San Juan County Historical Society Museum

San Juan County Historical Society Museum. . , Law and Order on the Frontier , Imagine arriving in Silverton in 1903. You're a burly miner, traveling from the metropolis of Denver to the remote high country of the San Juan. You step off the train onto "Notorious" Blair Street, ready to join in the revelry. On the horizon, at the edge of Town, you see an imposing three story brick and stone edifice, one of the largest buildings in the heart of the Rockies, and you realize you better walk the line; it's the new state-of-the-art prison facility known as the San Juan County Jail., History of the County Jail , The building is the fifth known jail structure in Silverton, and was constructed by Thomas Edwards of Silverton at a cost of $12,175. William Campbell was the first jailor appointed to oversee the new facility. Andy Johnson, a 38-year old male found guilty of burglary, was sentenced to six months, and became the first prisoner to be incarcerated here on November 16th, 1903., The building only served as the County jail until the early 1920s when it was abandoned due to a decline in population, associated with a lull in the fortunes of the mining industry. In the 1930s, the jail became home to a small population of elderly miners who were essentially wards of the County. Several death certificates on file in the San Juan County Historical Society archive identify the jail as the County's Poor House., The Architecture , The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing structure within the boundaries of Silverton's National Historic Landmark District. The architectural style of the jail is known as Italianate, a popular design style for public buildings in Colorado at the Turn-of-the-century. Notable features of the Italianate style incorporated into the jail's design include the dressed limestone belt courses, window sills and headers, the hand-seamed hip roof, the ornate corbelled brick entablature, which is evocative of a crenellated fortification, and the elaborate blind dormer above the main entrance., What Went on Inside? , Residential quarters were located in the first floor for the jailor's family, consisting of a kitchen, family room and dining room. The second story of the jail housed the main holding cells including a "hospital" cell, two female cells, a bath cell, and four "tool-proof" cells. The tool-proof cell block, was designed and fabricated by the J. Pauly Company of St. Louis, Missouri. These rare jail cells remain unaltered, including prisoner hammocks, ball and chain shackles, and an elaborate lock-down system., The Museum , The collections of the San Juan County Historical Society have been displayed and interpreted in the upper floor levels of the jail since 1965. A world-class mineral specimen room displaying the private collections of Silverton's mining community was installed in the basement level as part of the building's restoration. Interpretive rooms include the Jailor's office, complete with a display of badges and guns, and a Victorian era Parlor and kitchen space, where the jailor's wife prepared the prisoners meals., The Restoration , The restoration of the museum was completed in 2013 at a cost of $626,000. A locally trained in-house labor force completed the project over a 5-year period. Beginning with a detailed building assessment, the preservation of the building included structural foundation repairs, brick and stone restoration in the upper masonry walls, replacement of the hand-seamed terne plate roof, reconstruction of the missing north porch and chimney mass, and the restoration of the historic windows and doors. The final phase of the project included new interior wall plaster and the restoration of the historic paint palette, refinishing of the wood floors, new electrical and security systems, and a significant upgrade to the interpretive displays throughout the building. The design team for the restoration included Reynolds and Associates of Durango, Colorado, and the local historic preservation firm, Silverton Restoration Consulting., Captions , 1. 1903 blue line construction drawing. The full set of these original drawings are on display in the upper level of the museum. , 2. P.J. Pauly was as a steamboat blacksmith on the Mississippi River in the 1850s when he founded the Jail Building Company. The San Juan County Jail is one of a handfull of historic Pauly jail facilities across the US that remains open to the public. , 3. The crossed jailhouse keys emblem was adopted by the San Juan County Historical Society in 1965. Celebrating our heritage remains the key to our success!