Lecompton Jail

The Lecompton jail as of 2022 is 130 years old, most buildings are destroyed in some fashion before even turning a hundred. The care that went into its construction allowed it to last through many many years of abandonment. In 1892 a gentleman by the name of William E. Stone started building the limestone jail at Lecompton. By October the jail was finally complete, it was a single-cell jail made of limestone with a few iron-barred windows and a large oak door. The jail was used for drunks and petty criminals until around the 1920s when the jail became abandoned.

The jail was located across the alley just west of the Constitutional Hall on private property. In a bid to save and restore the historic over one-hundred-year-old building, it was decided the jail would be moved 144 feet east near the Constitutional Hall site. Piece by piece the jail was deconstructed with each of the 515 limestones being numbered and mapped out. The bars from the windows and the original oak door were salvaged to use again.

The wood flooring had since rotted away and needed to be replaced. The tedious work was done by Rockhill and Associates who did a fantastic job on keeping as much of the building historically accurate as possible. The Lecompton Historical Society received funding for the project through grants and private donations to secure the $69,000 needed for the project. The Douglas County Heritage Conservation Council provided $55,000 of the total amount.