1905 Stanley County Jail

1905 Stanley County Jail. Fort Pierre, South Dakota

• After Fort Pierre won the county seat, in 1890, the county rented office space and then built a small building/hall.
• In 1907, they decided to build a new brick courthouse (concrete walls are 8” thick) on the corner of First Street and Main Avenue. This was where they had built the Old Jail in 1905 for $400, in its present location.
• Sheriffs utilizing the Jail:  Andrew Feeney 1903-1907 and George S. Huston 1907-1911.
• In 1911, C. E. Coyne was elected Sheriff and he offered Frank Norman the job as Deputy Sheriff.
• At that time, the Deputy Sheriff was called a Jailer (paid $55 a month). Frank moved his family into the basement of the courthouse, which was previously the location of the County Agent’s office. Frank’s wife, Jessie provided the meals (she received $.25/meal) for the prisoners. In those days, it was necessary to have someone live near to keep watch over the prisoners. (Source:  Prairie Progress in West Central SD and A Bridge Apart)
• The Jail held a number of rowdy & law-breaking robbers/outlaws like “Notorious horse thief Buff George!”   Rumor has it there may have been murderers housed here too!  Many folks say, “If only those walls could talk, we would get a great History lesson!”
• The Jail is one of the oldest buildings in Fort Pierre, which is located at its original site.
• Nowadays, tourists, local residents, especially the small children, enjoy visiting the old Jail and snapping a picture being ‘jailed’ behind the barred door.