Mysterious jail once found in Bloomington
Bloomington’s former jail can still be found on South Bowery Street. The village owns the building and uses it for storage. (Photo by Rachel Mergen)
By Rachel Mergen
Bloomington’s old jail is a lost memory for the village. The building, which still stands on South Bowery Street, once helped detain those who found themselves being a bit too reckless.
The jail is a mysterious part of history, not specifically mentioned often in newspaper records. Jim Warczak, Bloomington historian, mentioned the possibility that jails were not a widely-accepted topic. With the subject looked down upon, mentions of the confinement area can, for the most part, only be found in village ordinances and treasury reports.
One of the earliest preserved references of the structure was in a Bloomington ordinance published on Dec. 23, 1880, touching the subject of “regulating the time for closing saloons and suppressing gambling.” Section four of the ordinance reads, “That any person or persons who shall violate either of the foregoing sections of this ordinance, shall, on conviction thereof, pay a fine not less than two dollars nor more than 25 dollars and cost of suit in each case; and in default of payment of said fine and costs, he shall be committed to the place of confinement in the village or county jail until payment be made, but not to exceed ninety-days in all.”
This ordinance reveals that the building was meant for short-term confinement of criminals who committed misdemeanors.
Another indication of the jail was discovered in a July 28, 1881, publication. It stated, “Too much ‘bug juice’ was the verdict of Marshal Sprague, as he walked a stranger off to headquarters on Monday afternoon.”
In this example, “bug juice” is a colloquialism for alcohol. Headquarters is likely a term for the Bloomington jail, according to Warczak.
A third, more humorous example of the jail being mentioned was found in a Sept. 9, 1897, edition. It mentioned under a headline reading “Boys Beware,” “Complaints have been made to the village board of too many boys loafting on the streets until late hours of the night. The board discussed the matter at their last meeting and instructed the marshal to enforce the ordinance by arresting such boys and lodge them in the calaboose. We would suggest the boys who attend school stay home evenings and study their lessons, and that the teachers, parents and school board insist that they do so.”
With this final example, Warczak observed the changes that have been made in journalism during the past century. Opinions and recommendations from the journalist are included in the “Boys Beware” article, while today, it is not proper etiquette to do so in most cases.
Starting in approximately 1901, there was a change in how Bloomington ordinances were written. Instead of mentioning the village jail, all penalties for crimes would begin to be conducted immediately at the county jail, with no holding time at the “calaboose.”
From this point on, the jail seems to disappear from publications and locals’ minds.
