Carroll County, Indiana - Chapter 6: County Buildings, 1882

COUNTY BUILDINGS. Preliminary Steps Tow.\rd Building a County Jail - After Proceeding.? - Plan fob the Con.struction of the Building, ETC - A Clerk and Recorder' ,s Office Ordered to be Constructed - The Plan, Location, etc - Another Jait. Contracted for and Built, in 1839, at a Cost of §.500 - Plan, etc - The La.st One Subsequently Enlarged and Improved- A Bkick Wall Put Around it and a Sheriff's Residence Erected as Part of the Structure.

n^HE Board of County Commissioners, at their session held on -*- the 10th of August, 1829, directed the County Agent to procure the building of a jail, on a plan then proposed, ordering him to give notice, that, on the first Monday of October, then succeeding, he w'juld let the contract for the same to the lowest bidder, on the conditions prescribed, that the undertaker of such contract should complete tiie construction of said building, in conformity with the proposed plan, by the 1st day of August, 1830; that, as security for the faithful performance of his conb'act, tie Agent was directed to require said contractor to enter into a bond in the penalty of $1,800, with approved security; also, that the contractor should be allowed, out of the county treasury, of any moneys appropriated for public buildings, quarterly, throe- fourths of the full of the work which he may have done, and that he shall receive the whole on the 1st day of August, A. Drl830, for the work shall be then completed." The building was ordered to be located on the northwest corner of lot niunbered 101, thirty feet from the fi-ont of said lot.

In the meantime, it was ascertained that the size and form of the building were not in exact accord with the requirements of the situation, and notice was given for re-assembling the board to further consider the questions presented. For that purpose, a special meeting was held, commencing on the 26th day of Septembei', of the same year, at which Jacob Baum and Thomas Stirlen, Commissioners, were present. Thereupon it was

Ordered, That a jail be built in Delphi, on the following plan, to wit: Twenty-six feet long, eighteen feet wide, and a nine-foot story with a partition in the center; three doors, one window to the dungeon, fourteen inches square, double-barred with iron bars; floor double, with oaken timber one foot square; the debtors' room single, the walls of the dungeon to be double, the outside walls of oak tunber one foot square, the inside wall of solid timber one foot square; the debtors' room to be one wall of oak timber one foot square; the partition to be double, of the same kind and size timbers as the wall - the roof to be made of jointed shingles.

said jail should be built." At the time appointed, bids were received and examined, and the contract awarded to Henry Robinson, as the lowest responsible bidder. The building was erected by him, pursuant to the terms of the contract, and the work accepted by the board at or about the time projiosed. kt the session of November 10, .1829, it was

Ordered. That a Clerk and Rerr feet west, and twenty-five f.rl -nutl to be built on the tollowin- |il:iii ir. nine-foot story, jointed, sliinuli r..,.i lights each; lower floor i., 1., ,,1,,,,

Accordingly, notice was given, bids received, the contract let and the building completed, in substantial compliance with the terms proposed The board, having accepted, occupied the building at the session commencing on the 9th day of August, 1830.

The jail building erected pm-suant to the foregoing contract, appears not to have been equal to the demands of the situation, nor just such as should have been built, both as to the size and construction. The consequence was that at almost every session of the board, after the first few years, bills for repairs or for changes necessary to be made, became so numerous, that it was the better policy to contract for and build a new one better to the wants of the times. The question having been pretty thoroughly canvassed, a decision was arrived at which determined the course proper to be pursued under the circumstances. A session of the board was called, therefore, and met on Saturday, the 1st day of June, 1839, when it was same kind ut In^^ yt \^lin.h the liuu^c is built - the whole to be covered with a plain -.hingle roof - weather-boarded at the gable ends House to be ^i\teen feet square - to be eight feet high in the clear The whole to be (ompleted by the 15th day of Septeinber. 1.1.59

The original plan of the building and the construction of the different parts was somewhat modified in detail, and the contractor was directed to proceed in accordance with the following revised specifications;

Ordered. That the County Jail be built of sawed logs twelve inches square, the timber to be of beech, sugar-tree or oak : floor to be laid double, of oak, size of the balance ; to be ceilrd mi iIu- invid,. with threeinch oak plank, to be spiked on with six-incli ^jiik. -, -i\ in. 1m - apart ; the ceiling to be put on the same way of the log-, l.n^ilmi-. i..ints broke; the top to be covered with the same kind of 1..^- ..I' wliich the house is built. The whole to be covered with a good shingle roof, and weatherboarded at the gable ends. The doors to be two feet in the clear, wide, five feet high ; the outside to be made of inch-and-a-half oak-plank, double, with sheet-iron between, the same size of the door - the inside of the door to be made of iron, half an inch in thickness, by two and a half wide, the bars to be one inch apart and riveted strongly at each corner ; the inside door to be strongly spiked, or nailed, on each side : the window to be the same size as the old one, and the other grates may be used, with the addition of a new one. The house to be sixteen feet square and seven feet high in the dear. Tlie \Yhole to be completed by the 15th day of September. 1839. The locks tor the door to be such as are generally used for such buildings. The jail to be built in the town of Delphi, at or near the same ground where the old one stood.

A meeting was held by the County Board, on the 4th of September, prior to the completion of the building, when the contractor was specially directed to make an inside door for the use of the County Jail. This door was to be six inches high and eight inches wide, made of iron, with a shutter on the outside, and a strong padlock. From the description, it would seem that the door ordered to be made was an opening in the inner door of the criminal's department, through which communication might be had with the prisoners without the risk of opening the large door. At the session in November, Mr. Robinson was allowed, on his contract, the further sum of lii2l)0. He was paid the balance, $90, in full for his work, at the September session, one year after the building was completed, according to the provisions of the contract, as in the proceedings of the board set forth.

After the completion of the building to which reference has just been made, the Commissioners, upon mature deliberation, deemed it advisable to enlarge the dimensions of the jail previously erected, and add to it a comfortable residence for the Sheriff or Jailer, and build the same of brick. Having arrived at the conclusion that such a step was necessary, at the September term, 1840, it was

Ordrn.l, That the Clerk of this Boaril .-aus.- public iiolice to be given ill ilr liiliiM r.^dhliii, iliai he will niri\, [,i , .| r . ,il- until the next jail, lioib .stories and the wall for the other part of tlie house to be eighteen inches thick. The house to be forty-two feet long, from outside to outside ; the lower story to be nine feet high and the upper story to be eight feet high. The Debtor's Room to be built immediately above the present jail, to have one window in the Debtor's Room, twelve light, 8x10 glass, to be lixed with crossed iron-bars in such a manner as to make the same secure. The floor of the said Debtor's Room to be laid of oak-planks one and a half Indies thick, and the same to be coiled with oak-planks one and a half inches thick, to be strongly spiked on with strong iron spikes. The builtling to be well covered with i^ood shingles: the rooms for the jail li> be plaiiih- aii.l ii.ntiv tini-h'-.l .ilT 'n hare one chiinney.

Debtor's Room to lie similar tn tlic womlcii ilmir in tlie present dungeon, with a similar lock ; to have twn « inilnus ah.ivc and two below, in front of the Jailer's rooms - one bcli.w .aid nm aii.iM in the rear. The Debtor's Room to have a flue for a stove -pipe, ii. lie iii|ipccl out like a chimney in tlie end of a house ; tlie family iiart of the house to have two coats of paint. The whole to be completed by the 1st of September next.

Upon the proposals received from the several builders being opened and examined, the contract was awarded to James Rogers; but, before the work had progressed very far, at the January session, 1841, it was mutually agreed between the Commi.ssioners and the contractor, " that the following change be made in the plan of tlie County Jail," as in the" foregoing specifications set forth, to wit: "Instead of the building being forty-two feet long, it is agreed that said building shall be forty-five feet long from outside to outside; instead of the jail part of the wall being two feet thick, .it is agreed that said wall shall be two feot thick around three sides only, and, on the passage side, one foot thick. The first story, and all the rest of the walls both above and below.

shall be thirteen inches thick, and there shall be an additional window of the same size as the balance, above the hall-door; and the upper story shall have an addition of one foot to the height to the former plan. And it is agreed that the said Rogers shall have the sum of $1,800 for building the same." This agreement having been consmnmated, the bid of Mr. Rogers was accepted and the bond filed by him as the builder, was approved by the board.

Allowances were made from time to time to the contractor as the work progressed. Finally, on the 17th of November, 1841; the record shows that the board allowed BIr. Rogers the sum of $573.60, in full for the balance due him on his contract for building the Coimty Jail; also, for extra work on Coimty Jail, $79, less $'26 ordered to be deducted from the original contract * * for damages assessed on plastering account, and that said jail be now accepted," and it was accepted accordingly, the building, except the changes referred to, having been completed within the time stated in the contract