I found this item in the 1910 village minutes …
“under pressure from the State, the Village lock up was abandoned and all prisoners were taken to the jail in Salem.”
Hmmm, I bet there’s a good story there.
I checked the village charter (16-Apr-1866). It makes reference to the need for a village lockup. Evidently, Saturday night things got pretty wild in the village both East End and West End.
When the J.J.Gray Engine House opened in 1868, the basement contained the lockup. By 1900 the engine house was so dilapidated, we didn’t keep our fire engine there any longer.
Yet, we still housed prisoners in the lockup in the basement.
Here’s what the Wash Cnty Post told me
First Inspection Report
A 9-Jun-1909 report by Inspector C. M. Young of the State Prison Commission declared “there isn’t a decent lock-up in the entire county”.
About Cambridge, Young said “A dirty fire-trap, which should be abandoned, is declared to be the Cambridge village lock-up. The bedding is also dirty and never washed. The basement is very low, making it necessary to stoop in passing through the doors. The building is on the bank of a stream and I was informed that at times of high water the lock-up is flooded.”
Cambridge did nothing to address the issues.
Second Inspection Report
On 12-Aug-1910, another Inspector (Philip J. Roosa) wrote this
This lock-up is in the basement of the fire house, which is an old two-story wooden building.
There are two cells; two sides of those cells are the foundation walls of this building; the fronts are of brick; the doorways are five feet two inches high by two feet one and a half inches wide; the doors are made of small flat iron bars.
There was an old wooden bunk in each cell, each provided with a dilapidated mattress; there were two old comfortables for covering.
There are two windows in each cell two feet seven inches by two feet five inches. These cells open into an entry eighteen feet by nine feet seven inches. There is also a window in this hallway the same size as those in the cells.
There is electric light.
Buckets are used and they are emptied into a neighboring brook. There is no running water in the lockup proper, but there is a sink in the truck room on the floor above which is reached by a steep flight of steps through a trap door in the floor.
The village has both water and sewer systems. The lockup is heated by a stove.
The prisoners who had occupied this place had partially torn down the brick partitions between the cells and the entry; one of the doors was on the floor and the other could not be used. The brick and mortar still littered the floor, no attempt having been made to repair or clean up.
Although this village is but a short distance from the county jail there is no train to Salem after 6:18 pm; therefore all prisoners arrested after that time must be held here overnight
There is a fair held here annually, and a lockup is said to be an absolute necessity, particularly at that time.
County Jail
Inspector Roosa also visited the County Jail in Salem. Here’s his report.
The jail was in excellent condition, it was very clean and well kept. The bunks are provided with mattresses and blankets; the blankets are changed at least every two weeks and are thoroughly boiled before they are used again.
The closets, baths, and washbowls were clean and in good condition. The prisoners are compelled to bathe at least every Saturday.
The jail is supplied with water from a tank on the top floor; the water from an artesian well is pumped into it by a gasoline engine. The building is heated by steam and lighted by electricity.
The prisoners are fed twice a day – at 8:30 am and 3 pm. When a woman is detained here the under-deputy’s wife acts as matron