The Dubois Jail
-Seth McFarland
Slammer. Stockade. Dungeon. Bastille. Jail. Clink. Pokey. Hoosegow. When someone broke the law, they got to experience time in one of these. The word “jail” has its roots in old Latin meaning “cage.” Jail is usually a locally controlled way of containing those convicted of minor offences, or those awaiting trial. During the territorial days, most prisoners were kept in stockades at the various forts. In the 1860s, jails were required to be erected in every county in Wyoming. The sheriff was responsible for their maintenance. In most western towns, the jail was one of the first structures to be built, although they were often rudimentary and crude.
Early territorial jailhouses were usually basic small single-room wood buildings with barred windows, and the conditions were usually very primitive and often without heating. Many early jails used stacked two-by-four lumber construction made as temporary accommodations until a dedicated dwelling could be built.
Companies like the E.T. Barnum Wire & Iron Works in Detroit, Michigan made custom-made iron jail cells for prisons and asylums. The iron cells could be installed inside buildings, or left outside, or mounted on wagons to haul prisoners. Iron cells became common for many communities at the turn of the twentieth century.
The Civil Works Administration (CWA) was a temporary U.S. Government program created in 1933 to provide winter employment during the Great Depression. After the 1929 stock market crash, the United States needed a way to recover. Franklin Deleno Roosevelt (F.D.R.) promised wide-reaching economic and social plans during his 1932 presidential campaign. The CWA program was part of F.D.R.’s New Deal, and the CWA hired millions of unemployed people to work on temporary infrastructure and public projects such as roads, school buildings, libraries, city halls, jails, and fire stations from 1933-1934. In July of 1934, James Roosevelt, the son of the president, was reported to have visited Dubois for some fly fishing.
This program was a temporary program which served as the precursor to the more permanent federal Works Progress Administration (WPA). The CWA projects were often photographed with a CWA sign after the project was completed, demonstrating what the program had achieved. The Civil Works Administration completed two projects in the Dubois area, constructing the jail in Dubois and the original airport. In 1938, the Wyoming Archaeological Survey was completed as part of a WPA project. This provided one of the first surveys of the archaeology around Dubois and throughout the Wind River.
Communities throughout the country used the labor of CWA workers for repairs, renovations, remodeling and new construction. Dubois did not receive a city hall as many communities did, but the town did receive a new jail. The jail was built out of concrete as the western base of Cemetery Hill, just south of the St. Thomas’ Church.
Dubois was truly a colorful town in the 1930s. A few years before in 1928, the Dubois Marshal Ginger had complaints of aggravated assault brought against them. In the March 15, 1928 Riverton Review, it was stated “Dubois was without a jail, suitable in which to house a prisoner at this time of the year. It was cold, and illness might result to any person left there, making the town of Dubois liable.”
In the early years of Dubois, the mayor determined where the town council met. According to Harold Boedeker in the 1930s, the meetings were usually held in the mayor’s office or in the barber shop. From 1931 to 1937 there were seven town marshals. From 1933 to 1935, J. W. Michael was elected as the mayor and also served for four months as town marshal. He owned a trucking business and had been a write-in candidate as a practical joke in 1933. According to Dubois historian Mary Allison, Michael had to be bailed out of jail for writing bad checks so that he could be sworn in to office.
In 1960, the town hall was built behind the Dubois Cold Storage with the north addition used for a fire hall. The town jail was in the rear of the building with two cells, complete with a stool, shower and lavatory.
Next up for the Fremont County Museum
December 13, 2pm at the Riverton Museum, “Santa’s Workshop” Bailey Tire/Pit Stop Children’s Exploration Series
December 13, 10-4pm at the Riverton Museum, “Christmas Open House”
December 13, 6-8pm at the Pioneer Museum, “Old Fashioned Christmas in the Pioneer Village’ Bailey Tire/Pit Stop Children’s Exploration Series
December 13, 11-3pm at the Dubois Museum, “Holiday Open House”
Thru December, 9-5 at the Riverton Museum, “History Day Exhibits” Shoshone Schools
Call the Dubois Museum 1-307-455-2284, the Pioneer Museum 1-307-332-3339 or the Riverton Museum 1-307-856-2665 for detail regarding their programs.
The Dubois Museum, the Pioneer Museum in Lander and the Riverton Museum need your financial support. In the current economic environment, the museums are more reliant than ever on donations from the private sector to continue to provide the quality programs, collections management, exhibits and services that have become their hallmark over the last four years. Please make your tax deductible contribution through the Wind River Cultural Centers Foundation www.windriverccf.com or by sending a check to Fremont County Museums 450 N 2nd Rm 320 or taking it directly to the museum you choose to support.
