for the walls and roof.  Some cages had lattice-type walls on all four sides and top while others were constructed with different combinations of lattice and solid walls.  This example is a bit unusual in that it is not symmetric.  The entire front is made of lattice type construction and there are identical panels on one side and the back.  The other wall is solid metal.  Sleeping arrangements were two metal bed frames in each cell in bunk bed fashion.  No hooks are present on the walls and that suggests that the bunks were not of the folding variety.  Today they are no longer present.  The floor is also metal but has suffered greatly to rust as has part of the back wall.

Brackets for Beds

Rear Wall

Side Wall

The Sanborn map dated 1885 shows a log calaboose in the same lot as the two-story brick county jail.  In 1890, the block had been divided into lots and there were more buildings present.  The log  calaboose was no longer present.

Athens in 1885

In 1901, the old county jail was gone and replaced by a smaller two-story brick structure in city block 24.  Next to it was a wood building with two rooms that strongly resembles a calaboose although it bears no cable.

Athens in 1901

The block where the county jail sat in 1901 underwent several changes in terms of new buildings and the removal of others.  The last Sanborn map available at the time of this study was prepared in 1921.  On that map, the county jail had been enlarged and equipped with electricity.  No other suspicious structures were present.