Anamosa - A Reminiscence 1838 - 1988

grounds for being ‘shown out‘, no matter if it were the
beginning. middle, or the tail end of the movie. It was
believed, in that era, that people who paid money to see
a movie should indeed have that right.
In honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Grand Opera
House in 1939. the management invited all of its
patrons to attend a free show and dance. "Under the
Westem Stars", starring Roy Rogers, was shown at
2:30 p.m.; 7:15 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.. The free dance was
held that evening at the Anamosa Firemen's Hall.
One Saturday aftemoon. during the depression in the
early 1930s. the theater management presented a film
with the admission price being one potato. As might be
expected. the crowd was enormous. Mabel Fisher and
Ina Meeks were two of the attendees and, in the ensuing
struggle for admittance, someone soundly trod on the
toe of Mrs. Fisher.
For the next 40 years. every few weeks, she had to go
to the doctor to have a horribly deformed toenail
trimmed. And all for the price of one potato.
Note: In 1953 the Niles Theater was sold to Mr. and
Mrs. T. J. Evans of Clinton. It was owned by Gerald
Petersen of Waverly, Iowa, January 9, 1984, when fire
destroyed the interior of the theater. It was the last
movie theater in Jones county and Petersen did not
Jody and Kathleen. standing. and Jane and Mary
Lou Niles, meet America's favorite Cowboy, Gene
Autry. Autry's show. sponsored by WMT. played to
capacity crowds at the Memorial Coliseum at Cedar
Rapids in 1951.
remodel.
The present owners of the building are Mr. and Mrs.
David Grassfield. they are making plans to reconstruct
the building and reopen it for a theater.
Iowa State Men's Reformatory
Here since 1872
The location of the ‘additional penitentiary‘, as it was
first called, at Anamosa, was the culmination of two
years of ground work by local citizens and officials. The
insitution was sought by many Iowa communities.
The penitentiary was established April 12, 1872, by
the Iowa legislature. The Anamosa Eureka reported
that the question, after being discussed two years
before, was brought before the legislature in the shape
of a bill prepared by Jones County Senator John
McKean. the legislation that was passed, stated that the
penitentiary should be established at, or near, the stone
quarries near Anamosa and that three commissioners.
chosen by the general assembly should select the exact
location — after 70 acres of land was donated to the
cause. Anamosa citizen Dr. N.G. Sales donated 61 acres
of land across the Buffalo, and several town lots.
Others in the community who also aided by giving
lots and aiding financially were: John Tasker, B.F.
Shaw. C.H. Lull, T.W. Shapley, E.C. Holt. G.W. Field.
J.S. McClure, H.C. Metcalf, R.N. Fowler, T.R. Ercanbrack,
Milton Remley and J.L. Sheean.
Dr. Sales‘ bid to the state for his 80-acre quarry was
accepted for $15,000. which was the ceiling placed on
the bids.
Work was started on the penitentiary here in August
1872 by purchasing lumber at Clinton, Iowa, to make a
high stockade around the yard and temporary
buildings at the prison and at the quarry. A small. stone
building with temporary wooden cells was erected with
hired labor. In January 1873, 64 cell doors were purchased
for $3,100. These were later used in the institution.
May 13, 1873, 20 convicts were transferred from Ft.
by Bertha Finn
Madison penitentiary and were numbered from No. 1
to No. 20. Ironically, No. 21 was sentenced from
Jones County. These 21 convicts were temporarily
housed in the wooden cells and were employed at the
quarries in preparation of work on the permanent
structure.
The first escape from the reformatory was about two
weeks later, June 2, 1873. Three men escaped from the
quarries. (Had they seen the plans of the gigantic
institution they had to build?) These three, C.C.
Hardin, 23: Andrew Costa, 26, and Charles Hatfield, 22.
had a $300 reward on their heads and the local papers
warned farmers to look after their horses, as the
escapees were ‘ ‘desperadoes‘ '.
In July 1874, W. Roberts of Moberly, Missouri, owner
of a meat market, was sitting in his shop reading his
paper. when he was interrupted by the querry. ‘Do you
have any bologna?‘. Before he could answer, the man
turned, darted out the door, and began a brisk walk up
the sidewalk. Roberts, thinking this was a strange thing
to do, stepped to the door and watched the man. Upon
seeing him, he then had the answer. Costa's mistake
was to attempt to buy bologna from a former guard at
the prison in Anamosa. Roberts immediately sent word
to the city marshal and they both started in pursuit.
Costa resisted at first. but the Derringer "brought
him to time". They telegraphed the warden at Fort
Madison and the warden ordered him brought in at
once. The other two prisoners had been previously
picked up in Iowa.
On September 30,1873, work was begun on the first
permanent building, called ‘Work Shop No. 1'. This
was a large two-story building. When completed, the