Cass County Jail: 1856 – 1932 Kayla Mitchell Linden-Kildare High School Ms. Gail Dorgan – Teacher Linden, Cass County, Texas Photo courtesy of the Charline.

Cass County Jail: 1856 – 1932

Kayla MitchellLinden-Kildare High SchoolMs. Gail Dorgan – TeacherLinden, Cass County, Texas

Photo courtesy of the Charline Wiley Morris collection

A county with no jail

From its creation in 1846 until Linden was named the permanent county seat of Cass County on January 15, 1852, there was no county jail.

1840s map showing Jefferson as temporary county sea of Cass County

Photo courtesy of http://www.mapofus.org/_maps/atlas/1856-TX.html

Housing County Prisoners

County prisoners were placed in various locations in Jefferson, Texas, the temporary county seat .

Stephen Ellis, who was proprietor of the Soda Lake Hotel (later renamed the Jefferson Hotel) was given $15 for housing court officials and $5 for housing a prisoner.

Soda Lake Hotel (now the Jefferson Hotel)

Photo courtesy http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/04/19/d8/73/the-historic-jefferson.jpg

Plans for a County Jail

On December 5, 1852, plans were made to build a jail in Linden.

In May 1853, lots 3 & 4 of Block 6 were donated to Linden to build the county jail.

Graphic of Linden Original Town Plat by Sue Morris Lazara and Alexander Morris Lazara.

Lots to build jail

September 1854

Carpenter and Haggard were awarded the contract to build a county jail for $2,975.00.

J.H. Updegraff was awarded the contract to build the iron cage to be placed in the dungeon of the jail for the sum of $550.00.

Example of the iron cage

http://us.123rf.com/450wm/nesacera/nesacera1310/nesacera131000019/23267091-

cage-box-cube-vector.jpg

1 August 1856

Updegraff and Haggard present their completed constructions to the Cass County Commissioner’s Court for approval.

Cass County could now incarcerate its prisoners in the county jail.

Cass County Jail

September 1857

The Commissioner’s Court of Cass County purchased one lot for a jailer’s house, garden and authorized the paling of the jail yard.

Paling is one of a row of upright pointed sticks forming a fence.

Order to build jailer’s house and pale jail yard

Minutes Commissioner’s Court Book 3

Storming of the Jail

The Cass County Jail was stormed by a thousand - person mixed - race mob who demanded Mrs. J.H. Lanier (The Sheriff’s wife) hand over the keys to the jail. Sheriff Lanier was away on County business at the time.

The mob removed 17 year old Jim Lee, who had confessed to killing Mrs. Lowe and her 15 month old daughter, from his cell.

Courtesy of Cass County Sun November 1891

Execution of Jim Lee

26 October 1891

After removing Lee from the jail, the angry mob, from different sections of the county, burned him at a stake and murdered him.

Texas Governor J.S. Hogg issued a $1,000 Reward for the arrest and conviction of the leaders of the mob and $200 each for each accessory.

Governor Hogg’s response to the murder

Courtesy of Cass County Sun November 4, 1891

4 November 1891

At 2 A.M. a second mob of 12 to 15 men approached the Cass County Jail and demanded the key for the purpose of taking Mack Demmons, Lee’s accomplice.

The mob didn’t expect Sheriff Lanier to be home, and when he made his presence know, the mob “Quietly retired without any disturbance”.

Mob after Mack Demmons

Courtesy of Cass County Sun November 1891

4 September 1900

The Grand Jury Report found “the want of better arrangements, lunatics confirmed in one cell while criminals occupy the others, we therefore recommend the commissioners have built a suitable place for the confining of lunatics,…apart from the jail”.

Confining lunatics apart from jail

Courtesy of The Cass County Sun, Sept. 4, 1900

May – June 1905

Three additional cells and the old jail cells were replaced for the sum of $28,000.

While undergoing construction, prisoners were moved to the lunatic cell so they would not have to listen to continual hammering. Three prisoners pried off a board in the wall and dropped from a second story window. They were quickly captured.

Prison Escapees

Courtesy of Cass County Sun July 18, 1905

20 November 1906

Sheriff Blalock and his family moved into the resident part of the jail.

Cass County Sheriffs would continue this practice into the 1980’s.

Sheriff J.F. Mitchell and family in front of jail 1912

3 March 1908

The Grand Jury recommended that the jail have separate apartments for male and female prisoners and to build another story onto the existing jail house for the benefit of white prisoners because the Grand Jury deplored “the practice or custom of permitting white prisoners to mix and mingle with colored prisoners in the jail”.

The Grand Jury’s Report

Courtesy of Cass County Sun March 3, 1908

11 May 1925

After 72 years of service, the original Cass County Jail which had survived two mob confrontations and had suffered damage in the 13 May 1908 tornado, was to serve strictly as the residence of the sheriff.

A contract was awarded to Southern Steel Company to build a new jail for $16,986.00.

Photo courtesy of the Charline Wiley Morris collection

Cass County Jail with Katherine Taylor Temple

in the foreground

Jail

Courthouse

Visual Credits• Slide 1 – Photo courtesy of the Charline Wiley Morris collection• Slide 2 –Photo courtesy of http://www.mapofus.org/_maps/atlas/1856-TX.html• Slide 3 – Photo courtesy http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/• photo-s/04/19/d8/73/the-historic-jefferson.jpg • Slide 4 – Graphic of Linden Original Town Plat by Sue Morris Lazara and Alexander

Morris Lazara.• Slide 5

–http://us.123rf.com/450wm/nesacera/nesacera1310/nesacera131000019/23267091-cage-box-cube-vector.jpg

• Slide 6 – Photo courtesy of the Charline Wiley Morris collection• Slide 7 –Minutes Commissioner’s Court Book 3• Slide 8 –Courtesy of Cass County Sun November 1891• Slide 9 –Courtesy of Cass County Sun November 4, 1891• Slide 10 – Courtesy of Cass County Sun November 1891• Slide 11 –Courtesy of The Cass County Sun, Sept. 4, 1900• Slide 12 –Courtesy of Cass County Sun July 18, 1905• Slide 13 –Photo courtesy of the Charline Wiley Morris collection• Slide 14 –Courtesy of Cass County Sun March 3, 1908• Slide 15 –Photo courtesy of the Charline Wiley Morris collection• Slide 16 –Photo courtesy of the Charline Wiley Morris collection• Slide 17 - Photo courtesy of the Charline Wiley Morris collection

Photo courtesy of the Charline Wiley Morris collection

Works Cited Bagur, Jaques. Antebellum Jefferson, Tx.: Everyday Life in an East Texas TownMinutes of the Cass County Commissioner’s Court –Book 1A p. 337; 9 Aug 1887Linden Citizens Journal Diamond Anniversary p. 8 sec 4 Alliance Standard prisoners p. 1 feb 6, 1894Grand jury report cass county sun sept 25, 2000 p. 2Escape ccs june 23, 1903 p1Grand jury report ccs p1 sept 6, 1904Additional cells ccs feb 28, 1905 p1Jail work ccs jul18, 1905 p1Three escape from jail ccs july 18, 1905 p1Ccs aug 8, 1905 jail improvements accepted p3Grand jury report ccs march 3, 1908 p2Grand jury report ccs sept 25, 1917 p1Grand jury report ccs oct 16, 1928Grand jury report oct 15, 1929 ccs p1First Coourt held in linden tj foster cj p36-37Mcc jail improvements book 6 p 371 nov 21, 1925From the sun files dated novemebr 20, 1906 ccs jan 20, 1944 p1Mcc in the matter of repairing the county jail of davis county book 4 p102Mcc jail house received book 3 p 140 may 18, 1858Mcc sept 1, 1857 red 3 p88 grading of bank around jailMcc nov 17, 1857 red 3 p95 purchase lot for jail gardenMcc red 3 p100 jan 26, 1858 jailer’s house paymentMcc – red 3 page 89 spet 30, 1857 – let contract for jailer’s houseMcc may 18, 1858 – red 3 p141 – house for jailerMcc march 27, 1876 work on jail premisis red 4 p299Alliance standard grand jury report p2 sept 29, 1893Grand jury report march 3, 1908 ccs p3Linden Cyclone: Three lives lost – property destroyed – much desolation the Atlanta News p1 may 21, 1908Grand jury report ccs p1 sept 25, 1917 – Mcc dec 10, 1918 bok 4 p 430work on jail and asylumGrand jury report ccs may 6, 1924p1Grand jury report ccs oct 14, 1924 p4Mmc march 25, 1925 book 6 p371 motion to accept plans for new jailMcc book 6 p 389 may 11, 1925 contract with Southern Steel Company to build new jailMcc book 6 p500 nove 21, 1925 acceptance of new jailGrand jury report ccs p1 oct 16, 1928Mcc dec 19, 1928 book 7 p276 order to repair jail building now used as sherrif’s residenceCcs renovations to sherrif’s home completed jan 22, 1929 p4Oct 15, 1929 ccs grand jury report – overcrowding at jail – p5Murder and robbery ccs nov 4, 1891 p1$1000.00 Reward ccs nov 4, 1891 p1After mack demmons ccs nov 4, 1891 p1

Photo courtesy of the Charline Wiley Morris collection