Rotary Jail Cells

(Photo: Martin Konapacki)

Pictured above is a cell from the old jail of Pottawattamie County, Iowa. It was used from 1885 through 1969. It’s one of three jails in the world with a unique design: rotating cells.

The cells rest on circular tracks and rotate along a central shaft. When the jailer wishes to open a cell, he turns the crank, which turns the cells until the desired one is accessible to the entryway. The shaft holds the plumbing needs for the prisoners.

The design came to be known as the “squirrel cage jail.” The inventors, William Brown and Benjamin Haugh, described it in their patent application as a means to reduce the number of guards without reducing security:

The object of our invention is to produce a jail or prison in which prisoners can be controlled without the necessity of personal contact between them and the jailer or guard, and incidentally to provide it with sundry conveniences and advantages not usually found in prisons [….]

The Pottawattamie County jail in Council Bluffs, Iowa and similar structures in Gallatin, Missouri and Crawfordsville, Indiana are the only three squirrel cage jails in the world. The Historical Society of Pottawattamie County owns the one in Council Bluffs. It’s open to the public.

-via Atlas Obscura