Squirrel Cage Jail of Pottawattamie County, Iowa

09/03/2026

The Squirrel Cage Jail has held thousands of “customers” over its 84 years as the Pottawattamie County Jail. Who was our most famous inmate? We’re going with John Mabray. Not a household name today, but when we put his name in the search bar of Newspapers.com we got 7110 hits from every state in the Union at that time. By contrast our famed axe murder, Jake Byrd, only netted 2000 or so. Mabray brought us national attention 125 years ago by making us home “The Biggest Swindle On Record” (Washington Post, March 27, 1910). Having “railroads to everywhere” brought Council Bluffs a lot of commerce. It also provided fertile grounds for folks of a less honorable nature. Those railroads brought a lot of potential “pigeons” ready to be fleeced. John Mabray set up shop here, with confederates riding the trains seeking high rollers who wanted to bet “on a sure thing.” Actually, it was a sure thing— it was a sure thing the house would win. The technique was called The Big Store Con (as featured in Robert Redford/Paul Newman’s “The Sting,” Academy Award winner for Best Picture, 1973); Mabray is credited with inventing the technique and perfecting it right here in CB. It was complex and elaborate, but the payoff was huge and the suckers didn’t even know they’d been scammed.

08/23/2026

What was ls going on at the Squirrel Cage Jail this month in 1904? Things were not working as they should. A newspaper account reported the rotary mechanism was stuck for two days trapping some prisoners in and some out. Two prisoners had to sleep on the floor outside their cells. Jailer Frank Gallup was finally able to bring the cage back into operation with two crowbars and it was business as usual by day three.
This wasn’t the first or last jam. The jail was less than two years old when problems were reported with operation of the gears in 1887 and it was a jammed mechanism that brought the end to the rotary era when the body of a prisoner who had died of natural causes couldn’t be retrieved for two days. Have you visited the Squirrel Cage recently? The museum is open 10-5 Thursday - Saturday and 1-5 Sundays at 226 Pearl Street in Council Bluffs. More into at SquirrelCageJail.com.

08/13/2026

The Iowa State Fair is here! As the official museum of the Iowa State Sheriffs’ and Deputies’ Association, we set up a different display each year highlighting pieces of Iowa’s law enforcement history.

With America celebrating its 250th birthday this year, our display looks at how much has changed over the years. This year, we set up a historic sheriff’s desk with artifacts showing some of the tools and equipment sheriffs used in years past. We also have some photographs comparing the historic Squirrel Cage Jail with the Pottawattamie County Jail of today.

If you’re headed to the Iowa State Fair, be sure to stop by and check out this year’s display!

08/13/2026

The last residents of the Squirrel Cage Jail had moved out by December 15, 1969. Aside from Historical Society volunteers, staff and tourists the place was pretty quiet for the next 35 years, not a ghost to be found. What happened in 2005 that turned the place into the paranormal paradise some hold it is today? We’ve got the story. Join us for the program “New Courthouse, Old Jail,” TONIGHT (Thursday, August 13), 6:30 pm at the RailsWest History Museum. Presented by Jennifer Benson and Richard Warner; there is no admission charge.

08/05/2026

Come visit us throughout the month of August and get half price on admission to RailsWest History Museum that same day!

08/05/2026

We're looking for overnight volunteers to help monitor paranormal tours and care for the historic jail on select evenings.

Reports of footsteps, voices, shadowy figures, ghost cats, and even the apparition of a former jailer, have made the Squirrel Cage Jail one of Iowa's best-known haunted locations.

If you love history and don't mind the occasional unexplained noise in the dark, we'd love to hear from you!

Interested? Please contact the Historical Society at [email protected] to learn more!

-No paranormal experience required.
-Flashlight recommended.
-If the ghost cats ask for treats... you're on your own!

07/30/2026

It wasn’t only the Great Depression that pushed Iowa farmers to their breaking point. By 1932, many had spent nearly a decade losing money on every harvest and struggling just to survive.

That summer, thousands of farmers across Iowa joined the Farmer’s Holiday movement, where they refused to sell their goods in hopes of forcing prices back to sustainable levels. When protests reached Council Bluffs, the Squirrel Cage Jail became the center of one of the most dramatic confrontations in the movement.

It’s a story of economic hardship, protests, community tension, and a tragic accident that forever became part of our jail’s history.

Had you ever heard of the Farmer’s Holiday movement before? Let us know in the comments!

07/10/2026

07/01/2026

We will be holding a pop-up museum Friday, July 3rd on the historic 100 block of West Broadway from 3pm-11pm. We hope to see you there!

07/01/2026

We will be closed on Saturday, the 4th, for Independence Day. The Squirrel Cage Jail will be open on the 3rd from 10am-5pm and we will also be holding a pop-up museum on the Historic 100 Block of West Broadway from 3pm-11pm. We hope to see you there! Have a wonderful 4th of July!