Locking in history: Old jail cell returns to town

SALTILLO, Miss. (WTVA) – An old jail cell is back in town.

The Saltillo Historical Society recently acquired a century-old “boxed” jail cell used to house the town’s lawbreakers in the early 1900s.

Ken Smith, president of the Board of Directors for the Saltillo Historical Society, said they estimate it dates to around 1915.

“We can go plus or minus about five years there,” he said. “If we really wanted to go the minus part, from 1900 to 1915.”

During its operational years, the jail cell sat inside the old City Hall, which stood at what is now the corner of the Food Giant parking lot on Mobile Street.

“We’ve got pictures that show from the railroad point of view right over here, and it shows where the mayor’s office and everything, and the jail cell was probably in there just like it was,” Smith said.

The small, steel cell was designed to hold only one or two people at a time, which was more than enough for the small town at the turn of the century.

“The 1900s in Saltillo, you didn’t have a lot of crime,” Smith said. “We didn’t have that many people. You’re looking at a census report; it might be somewhere around 200 or 300 people.”

Because the cell was preserved inside a dry warehouse for decades, it remains remarkably free of rust, with its original steel rivets still intact.

However, Smith noted the presence of hex nuts, indicating the structure was upgraded or repaired at some point over the years.

The cost of the cell? They do not know. They were simply thankful that Tupelo’s Jim Denton kickstarted the jail cell’s return.

It all started with a cold call made by Denton to Saltillo Mayor Copey Grantham last week.

It was eventually referred to Lindy Hopkins, the President of the Saltillo Historical Committee, who talked with Denton herself.

“Such a nice man,” Hopkins said. “He said, ‘My goal is just to get all these things that I have ended up with back to their rightful homes.’ And he said, ‘I have heard the story of this Saltillo jail for years, and I wanted to get it back to y’all.’”

Smith said the story of how Denton acquired the old jail cell is fuzzy.

“He was able to acquire this wire house from another person, and it had a lot of things in it,” Smith said. “This person told him that this was a jail cell from Saltillo.”

When it was time to bring it from Tupelo to Saltillo, they had to destroy the cell, which weighs about 2,000 to 2,500 pounds.

It will be put back together and will be on display in a new museum coming to Saltillo.

Hopkins said in January the mayor and the alderman gave the historical society the old Robison medical clinic.

They are currently in the process of renovating it into a new museum, a process that is being done by the non-profit historical society.

“As soon as we get it ready, though, I just think this will be one of our very first exhibits,” Hopkins said of the jail cell.

The plan is to make it an interactive piece for people to learn from. So perhaps it will hold a person again? Hopefully only long enough for a photo or two.

The plan is to make much of the museum interactive, Hopkins said.

They have also been donated photos, an old ice safe, a telegraph box, an old telephone exchange and a piece of early 1900s firefighting equipment.

“It’s basically a water preserve,” said Mayor Grantham. “It’s on wagon wheels. And you would haul this to a fire and distribute water. So now we will have this on display here at the Saltillo Historical Society Committee.”

There is no set date for when the museum will be able to open. They hope for three, maybe four months?

It will be at 353 Mobile Street.

But the pieces to be displayed have waited this long; another few months is nothing to these artifacts.

Smith, Grantham and Hopkins each asked those who have items to donate from Saltillo’s history to please share.

And if they don’t, a dollar or more can also help spotlight Saltillo’s story.

Grantham said people can reach out to City Hall for more information on helping, or by calling his personal number: (662) 871-4021.

Smith said people can contact them on their Facebook page, “Saltillo Historical Society.”

They can also email [email protected].