Council Bluffs’ Squirrel Cage Jail

Published November 5, 2023 | Updated July 10, 2026

November 5, 2023

Council Bluffs is the home to one of just 18 revolving jails to be built across the country. Today, it is just one of three that still remain.

Rather than spend the money on a more conventional jail, the taxpayers approved a cheaper alternative known as the Squirrel Cage Jail which was seen as a technological advancement that cost just $30,000 to build and required just a single jailer to operate.

1964 Durham archives photo of the Squirrel Cage Jail in Council Bluffs.

Its inventors, William H. Brown and Benjamin F. Haugh of Indianapolis, obtained a patent for the design in 1881. The patent declared that “The object of our invention is to produce a jail in which prisoners can be controlled without the necessity of personal contact between them and the jailer.” The design was intended to provide maximum security while requiring minimal attention.

1964 Durham archives photo of the inside of the Squirrel Cage Jail with graffiti visible on the ceiling.

The design included cells that were centrally located on a carousel in the middle of the building. An operator could then spin the cells using a hand crank which aligned a specific cell towards a single opening. The design wasn’t without flaws, however, and led to broken arms and legs if a prisoner got in the way.

1964 Durham archives photo of a jailer inspecting a shower inside the Squirrel Cage Jail.

After the taxpayers approved the cost in the otherwise lawless Council Bluffs, the three-story revolving jail was built on the site of an old church morgue. Its height was significant, as it was the only three-story revolving jail ever built. While most were a single story, there is a two-story structure still standing. The height of this particular jail gave the appearance of an animal cage, and with the prevalence of black squirrels in the city, it was commonly referred to as the Squirrel Cage Jail. In addition to the cells, the building contained an office, kitchen, quarters for women, and an apartment for the jailer.

Recent photograph of the Squirrell Cage Jail courtesy of Atlas Obscura.

The jail was deemed a failure almost immediately after being built. The design caused the gears that rotated the massive turntable to frequently jam. This was the case in 1960 when the Fire Marshal had to disable the drum in order to reach the corpse of a prisoner who had died two days prior. Not only that, but it failed to segregate different classes of criminals, meaning someone in jail for stealing bread could be right next door to a murderer.

Recent photograph looking inside a cell in the Squirrell Cage Jail courtesy of Atlas Obscura.

By the 1960s, and possibly even earlier, there were calls to close the jail. It continued to operate, however, until 1969. Near the end of its life as a jail, it became a free-for-all, with at least one prisoner scratching his way through the walls in order to reach freedom. Is anybody else having visions of Andy Dufresne from Shawshank Redemption?

Recent photograph of a solitary confinement cell in the Squirrell Cage Jail courtesy of Atlas Obscura.

Despite taxpayers continuing to vote down new structures, it was shut down in 1969 as it was deemed unsafe and unfit for prisoners. It was nearly demolished in 1971. While unconfirmed, I did read one account that said preservationists stood in front of bulldozers to stall the effort. If so, it paid off as it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 and eventually turned into a museum that is operated by the Historical Society of Pottawattamie County.

Recent photograph of the kitchen inside the Squirrell Cage Jail courtesy of Atlas Obscura.

Inside the former jail you will find cells that are nearly identical to how they were in 1969 when it was closed. Many of the inmates’ belongings remain in place. The names and dates scratched into the walls remain visible. The other two revolving jails are in Gallatin, Missouri, and Crawfordsville, Indiana. All three operate as museums.

Google Earth view of the Squirrel Cage Jail in Council Bluffs.

Advertised as the future of incarceration, the Squirrel Cage was supposed to be cheaper to build, easier to operate, and impossible to escape. It didn’t take long for it to become a joke and then a liability. Even so, it still stands after more than 140 years.

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