Photograph as originally submitted to this page in the Historical Marker Database www.HMdb.org. Click on photo to resize in browser. Scroll down to see metadata.

Photographer: Brian Scott
Taken: April 8, 2013
Caption: Oconee County Cage
Additional Description: The Oconee County Cage was one of several used in the early twentieth century as quarters for chain gang members at work sites. The cage is a small, metal cage on a wheeled chassis constructed ca. 1900. The cage was pulled by draft animals who were hitched to a metal tongue which projects from the front axle of the chassis. The cage is approximately fourteen feet long, eight feet wide, and seven feet high. The front end, the floor, and the roof are of solid sheet metal on a riveted frame. The sides of the cage are enclosed by metal bars and strips in an open grid. The rear of the cage has a hinged metal door allowing egress. The cage has twelve metal bunks inside, arranged in three tiers on each side. The bunks have metal frames carrying a mesh of metal strips, which supported the prisoners pallets. A small metal barrel in the center of the floor allowed for a fire. It is the most intact object of its type identified in the state. Listed in the National Register November 14, 1982.
Submitted: April 26, 2013, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.
Database Locator Identification Number: p240110
File Size: 0.143 Megabytes

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