Old Grant County Jail
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The Old Grant County Jail has been the site of many chaotic events in Marion’s history. The jail played an important role to the 1930 lynchings because they took place on its grounds.
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[edit] Construction
The building of the jail was started in 1903 and finished in 1904. It was part of the Romanesque Revival movement(Smith 1993). The jail is a three-floor structure, located on the corner of 3rd and Branson Streets. The county stated that they would only pay $92,559.89 for the building of the jail. However, the cost to complete this project was $107,408. The Champion Company of Kenton, Ohio gave the rest of the money to the county. The jail had 67 cells and seven iron doors constructed, making escape virtually impossible.
The Grant County Sheriff during this time was a man named Clark Mills. He was elected sheriff at the young age of 17. A resident was added on to the jail at a cost of about $15,000. This home was one in which the sheriff and his family lived while serving his term as sheriff (“Old Jail”).
[edit] Criminology, Penology, and Grant County's Jails
The ideas of criminology and penology play an essential role in the thoughts of jails. Penology is the study of incarceration. All three of the jails that Marion has had have changed greatly over the years. For example, the very first jail, which was built in 1868, which was contracted by Samuel McClure, was the prime jail of the time. It was two stories and was made with the best quality of stone surpassing twenty inches thick. With all sixteen cells clean and not too much light, the jail was still commendable. The cost of this prime time jail was $34,000. Most of the old jails just threw the prisoners into a black, dark cell and just left them there until their trial, if they were even lucky enough to have one. The old jails did not have any of the extra curricular activities for the inmates to participate in as the new jails do. They did not have activities, such as, exercise yards, community service, or recreation rooms in which they have in more present jails. If a person was incarcerated back in the early 1900’s, they stayed imprisoned, and they did not have any other choices (“The Jail”). Also, the study of criminology is very controversial and ambiguous (Wilson 29). Criminologists’ expertise is observing and studying the acts of many criminals and what makes them so prone to commit the crimes they do (Wilson 24). It is proven that the majority of crimes committed in the twentieth century are those committed by males (Wilson 21). There were many cases that took place in Marion during the year that the jail was built. One extreme case that happened in 1903 was the McClure murders. This melancholy event caused an uproar in Marion and neighboring towns. Thirty-nine year old Jesse McClure shot and killed his two young baby boys on October 29,1903. At the time McClure lived in Swayzee, Indiana. After committing his crime, McClure quickly drove to Marion and surrendered himself to Sheriff Mills at the jail. Approximately thirty minutes after McClure arrived at the jail, it was reported that a mob was being formed to march in Marion and lynch the prisoner. For McClure’s own safety, Sheriff Mills took the prisoner out of town and sent him away to Indianapolis for safekeeping. However, before McClure was sent out of town, Sheriff Mills told his deputies to guard the jail until the prisoner was taken away. McClure’s trial was held out of the Tipton Circuit Courts and he was sentenced to life in prison for his felonies (“County Will Pay $92,559.89 for Jail”). Out of the many crimes that were committed throughout the years while the old county jail was in circulation, the hate crimes were the worst, such as, race crimes. Criminologists have determined that in the early twentieth century crimes committed were those pertaining to color, such as the lynchings of 1930 (Wilson 398).
[edit] The 1930 Lynchings
One of the most notable events that made the old jail important was the lynchings that took place on August 7, 1930. This was a crucial time in the history of Marion. On the night of August 6, 1930, three young black boys were suspected of killing a Fairmount man and the rape of his girlfriend. Thomas Shipp, Abram Smith, and James Cameron were the three boys that were accused of the murder and rape. However, Cameron, being the youngest, says he fled from the crime scene (Losure Al). While the three boys were jailed, an angry mob took Smith and Shipp out of the jail and beat them severely. Then, the mob dragged the two men down to the courthouse and hung them. One of the men was hanged outside the window of the jail before he was carried to the courthouse to be hung in front of many. At the time of the dramatizing incident, the sheriff of Marion was Jacob Campbell. Campbell later became the focus of accusations that he and his deputies did not do enough to stop the white mob from reaching the prisoners. Campbell’s response to the allegation was, “We couldn’t fire at the mob because there were too many women and children.” (“Old Jail”). Cameron was beaten harshly, but saved from getting hanged when a lady called out that he did not have anything to do with the rape and the murder of the two white citizens. However, he was sentenced in 1931 for being an accessory before the fact of voluntary manslaughter. He served four years in Indiana Reformatory in Pendleton. It took Cameron six years to recover from the beating he received by the mob. During the lynching, Lawrence Beittler took many pictures of the hanging and sold over two thousand of them for fifty cents each. Many people bought the pictures so they could remember the event and to hang them up in the black community, gloating that whites are superior. As for Cameron, he was pardoned by the state of Indiana in 1993 and says that, “we can forgive, but we can’t forget.” (Losure Al). With those words he accepts the pardon and tries to get on with his life. In doing so, he opened and directed American’s Black Holocaust Musuem Inc. in Milwaukee. Before he opened this, he looked at the old jail as a possibility to make it the museum. Even though Cameron has came along way by opening the museum, he still has not come to terms with the lynchings (Waters 2000). However, in 1995, James Cameron came back to Marion for the Ku Klux Klan rally. In this rally, Cameron carried a sign that stated, “Stop the Klan,” and he sang America the Beautiful (Kovaleski 1995). This was a turning point for Cameron. He was now a step closer to reconciling with his past.
[edit] Recent Years
In 1990, a Roanoke man by the name of Rex Fansler, bought the jail for $500 from a Bluffton contracting firm and later moved into it’s sheriffs residence (Knightlinger Al). The tax value of the jail was $89,820 at the time. However, by 1997, Fansler had owed over $20,000 in back property taxes on the building (Smith 1993). He then had to vacate the jail and leave it empty. Mr. Savak, a historic preservationist, conducted surveys on the jail and how bad of shape it was in. He said that many of the original furnishings remain inside the old jail, such as the dumbwaiter and an old-fashioned intercom system. He thinks Grant County should leave the jail bars on the site, but at the same time, he does not want to offend people in the community who want to remove the bars, along with the memories. Savak has not found a rumored tunnel in the jail that is said to lead from the jail to the courthouse. Even though Savak is certain that it is just a rumor, he still continues to look (Knightlinger Al).
The Grant County Old Jail is on the list of the ten most endangered landmarks in Indiana. (“Jail Nabs Spot on Endangered List”) In 1976, the Grant County Commissioners received a report saying that the present jail was not fit for human habitation. At this time the city of Marion was considering remodeling the jail. Sheriff Bill Riggs served during 1978- 1992. He mentioned that overcrowding in the jail was often common. It would cost well over one million dollars to modernize the jail (Witherow 1976). However it would be around three million dollars to build a new jail. The Old Grant County Jail is now an apartment complex. With the jail housing many, the history of it still remains an extreme part of the building. The apartment complex has many pictures throughout its halls symbolizes the history and memories of the structure. The town of Marion named the building Castle Apartments.
[edit] Conclusion
With its unique history and the transformations it has experienced, the jail is a significant structure in this town. The studies of penology and criminology explain the transformations between the three jails Marion has had. The unforgettable lynchings of 1930 played a key role in the importance of the jail. The Old Grant County Jail remains a meaningful monument for the citizens of this town.
[edit] Works Cited
- “County Will Pay $92,559.89 for Jail.” Marion Chronicle Tribune 20 Jan. 1903.
- “Jail Nabs Spot on Endangered Landmark List.” Marion Chronicle Tribune. 19 May 1995.
- Knightlinger, Cathy. “Apartment Work Starts at Old Jail.” Marion Chronicle Tribune. 1 Apr. 2000.
- Knightlinger, Cathy. “Deteriorizing Jail Gets Reprieved.” Marion Chronicle Tribune. 19 May 1999, Al.
- Kovaleski, Jeff. “Lynching Survivor Came to Face Klan.” Marion Chronicle Tribune. 26 Nov. 1995.
- Losure, Cindy. “Cameron Forgives, is Forgiven Crime.” Marion Chronicle Trubune. 12 Feb. 1993.
- “Murderer McClure.” Swayzee Press. 29 Oct. 1903, Number 30.
- “Old Jail.” Marion Chronicle Tribune 13 May 1972.
- Smith, Sherie. “Jail Owner Sees Flaws in Property Assessment.” Marion Chronicle Tribune. 29 Sept. 1993.
- “The Jail.” Marion Expansion. 24 Aug. 1956.
- Waters, Avon. “Cameron Eyes Jail as Black Museum.” Marion Chronicle Tribune. 21 Aug. 1994.
- Wilson, James Q. Crimes and Human Nature. New York City: Simon & Schuster, 1985.
- Witherow, Phil. “Jail Fix-up $1 Million.” Marion Chronicle Tribune. 23 July 1976.
[edit] Credits
Casey Martin wrote the original version of this article for Mr. Munn's AP US History class and Mr. Lakes' AP English 11 class at Marion High School. It was submitted on December 17, 2001.
