pottawattamie county squirrel cage jail and museum

We had no idea what was in store, we just saw the brown sign on the way to the Union Pacific Railroad Musuem and though it sounded funny and interesting. It was hard to imagine people living in here, it must have been very noisy and stunk all the time! It is not in the best repair, and it needs a lot of care but it is word a stop as there were few things like it anywhere.

This is a circular jail where a couple had living quarters and monitored the inmates by having the jail turn so they could check on all of them. There were several other jails like this around the country but I believe this may be the only one restored so you can see it. Nothing out of this world but an interesting place that my wife and I both enjoyed. I had never heard of this before we visited the area so it is someplace you can say you visited and others will want to know about it.

I didn't want to pay to tour so just looked in the door. It looked interesting but not interesting enough to pay admission. It was small. If on a family outing could pay for the children who were really interested.

I've been here at least three times, this is one unique jail and whenever I have out of town visitors I make it appoint to bring them here. If you have an hour or so it is worth time.

This is my home town and I had never visited here. It was quite impressive. I loved that so many old brick buildings are still standing. The brick jail was historical and unique. I spent over an hour in there. I never knew this kind of a jail existed.

Plan to spend about a half-hour wandering around this amazing structure. Chances are, even if you're a history buff, you haven't run across a jail like this one. The exterior is charming; it looks like it might be a prosperous townsperson's home from the early 20th century. Once inside, however, you get a good sense of the awfulness of old-tyme justice meted out in tiny cells, complete with iron bunks for two prisoners and a privy that's little more than a hole in a bench. The rotation mechanism no longer operates, but you can get a good sense of how it all worked. Be sure to visit all the open levels, as there is something new at each turn. It's all a bit gruesome to modern eyes, and would make a fine set for a horror movie.

Small but very interesting. The engineering alone is something to check out! Lots of history , kids would think it is cool but more for adults, lots of articles related to the history of the jail to read on the walls.

Once you see that yep, it's stacks of jail cells that revolve there is not much of interest. We should have spent 3 minutes instead of 15. A staff member let us in for free as it was near closing time. I don't know what we would have done with more time there. The best part of the jail is the outside architecture. The interior is a minor curiosity.

Interesting jail to visit. The Grandson loved it. Discounted admission when you visit here and the Rails west railroad museum.

Visited the Squirrel Cage jail and Union Pacific Museum on the same day as they are so close to each other. The guide was very knowledgeable about the jail and it's previous inhabitants. He patiently answered all of the kids questions and was very forthcoming about the "hauntings" in the building. We had a great time trying to photograph the resident spirits and learning how the county housed their prisoners in older times.

Call before going to be sure they are open. If you are also visiting the Depot museum ask for a discount. The poor squirrel cage jail is run down but worth visiting. It is a nostalgic and unique, though a faulty, design. Check out the list of people that were kept here.

This is quite a unique jail to say the least. It's a quick tour so not a lot of time is needed to go through it. The design of the jail like a squirrel cage is unusual and sounds like a good idea to us. My husband is a veteran so his admission fee was waived which was nice. A fun stop for the family.

This is a neat place to go see as it is a very unique part of history. The jail is now a museum, with lots of news articles/pictures on the walls about famous inmates it held, and you can tour all levels of the jail except the very top floor.

The Pottawattamie County Squirrel Cage Jail is a great experience. The design of the jail is unique and well worth a visit. You won't need to spend more than an hour there, but it's a great place to stop. Fun for the whole family.

The story behind the design of the jail is unique. A must see for the family. From there you must take a short drive to the bridge that crosses the river to Omaha.