In 1876, Stephan Nicolai, a stonemason, built the Lower Lake County stone jail. The stone was quarried locally and reinforced with iron. It may be the smallest jail in the United States - only one room. It is currently registered as California Historical Landmark #429.
The cooler part of this building's story comes from the workers Nicolai hired to help with the building. Theodore and John Copsey lived in the quicksilver mining town of Lower Lake. Once the jail was done and they got paid, they went into town to celebrate at the saloons. They got drunk and rowdy, were arrested and became the first to be interred in the jail they helped build. As they sobered up, they remembered that they had not finished the roof properly. They literally raised the roof and became the first to break out of the jail. Not a bad record.
References
