NEWSInside the U.S.'s first Rotary Jail in Crawfordsville Ind. Michelle Pembertonmichelle.pemberton@indystar.comThe Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum was built in 1881, and began housing inmates in 1882, until its closing in 1973, on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail's rotating system was immobilized in the 1930's after prisoners sleeping near the bars lost limbs.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarThe Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum was built in 1881, and began housing inmates in 1882, until its closing in 1973, on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail's rotating system was immobilized in the 1930's after prisoners sleeping near the bars lost limbs.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarA Rotary Jail cell inside the Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail's rotating system was immobilized in the 1930's after prisoners sleeping near the bars lost limbs.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarA photo of Liz Shaw, the last Jail Matron who cooked for prisoners like they were her family hangs in the Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. Her time at the prison marked an uptick in weekend arrests, as fines were low at the time, and jail offered 3 of her meals, and laundry service.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarThe rotating mechanism viewed from the basement of the Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarThe wheelchair ramp at the Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum sits where the jails gallows once stood on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail was never meant for executions, but held two.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarA police radio used in the 1960's by Special Deputy Red Chaney at his home, is on display at the Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarThe entrance to the rotaitaiting jail cells, left, at the Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail's rotating system was immobilized in the 1930's after prisoners sleeping near the bars lost limbs.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarInmate grafitti is carved into the floor inside the Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail's rotating system was immobilized in the 1930's after prisoners sleeping near the bars lost limbs.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarThe Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum was built in 1881, and began housing inmates in 1882, until its closing in 1973, on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail's rotating system was immobilized in the 1930's after prisoners sleeping near the bars lost limbs.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarThe Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum was built in 1881, and began housing inmates in 1882, until its closing in 1973, on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail's rotating system was immobilized in the 1930's after prisoners sleeping near the bars lost limbs.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarAn eye bolt from the jail gallows is on display in the Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail, which was never meant for executions, held two hangings in its history. One man hanged, was John Coffee. Coffee, a large man, had to be hanged thee times due to the rope breaking. On the third attempt Coffee strangled to death for 12 min. An article from the New York Times, Oct. 17, 1885, called the spectacle a "Sickening."Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarAn invitation to the May 27th, 1886 hanging of John C. Henning, is on display at the The Montgomery County Rotary Jail on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. This is one of two hangings which took place at the jail. The gallows originally sat in the rear of the building where the wheelchair ramp now sits. Tickets to the execution were sold for $2-$5.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarA cell inside the Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. Cells on the first floor had one bunk while upper floors had 2 or more. The jail's rotating system was immobilized in the 1930's after prisoners sleeping near the bars lost limbs.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarSheriff's portraits hang in The Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail's rotating system was immobilized in the 1930's after prisoners sleeping near the bars lost limbs.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarA map features Rotary Jails built in the United States, is on display at the Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. This jail, was the first Rotary Jail built in the United States, and based on patented designs by William H. Brown and Benjamin F. Haugh of Indianapolis.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarThe Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum was built in 1881, and began housing inmates in 1882, until its closing in 1973, on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail's rotating system was immobilized in the 1930's after prisoners sleeping near the bars lost limbs.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarThe Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum was built in 1881, and began housing inmates in 1882, until its closing in 1973, on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail's rotating system was immobilized in the 1930's after prisoners sleeping near the bars lost limbs.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarThe Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum was heated with coal, including the fireplace, on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarThe Montgomery County Rotary Jail, now a museum is filled with furniture from the time of its heyday on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. Here, a sitting area and opposite, the formal dining room hosted city officials monthly.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarArticles and other documentation tell the tale of "The Outlaws" motorcycle gang's 1967 arrest at the Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarA police radio used in the 1960's by Special Deputy Red Chaney at his home, is on display at the Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarThe rotating mechanism viewed from the basement of the Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarThe Matrons kitchen at the Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum features an old fashioned ice box on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail's rotating system was immobilized in the 1930's after prisoners sleeping near the bars lost limbs.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarThe wheelchair ramp at the Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum sits where the jails gallows once stood on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail was never meant for executions, but held two.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarThe entrance to the rotaitaiting jail cells, left, at the Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail's rotating system was immobilized in the 1930's after prisoners sleeping near the bars lost limbs.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarShown here, an interior view of the Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum, built in 1881, on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail's rotating system was immobilized in the 1930's after prisoners sleeping near the bars lost limbs.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarInterior view of the Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail's rotating system, left, was immobilized in the 1930's after prisoners sleeping near the bars lost limbs.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarThe Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum was built in 1881, and began housing inmates in 1882, until its closing in 1973, on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail's rotating system was immobilized in the 1930's after prisoners sleeping near the bars lost limbs.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarAn eye bolt from the jail gallows is on display in the Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail, which was never meant for executions, held two hangings in its history. One man hanged, was John Coffee. Coffee, a large man, had to be hanged thee times due to the rope breaking. On the third attempt Coffee strangled to death for 12 min. An article from the New York Times, Oct. 17, 1885, called the spectacle a "Sickening."Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarA second floor cell shows the double bunks at the Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail's rotating system was immobilized in the 1930's after prisoners sleeping near the bars lost limbs.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarThe Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum was built in 1881, and began housing inmates in 1882, until its closing in 1973, on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail's rotating system was immobilized in the 1930's after prisoners sleeping near the bars lost limbs.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarThe jail catwalk was installed in 1933 after the rotary mechanism was disabled due to prisoners having limbs crushed during rotation, at the Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail's rotating system was immobilized in the 1930's after prisoners sleeping near the bars lost limbs.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarThe wheelchair ramp at the Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum sits where the jails gallows once stood on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail was never meant for executions, but held two.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarThe Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum's original steam plant has been converted into Tannenbaum Cultural Center on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. It sits just behind the jail.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarThe Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum was built in 1881, and began housing inmates in 1882, until its closing in 1973, on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail's rotating system was immobilized in the 1930's after prisoners sleeping near the bars lost limbs.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarThe maximum security cell inside the Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarAn original lamp, created to run on gas and electricity, hangs The Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum which was built in 1881, and began housing inmates in 1882, until its closing in 1973, on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. At the time power outages were frequent so the building's designers planned ahead.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarThe maximum security cell inside the Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarThe women's cell inside the Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. Women were jailed separately in the Women's cell. Women were commonly sentenced too much longer stays in the jail, as penalties for female committed crimes were more harsh. According to a display at the museum, one woman was sentenced to 2 weeks for riding a bicycle on the sidewalk, while the male population averaged a 2 day stay.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarThe third floor features the infirmary and holding cells at the Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail's rotating system was immobilized in the 1930's after prisoners sleeping near the bars lost limbs.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarThe Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum was built in 1881, and began housing inmates in 1882, until its closing in 1973, on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail's rotating system was immobilized in the 1930's after prisoners sleeping near the bars lost limbs.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarThe maximum security cell inside the Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarThe Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum was built in 1881, and began housing inmates in 1882, until its closing in 1973, on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail's rotating system was immobilized in the 1930's after prisoners sleeping near the bars lost limbs.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarA vintage photo shows cards being played inside the jail on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail's rotating system was immobilized in the 1930's after prisoners sleeping near the bars lost limbs.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarThe rotating mechanism viewed from the basement of the Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarBooks used by officers sit in the Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail's rotating system was immobilized in the 1930's after prisoners sleeping near the bars lost limbs.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarIn the basement, gears which are turned on the first floor by a hand crank are visible at The Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail's rotating system was immobilized in the 1930's after prisoners sleeping near the bars lost limbs.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarHats worn by Sheriff's officers, including Sam Peck, are on display in the Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarThe wheelchair ramp at the Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum sits where the jails gallows once stood on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail was never meant for executions, but held two.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarThe Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum was built in 1881, and began housing inmates in 1882, until its closing in 1973, on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail's rotating system was immobilized in the 1930's after prisoners sleeping near the bars lost limbs.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarThe Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum was built in 1881, and began housing inmates in 1882, until its closing in 1973, on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail's rotating system was immobilized in the 1930's after prisoners sleeping near the bars lost limbs.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarThe Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum was built in 1881, and began housing inmates in 1882, until its closing in 1973, on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail's rotating system was immobilized in the 1930's after prisoners sleeping near the bars lost limbs.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarThe Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum was built in 1881, and began housing inmates in 1882, until its closing in 1973, on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail's rotating system was immobilized in the 1930's after prisoners sleeping near the bars lost limbs.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStarThe Montgomery County Rotary Jail Museum was built in 1881, and began housing inmates in 1882, until its closing in 1973, on Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Crawfordsville Ind. The jail's rotating system was immobilized in the 1930's after prisoners sleeping near the bars lost limbs.Michelle Pemberton/IndyStar