The Day the Jail Burned Down
The United States Jail in Muskogee burned to the ground February 21, 1893. Some of the prisoners housed in the jail were awaiting trial in federal court. Other inmates were awaiting delivery to federal prisons.
Inmates ignited the wooden jail on purpose. Maybe a few hoped to escape during the chaos it caused.
The six cells of the jail were in one building near the center of the courtyard. A wooden wall formed the jail's outside. The wall, made out of thick sawed planks, stood fourteen feet tall. A catwalk along the top of the wall allowed guards to watch for trouble on the ground outside of the cellblock.
Inmates apparently had smoking privileges. They started a fire at the back of cell number six using their straw mattresses pushed against the back wall. As one mattress was consumed, they piled another on top to keep the fire going.
The cold weather likely prompted the guards in the jail to focus more on keeping warm than on watching for trouble. Negligence on the guards' part enabled the thick plank walls to finally start burning. No account reports how long it took for the walls to catch fire.
The interior guard in the cellblock remained in the office up front because the pot bellied stove provided more warmth there. Prisoners could have alerted him, but they chose not to until it was too late. Alarm was given only after the fire was well established and began to be a threat to inmates. Most at risk were the six to eight prisoners in cell number six.
The sudden hollering by the inmates alerted the guards. Grabbing shotguns, they rushed into the cellblock to unlock the cell doors. There were sixty or more prisoners in their custody that day. Smoke billowing in the air joined the crackling of burning wood. Judging the fire's progress to be extensive, the guards quickly began removing the prisoners from jail.
Assistant jailor Chambers Adams was in charge while the warden was home sick. Adams brought the guards down off the catwalk to join the other guards in the burning cells. Under their watchful eyes, the prisoners marched out of the jail and across the street to the federal courthouse. The courtroom was just big enough to house both inmates and guards.
Alarmed citizens rushed to the burning jail as soon that they learned of the fire. The bucket brigade was the town's only firefighting ability that day. Merchants and farmers alike began lining up to put out the fire. It was shortly clear, however, that the cellblock could not be saved. Nor could the cook shack and storage shed on the jail grounds nearby.
The men and boys in the bucket brigade next turned their attention to saving the town. Because the wind was calm, some of the adjacent buildings did not catch afire. The fire endangered the courthouse, but was saved.
The Wellington House sat south of the jail. This hotel and stores west of the jail were also saved because of the bucket brigade.
After the fire burned out, townsmen could only recover the iron railings that covered the windows and doors of the jail. The metal plates and cups for feeding the inmates were warped beyond use. So, too, were the buckets used for night pots in the cells. The jail was completely destroyed.
Pleasant Porter built the jail specifically for leasing it to the federal government along with the courthouse. His losses from the fire totaled $1,500. The jail was only a couple of years old. Within two days, Porter vowed to rebuild.
The dangers brought by the inmates upon Muskogee were real. Almost exactly six years later, Muskogee's business district where this jail once stood burned to the ground. The later bucket brigade was unable to prevent the destruction of many blocks of downtown businesses. Muskogee dodged the bullet in 1893, but not in 1899.
Inmates ignited the wooden jail on purpose. Maybe a few hoped to escape during the chaos it caused.
The six cells of the jail were in one building near the center of the courtyard. A wooden wall formed the jail's outside. The wall, made out of thick sawed planks, stood fourteen feet tall. A catwalk along the top of the wall allowed guards to watch for trouble on the ground outside of the cellblock.
Inmates apparently had smoking privileges. They started a fire at the back of cell number six using their straw mattresses pushed against the back wall. As one mattress was consumed, they piled another on top to keep the fire going.
The cold weather likely prompted the guards in the jail to focus more on keeping warm than on watching for trouble. Negligence on the guards' part enabled the thick plank walls to finally start burning. No account reports how long it took for the walls to catch fire.
The interior guard in the cellblock remained in the office up front because the pot bellied stove provided more warmth there. Prisoners could have alerted him, but they chose not to until it was too late. Alarm was given only after the fire was well established and began to be a threat to inmates. Most at risk were the six to eight prisoners in cell number six.
The sudden hollering by the inmates alerted the guards. Grabbing shotguns, they rushed into the cellblock to unlock the cell doors. There were sixty or more prisoners in their custody that day. Smoke billowing in the air joined the crackling of burning wood. Judging the fire's progress to be extensive, the guards quickly began removing the prisoners from jail.
Assistant jailor Chambers Adams was in charge while the warden was home sick. Adams brought the guards down off the catwalk to join the other guards in the burning cells. Under their watchful eyes, the prisoners marched out of the jail and across the street to the federal courthouse. The courtroom was just big enough to house both inmates and guards.
Alarmed citizens rushed to the burning jail as soon that they learned of the fire. The bucket brigade was the town's only firefighting ability that day. Merchants and farmers alike began lining up to put out the fire. It was shortly clear, however, that the cellblock could not be saved. Nor could the cook shack and storage shed on the jail grounds nearby.
The men and boys in the bucket brigade next turned their attention to saving the town. Because the wind was calm, some of the adjacent buildings did not catch afire. The fire endangered the courthouse, but was saved.
The Wellington House sat south of the jail. This hotel and stores west of the jail were also saved because of the bucket brigade.
After the fire burned out, townsmen could only recover the iron railings that covered the windows and doors of the jail. The metal plates and cups for feeding the inmates were warped beyond use. So, too, were the buckets used for night pots in the cells. The jail was completely destroyed.
Pleasant Porter built the jail specifically for leasing it to the federal government along with the courthouse. His losses from the fire totaled $1,500. The jail was only a couple of years old. Within two days, Porter vowed to rebuild.
The dangers brought by the inmates upon Muskogee were real. Almost exactly six years later, Muskogee's business district where this jail once stood burned to the ground. The later bucket brigade was unable to prevent the destruction of many blocks of downtown businesses. Muskogee dodged the bullet in 1893, but not in 1899.
Labels: Chambers Adams, Pleasant Porter, US Federal Jail, Wellington House
posted by Wally Waits at
7:59 PM
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