Page 19 - Microsoft Word - Fort Pierre Historic Homes Bldgs (December 2020)

Stanley County 1905 Jail Over the years, the Jail held a number of rowdy, law-breaking
st
J. 1 & Main Avenue
After Fort Pierre won the county seat in 1890, the county rented
office space and then built a small building/hall. In 1907, they
decided to build a new brick courthouse on the corner of First
Street and Main Avenue. This was where they had built the Old
Jail in 1905 for $400.
Andrew Feeney served as Sheriff from 1903-1907 and George S.
Huston served from 1907-1911. In 1911, C.E. Coyne was elected
Sheriff and he offered Frank Norman the job as Deputy Sheriff. At
that time, the Deputy Sheriff was called a Jailer and was paid $55
a month. Frank moved his family into the basement of the
courthouse, which was previously the location of the County
Agent’s office. Frank’s wife, Jessie, provided the meals for the
prisoners; she received $.25/meal. In those days, it was
necessary to have someone live near the jail to keep watch over
2
the prisoners.
2 Prairie Progress in West Central SD and A Bridge Apart
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robbers and outlaws like “Notorious horse thief Buff George!”
Many folks say, “If only those walls could talk, we would get a
great history lesson!”
An unusual circumstance occurred in 1921 as documented from
an excerpt in the Pierre Capital Journal, December 17, 1921:
Many residents had the opportunity to view a full grown mountain
lion which is being held in the Fort Pierre Jail as a result of a trip
taken by Andy Leonard and Hugh Schultz to Kalispell in the Judith
Basin of Montana. They were there selling buffalo for butchering and
managed to return to Fort Pierre with a mountain lion.
The rancher who bought the buffalo told them that for $25 he could
guarantee them a mountain lion. The deal was agreed to and the
rancher and his Airdale dogs went to complete the deal, treeing the
lion. A wire loop was thrown about the cat’s neck nearly choking it
until it fell out of the tree, then it was secured, crated and taken to the
railroad station where is was shipped to Fort Pierre.
If the lion was a ferocious wild one, it became quickly settled and
acted as wild as a pet house cat. Some who have observed it claim it
purrs, stretches and plays just like a cat-- although it is a wild animal
and beautiful! Andy Leonard intends to send it to the Longfellow
Gardens in Minnehaha Park in Minneapolis, Minnesota. “
Nowadays, tourists, local residents, especially the small children,
enjoy visiting the old Jail and snapping a picture being ‘jailed’
behind the barred door.
The Jail is one of the oldest buildings in Fort Pierre, which is still
located at its original site and is owned and operated by the
Verendrye Museum. The jail has undergone several restorations
over the years, with the latest repairs in 2020.
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