Cuba City Jail

The Cuba City Jail located near the southwest corner of the intersection of Prairie Street and the 300 block of South Main Street in the City of Cuba, Crawford County, Missouri, is eligible for local listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) under Criterion A with significance in POLITICS/GOVERNMENT. The jail is the oldest remaining city government building in Cuba and it remains essentially unchanged since construction. Replacing an earlier wooden structure which was burned by its inmates, this concrete block "calaboose" was in active use between 1908 and 1954 and is clearly identifiable as a jail today. Built in 1908, this heavy, permanent, concrete block structure is of a spare, utilitarian design defined by a centralized iron door and inscriptions of its purpose "CUBA-JAIL" and it construction date 1908. The interior has "prison furniture" including a wood cot, a wooden desk, and a wood-burning stove which were installed during a 2004-2006 restoration; the original iron and wood jail cell sleeping platforms are intact. The period of significance begins with the construction completion date of 1908, continues through the period of its active use for 46-years, and ends in 1954 when the structure was abandoned. In 1954 a new jail was constructed behind the current City Hall and Fire Station on North Smith Street and the old jail sat vacant. The building retains high integrity and meets the registration requirements set forth in the multiple property documentation form entitled "Historic and Architectural Resources of the City of Cuba, Missouri, 1821-1963" and the associated property type "II-A Public Sector Institutional Architecture."