The Steam Plant

Less than six months after the jail opened, Montgomery County officials noticed heating issues with the Rotary Jail. The contractors made minor adjustments to the boiler below the cell block, but problems persisted. In August 1887, County Commissioners reviewed bids for a new heating system. They chose J. H. Kirkhoff of Indianapolis to build an off-site heating unit that would supply heat for the jail and the County Courthouse through underground pipes. Kirkhoff’s plan also called for the optimum temperature to be lowered from 70° to 65°. The engine house, or steam plant, a one-story brick and stone building with a slate roof, was built just west of the jail by Sherman Craig.

Craig was given 54 days to complete the contract. The corner stone was laid August 31, 1887, and the foundation was completed by September 7. Contractors even worked on Sundays to ensure that the job would be completed on schedule. In October, the Commissioners received a report about issues with the 71 foot-tall brick stack and work stopped briefly. After the Commissioners were assured that the stack was satisfactory, work resumed. In mid-November, testing on the system began. Heat from the boilers failed to reach the second story of the courthouse. Too much steam from the underground pipes was creating a hazard at the intersection of Washington and Market Street. Although the courthouse received its own boiler, the Rotary Jail continued to use the boiler in the steam plant until 1928, when new heating and plumbing was installed.

The steam plant building was used as a garage and then a storage area for the museum for many years. In February 2009, the Board of the Rotary Jail Museum voted to move forward with renovation of the building. After securing multiple grants, construction began. The plan called for adding heat, air conditioning, and electricity, while retaining the historical integrity of the building. Additionally, a kitchenette, handicapped accessible ramp and bathroom, and a kiln were installed. The majority of the project has been completed.

On September 17, 2011, the building was renamed the Tannenbaum Cultural Center. The museum plans to use the Tannenbaum Cultural Center for art classes, lectures, rentals, and other special events.

The Civic Band practicing in the newly renovated Tannenbaum Cultural Center

Stroll Through History at Oak Hill Cemetery

Join the Rotary Jail Museum and other Montgomery County organizations for the inaugural cemetery walk. The two-hour-long tour will make stops at eight gravesites of Montgomery County’s famous and infamous former residents, including Susan Wallace and Major Isaac Elston. The Rotary Jail Museum will feature John Coffee, one of only two men ever hung at the Rotary Jail. Erin, our Curator, will discuss Coffee’s life, crime, and time at the jail. Her presentation will be near Coffee’s unmarked gravesite, in the pauper’s section of the cemetery. 

John Coffee, c. 1885

The event is on Sunday, September 25, at Oak Hill Cemetery (392 W. Oak Hill Road, Crawfordsville) from 1:00 until 5:00, with the last tour beginning at 4:00. Tour guides will lead timed tours to the eight sites. Tickets are $5 for adults, children 12 and under are free. Proceeds will be divided among participating organizations. Refreshments will be available; refreshment proceeds will benefit the Blue Star Mothers.  

Mark your calendars to join us at this exciting local history event!

Sheriff Sidener's Tragic Death

Hugh Ewing Sidener was related to a long line of Montgomery County sheriffs and lawmakers. He served as sheriff from 1869-1873. His brother, James Bartholomew, was one of his deputies, serving for eighteen months. His brother-in-law, James Wilhite, would serve as sheriff a few years later, 1881-1883. Sidener's uncle, William K. Wallace, served as sheriff from 1857-1859. And finally, another brother-in-law was a Judge!

Sidener was born around 1837 to James E. and Elizabeth (Smith) Sidener. He married Susan Britton on December 31, 1862. The couple had one son, William, who was born in 1867. The couple later adopted Bertha, who was born in 1878 (Bertha was living with the family at the age of 2 in the 1880 Federal Census). During this time, the family moved to Michigan City, where Sidener worked at the prison.

The family either moved back to Crawfordsville or was visiting Crawfordsville in the spring of 1889. On the morning of March 13, 1889, Sidener either fell or threw himself under the tracks of the O.I. & W. Passenger Train at the corner of Water and Franklin Streets in Crawfordsville. He was killed instantly. The Rockville Republican reported that it was a suicide and Coroner later agreed as reported in the Crawfordsville Star a week later. Another obituary, however, reports that Sidener suffered from vertigo and that the noise and draft of the train may have caused him to faint just as the train passed by.

Sidener apparently was suffering from depression, or "profound melancholia" as the Star described it. The Coroner found that Sidener "came to his death by throwing himself under the wheels of a moving train, while laboring under a temporary aberration of the mind." He also had not been working for some time; perhaps this prompted the move back to Crawfordsville. Another obituary reported that he had once been successful, but had lost his money. Sidener was 52.

Note: Sheriff Sidener never lived in the sheriff's residence, now part of the Rotary Jail Museum (it wasn't built until 1882). But, since he was a Montgomery County Sheriff, we consider him a part of our history!

The Harper Family

 The Harper Family was the second family to live in the Sheriff's Residence. They lived in the building from 1883-1886.

Alexander Harper was born in Ohio on September 28, 1825, to Thomas and Jane (Finch) Harper. He moved to Montgomery County with his family in 1830. The Harpers were poor farmers, although Jane Harper was able to provide an education to her young children.

Alexander married Eleanor Miller in 1856; she died the following year. He remarried Harriet Flannigan in 1859. The couple had two children, Martha or “Mattie” in 1860 and Calista in 1862. Alexander was a farmer, stock dealer, and store owner. He also served as director of the Terre Haute Railway, a justice of the peace, and a trustee of Franklin Township.

He was elected Sheriff in 1882 and served as such from 1883-1886. The Harpers were the second family to live at the Rotary Jail. James Wilhite lived in the sheriff’s residence for a short time. He moved in during the summer of 1882 until Harper took office in 1883. During his four years in office, he was responsible for the county’s only two executions, that of John Coffee and John Henning (read about Henning’s execution here). When asked about his unusual term as sheriff, he said he thought “the Devil had a mortage on our county and was trying to close it.” He chose to retire to farming after the end of his second term.

Both Mattie and Calista Harper worked in the jail. One newspaper article mentions that a James Miller escaped from the jail “when the attention of sheriff Harper’s daughters was directed elsewhere.” Calista even testified during John Coffee’s murder trial because he apparently made some confession to her. Her testimony as reported in the Crawfordsville Star follows:

Have known John Coffee only since he has been in jail. I was present when his sister first visited him. She said to him, “John, I don’t think you done this alone.” He replied: “I did not.” She talked with him three different times but he refused to reveal any name to her. Coffee told me that Dennis and he had done the dded. Here she substantially repeated Coffee’s last statement.

Calista, married Isaac Larrick of Darlington, in April 1887 at the jail residence.* Unfortunately, the marriage was not a happy one. Calista filed for divorce in 1892, due to rumors of Isaac’s infidelity. The divorce was settled out of court, so no court record exists. She remarried Julius Cox. Calista died in 1934 and Julius died in 1939. They had one daughter.** Mattie Harper never married and died in 1898.

* It appears that the Harper-Larrick wedding took place after the Harpers should have moved out of the jail. I haven’t been able to track down exact dates for when sheriff’s terms commenced or ended. I’d appreciate any information!

** Later records, including Calista’s obituary, spell her name “Clista.” Another article uses a nickname “Lysta.”

~Erin/Curator

The Hanging of John Henning

Two hangings occurred at the Rotary Jail in Crawfordsville. John Coffee was hung in 1885 for murdering James and Mary McMullen. The second hanging, that of John Henning, occurred only six months later. The same scaffolding was used in both hanging.

John C. Henning was born on December 22, 1830 in Virginia. Henning, who moved to Illinois with his parents around 1848, later lived in Vermillion and Parke Counties (Indiana).  He married Joanna Hunter in 1852, and had five sons and one daughter. His first wife died in 1863. He remarried and had three more sons and another daughter. He and his second wife divorced. Henning, sometimes known as “Jack the Tinker,” repaired clocks and did other odd jobs.

                
 Henning had known Charlotte, “Lottie,” Vollmer for several years. Mrs. Vollmer was widowed when her husband, George, was shot and killed in 1883. The couple had two children together, as well as a step-child, Anna Vollmer. Mrs. Vollmer may have ran a boarding house and a restaurant in Rockville, as it appears that there were at least two boarders living in her home in 1885: Emma Oliver and John Henning.

Henning moved into the Vollmer home in August 1885 and shortly after asked Charlotte to marry him. She agreed, at least according to Henning. On October 12, 1885, Henning bought a new pair of pants and got the marriage license. When he returned to the home to get Charlotte, she refused to marry him because he was drunk. Henning spent the next few days making various statements to people around Rockville that he intended to retaliate against Charlotte for her refusal to marry him. He stole a revolver and purchased ten cartridges. On October 24, 1885, he returned to the Vollmer home and found Charlotte and Emma Oliver there. He asked to speak with Charlotte alone and when she refused, he began shooting. Both women fled from the house. Emma escaped with a gunshot wound to the wrist. Charlotte, however, was shot in the back three time and died later that evening.

Henning ran from house and hid nearby for an hour. He was found and may have tried to commit suicide, but he was placed in the Rockville jail. Henning was transported to Brazil the next day out of fear for his safety and was later transferred to Terre Haute. In court at Rockville on December 4, a change of venue was granted, and Henning was transported to rotary jail at Crawfordsville for the impending trial.

The trial in Montgomery County opened on February 1, 1886. Henning was represented by John R. Courtney, who had previously represented Buck Stout in a murder trial. The prosecution had multiple witnesses who swore that Henning had told them he would kill Charlotte for her refusal to marry him. Emma Oliver also testified as an eyewitness to the crime. The prosecution used the fact that Henning purchased gun cartridges the same day as the murder as premeditation. Henning later took the stand and told his story up to the point of the murder, which he did not remember. He claimed he was temporarily insane until he awoke in jail the morning following the shooting. On February 5, the jury gave a guilty verdict after only one and a half hours of deliberation. Henning’s lawyer filed for a new trial, which was dismissed on Monday, February 8. Henning was sentenced to be hanged on May 27.   

Tickets to the hanging were in demand. According to the Saturday Evening Journal, tickets ranged from two to five dollars. Newspaper reporters had trouble getting tickets to cover the event. Attendees traveled from Rockville and Lafayette.

The “eye” or “staple” for the rope that was used in both hangings is on display at the Rotary Jail Museum

At least 350 people attended the hanging. Many waited for hours to gain entrance into the yard outside the sheriff’s residence. Henning ate breakfast and met with a minister. Henning decided to be hanged at one o’clock. Henning was led to the scaffold and stopped to shake hands with people in the crowd. The Evening Journal reported that he was smiling. Henning spoke to the crowd for twenty-two minutes. He told the crowd his side of events, blamed witnesses at the trial of committing perjury, and reminded the crowd to read the 10^th and 24^th chapter of Ezekiel.  His last words were “Beware of evil women and men, and a lying tongue.” He was hung at 1:41 from the same scaffold that John Coffee was hung only six months before. His pulse was checked multiple times, he was cut down at 1:59. His remains were sent to Rockville. His remains were later sent to Montezuma, where Henning desired to be buried.

-Saturday Evening Journal May 23, May 29, and June 5, 1886.

~Erin/Curator