Future secured for Molena’s Old Jail

Molena’s Old Jail is more than 100 years old and Pike Historic Preservation worked with the city of Molena to raise funds and secure the historic building for generations to come. The old wooden jail was built around 1900 and was originally located outside of town. It was used prior to incarceration being consolidated and moved to the county jail.

“Pike Historic Preservation identifies buildings in the county that are Places In Peril and the Old Jail was about to be on the list but Pike Preservation teamed up with the city of Molena to stabilize the structure, replace rotten boards and put on a new roof,” said Elsie Anderson-Bell, president of Pike Historic Preservation (PHP). “The jail has been moved several times. Originally it was located behind the buildings downtown. Around 50 years ago, the Molena Civic Club were cleaning up the city and found the building covered by vines and brush on Spring Street so they rescued it and moved it to the city park. Then it was moved back to downtown and it is a real conversation piece for people who stop to look at it and have pictures made. It’s a very interesting piece of our history. Back in the day, the jail had two cells but the bars that divided the structure down the center have been removed.”

The jail was often used to house drunken citizens or those who were fighting (since there were two cells.)

“Every year, Pike Historic Preservation awards funds to help restore a local structure and this one was especially notable because it is such a prominent place and so fascinating to imagine prisoners housed here. It was very worthy of preservation and we were glad to raise funds for the cause,” said Pike Historic Preservation’s Chris Curry.

Membership in Pike Historic Preservation’s 1870 Society helps to preserve local historic structures. Membership fees entitles members to discounts at the group’s events throughout the year. For more information, go to PikePreservation.org. The group is currently raising funds to move the old Concord Depot to downtown Concord and to restore the depot for use by the community.

Tim Pryor worked on the building to replace rotten boards and put the new cedar roof on the historic structure. He said the wood will be allowed to age for around a year before it is sealed so it will match the original structure.

“I would like to hear the stories these walls can tell,” he said.