McDonald County Jail, Pineville, Missouri.Photo byMcDonald County Historical Society via Facebook.

The Old McDonald Jail is at 200 East Third Street in Pineville, Missouri. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 20, 2020.

After being used as a correctional facility, it served as storage for McDonald County governmental offices' documents.

This historic one-story jail was constructed in 1904. It's the oldest jail in existence in McDonald County. It replaced an earlier log building and interestingly, that building could only be accessed from the roof. The 1904 jail served the county until 1992.

The old jail still has the original steel cells and bunks. The roof had to be replaced in 1950. The inside has painted plaster walls and a concrete floor. A concrete wall divides the entrance and holding areas. When it was first built, the space on entry was the sheriff's office. Later, a women's cell was installed. There are two steel jail cell units from the original construction.

In 1980, when Lou Keeling served as sheriff, the jail had a dirt floor, no air conditioning, and was heated by a wood stove. From 1980 to 1992, the concrete floor was installed along with a bench and table in the holding area. New plumbing was also installed. In 1992, a new jail was built three blocks to the north of the 1904 jail.

Backstory

By the end of the 1800s, McDonald County became an area for thieves and organized criminals because of the rural wooded environment. The western boundary of this county was near Indian territory. It's located in the southwestern part of Missouri.

Between 1888 and 1904, there was no jail in McDonald County. Over the decades, after it was built, it became too overcrowded and didn't have accommodations for women. Since it didn't meet federal prison standards, it was later recommended it be closed.

The old jail structure.Photo byOld McDonald County Jail via Facebook.

In 1830, white settlers arrived in the area. There were two communities fighting over which one would be the county seat for the new county. Rutledge was to the west and it won the county seat election. Maryville, which became Pineville later, decided to set up its own county government because it didn't agree with the selection. Rutledge and Maryville had their own governmental systems for eight years.

The state finally stepped in ordering the county seat be established in the town that was closest to the center of the county which was Maryville. It was necessary to change the name to Pineville because there was already a Maryville in northern Missouri. Once Pineville was the county seat, the log jail built in Rutledge was relocated to Pineville.

In 1861, a brick courthouse was built but two years later bushwhackers burned it down. Due to the Civil War, the new courthouse couldn't be completed until 1871. For four years, there wasn't an elected sheriff and court couldn't be held.

There were other problems besides the bushwhackers. There were two mob hangings and murders. There were 400 citizens in the county known as The Law and Order Brotherhood, who controlled law and order. Because of the rural environment, the thieves and gangs had a way to escape.

In 1897, the Pineville Bank was robbed by two men and a woman named Cora Hubbard. They were caught and sentenced to 12 years in the penitentiary. While in prison, Cora learned how to be a seamstress. It's unknown when she died.

Before the 1904 stone jail was built, there was the old county log jail that was repaired several times. It was a one-room jail that could only be accessed from the top.

In 1885, the trap door lock was broken and a ladder was lowered. The prisoner was taken and hung at the edge of own. In 1888, a man and his two sons were being held for stealing chickens. While they were escaping, they burned the jail.

Until they built the new jail, prisoners were transported to the Newton County Jail which was the nearest facility.

Finally, construction began on the new jail in 1903 and completed in the summer of 1904. It was only designed to contain 11 prisoners. It was holding more than that each month.

During 1977, to the west of the jail, a building was constructed to serve as the office of the County Sheriff. In 1991, that building was the Pineville City Hall, and now serves as the University of Missouri County Extension Services. Today, the Old McDonald County Jail serves as a piece of law enforcement history.

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