The Unique Jail House Museum in Oatman, Arizona

[TusharSuradkar]

In the US, the museums are distinctly different from those in India.

Out here in India, the gift shop is usually located in one corner, whereas the ones in America the gift and souvenir shops are mandatory to pass through before exiting a museum.

The Jail House Museum in Oatman Arizona is no exception.

It is a nicely conserved jail from the 19th century and most of its parts are original except some landscaping.

The entrance passing through a narrow channel and is accessible from the Main Street of Oatman.

This opens up in a big yard that has several benches placed for waiting, resting, and eating.

This is probably the place for some kind of game show, but I am not sure about this due to the lack of a proper tour guide in this place.

This is the main and original jail house where prisoners were kept.

It has one step so qualifies as accessible for a wheelchair-bound person.

Inside is space for a single cell where presently a skeleton is placed to give an idea of how it looked a century ago.

All original artifacts and objects of daily used are also properly conserved.

Original news clippings about the mining in Oatman are also on display.

Outside the jail, is also a construct that looks like a guillotine but in reality, is a place for whipping minor prisoners.

There is also a place where the local caretaker resides, and he has 3 turtles who double up as the prison guards.

Here’s the view from inside the jail house looking towards Oatman Main Street showing it is accessible for the differently abled.

There is no entry fee for the jail house and museum.

There is much more to discover in the historic mining town of Oatman, Arizona in just half a day.

Some other interesting things that I have documented are:
Walter the Orphan Donkey of Mining Town Oatman, Arizona
The Wild West Gold Camp Museum of Objects from the 1800s, in Oatman, Arizona
The Fascination for Gold Rush in Mining Town Oatman, Arizona
The Endless Entertainment on the Sidewalks of Oatman, Arizona
The Wild West Gunfights Roadshow in Oatman, Arizona
The Unique Mine Museum in Oatman, Arizona

How to Reach

There are many day tours from Las Vegas to reach Oatman and the tour also covers the historic Seligman and Kingman towns.

Where to Stay

There are not many large places to stay since most tourists spend only a few hours here.
A notable hotel is the Oatman Hotel, Bar and Restaurant.

Accessibility

The various shops in Oatman along the sidewalks are partially accessible.

[Annaelisa]

@TusharSuradkar abgesehen von dem wieder sehr guten Artikel ist ja auf einem Foto etwas von der bizarren Landschaft dort zu sehen. Ich muss zudem immer an den Bericht vom Esel denken.

[TusharSuradkar]

Translation has not worked very well for your comment @Annaelisa

Sun I am not able to understand about the donkeys.

[Annaelisa]

@TusharSuradkar

Ich denke oftmals an Ihren schönen Bericht über diesen Esel von Oatman weil er mir so gut gefallen hat. Mehr sollte diese Erwähnung nicht kundtun

Herzliche Grüße

[TusharSuradkar]

The donkeys out here are one of the top attractions in Oatman, @Annaelisa

They grab the attention of all and look quite domesticated and tame, always seeking something to eat.

Plenty of shops in Oatman sell costly food like carrots for them, which most tourists seem to buy for the unique experience of feeding a donkey.

[Maximilianozalazar]

@TusharSuradkar maravillosa la foto principal, realmente un gran post!

[TusharSuradkar]

Thank you @Maximilianozalazar for the appreciation.

This was an interesting and unusual place to visit.

[Ketan_Kangankar]

Oh wah ! Amazing place it is ! But that era, how cruelty gone…got me ghoosbumps @TusharSuradkar …I have heard that in Discovery but got a very close glimpse of it from you @TusharSuradkar ji

[TravellerG]

Ohh… nice… nice…

Let me start from the ‘Donkey Feeding’… I feel one has to be careful…in the spirit of feeding the donkey, one should not get a on the fingers…

In the Bahrain Zoo, I witnessed such a scene where a visitor was lifted by a camel while feeding it - fortunately, all the visitors shouted and the camel left… except a few stitches ( ), nothing went wrong…

Nice post, dear @TusharSuradkar as usual…

Enjoyed your shots on a large screen… thanks…

Well, thanks to our friends @Maximilianozalazar @Annaelisa for their great company…

[TravellerG]

Cruelty at those times…

Well, fortunately we are living in a much polished century…

Very happy to see your valuable companionship, dear LG @Ketan_Kangankar

Looks like you forgot to tag the author.

Just a humble reminder.

[Ketan_Kangankar]

Yeah ! We r too fortunate who r living this era…Thank you for conveying me…Hoping to see you on my posted blogs too @TravellerG

[NandKK]

Knowing so much great things about Arizona by your posts @TusharSuradkar

Thanks for sharing with us.

[PrasadVR]

Thank you @TusharSuradkar ji, for sharing one more interesting post. I enjoy reading your posts, your posts are very informative and cover all details. I appreciate your writing style, you take pictures from good angles to make them look better and give important details on How to Reach, Where to Stay, and Accessibility.

[KattyGeltmeyer]

You mentioned a guillotine-like object outside the museum, you said it was for whipping prisoners. I can’t see the picture, but @JanVanHaver when reading this I was thinking about a kind of pillory being used in middle ages and modern (16th-18th century) for public punishments.

[JanVanHaver]

Yes @KattyGeltmeyer it looks like that: there are 3 openings in it, a bigger one in the middle (where the head/neck goes) and 2 smaller ones for the hands/wrists.

[KattyGeltmeyer]

Yep, it’s a pillory. In Dutch you have 2 objects and so 2 words for this type of object: “de schandpaal” =a pole/pillar with a kind of collar attached to it. The person must put his neck into the collar, the iron collar was closed with a lock. But the type that is exposed over here is what we call “het schandblok”: in the latter the head and arms are fixated, so the person exposed in this way can’t move. In both cases, it’s a punishment of humiliation, sometimes combined with physical punishments, but more often the public was encouraged to throw rotten fruits, eggs, etc. to the person in the pillory. But in the context of a jail, it’s merely used for physical punishments like whipping. cfr.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pillory

[TusharSuradkar]

Sorry, I did not understand your comment “I can’t see the picture.” @KattyGeltmeyer

Does the picture appear blank? or just an image placeholder?

Here it is again.

The upper covering plate was missing when I visited there.

But in another video, I saw a person putting his neck and hands in to the object and his partner then placing the upper plate in place to lock his head and hands.

[TusharSuradkar]

Thank you for the appreciation @PrasadVR @Ketan_Kangankar @NandKK

[KattyGeltmeyer]

@@@@Tushar_Suradkar: I can’t see the picture as I’m blind. Thanks to the description @JanVanHaver posted I could dedicate what you are describing when you said it looked like a guillotine but that it wasn’t and was used for whipping prisoners.