In 1910, one of the road camps for the county prisoners was located out near University Mall. On Sundays, the prisoners from the camp who could play musical instruments were brought out to an open area nearby and serenaded the families of the guards. I was told this area was located on the east side of Davis Street just south of the Books-A-Million shopping center near where the deep gully is located. The guards spent many a pleasant Sunday socializing with their family and listening to the music. They would bring their lunches and picnic while listening to the band. But the life of a guard was an eye opener into the criminal justice system of the day. The majority of the inmates were minorities although no one was immune to being sentenced to the county prison farm.
The life of an inmate or the guards who handled them was nothing but one boring routine after another. Every chore was begun and completed at the same time every day. Whether it was waking up, eating breakfast, forming the work crews, eating lunch, returning to the camp, eating supper, or bedding down for the night it was accomplished on a timely schedule. Nothing ever changed except of course when an inmate required behavior modification or chose to terminate his sentence early by escaping. The day shift arrived before sunup every morning. The prisoners walked through a gate, counting off to the man as the guards checked their name off a list. On the other side of the fence they formed up again and counted off once again. The guards shouted and the prisoners climbed into the back of a caged wagon that pulled up just inside the outer perimeter wire. They were all dressed in the same black and white striped clothes with floppy hats on their heads and leg irons shackled to their ankles. They scrambled into the cage because any perceived slacking on the part of an inmate brought punishment from one of the guards. The mule drawn wagons headed to the sawmills and turpentine camps or wherever they had been contracted to serve for the day. It was a common practice for the County to lease or contract their prisoners to the local lumber barons to work in their camps. Their reduced wages were in turn paid to the county.
At times the guards accompanied them if the inmates were only “day labor.” But if the contract was for a prolonged period of time then the prisoners were turned over in body and soul to the timber foreman for guarding, housing and feeding. It was this second type of contract that brought about the greatest abuse for the inmates. Each guard was mounted with a pistol and a double barrel twelve-gauge shotgun in a scabbard. They headed out in the predawn darkness and reined in at the camps. The bull gang unlocked the cage door and the prisoners filed out. At the sawmills and turpentine camps the inmates were given their assignments, which were usually the least desired or the most dangerous job that the regular workers shunned. An unfortunate snakebite or a crushed hand or foot from a rolling or falling log was a frequent occurrence for the dispensable inmates.
At noon, a gallon bucket was removed from the wagon by the bull gang. The contents were a simple affair consisting of a piece of cornbread with a ladle of molasses poured over the top of it. At times they got a cup of black coffee, thin watery grits, and a piece of salted pork fat. When the wagons returned to camp, the inmates lined up in formation. Each was searched and then allowed to proceed through the inner gate. After supper the inmates were marched to the bunkhouse for the evening. As they approached the building each prisoner was inspected to prevent any contraband or weapons from entering. The doors were locked and barred from the outside. The day shift was released to go home and the night shift came on duty and would monitor the inmates through breakfast. It was a hard and miserable existence for the inmates and guards alike.
Inmate caged wagons used to transport prisoners and pulled by mules
Inmate "huts" for lock downs at night
This was known as the punishment "Box" where the inmate was stripped and locked. The box was 4’ x 4’ x 5’ complete with a metal roof. The dimensions of the box was deliberate to prevent the inmate from being able to fully lie down in the five-foot length or to stand up all the way in the four-foot height. This forced the muscles to cramp since the prisoner could never stretch out to his full length. In the broiling summer sun, the temperature might reach 120 degrees with little ventilation. The food was a piece of cornbread, watery broth, or boiled fish heads. A dose of Epsom salts during the summer months was provided due to the heavy sweating in the suffocating heat. However, the salts gave the inmates diarrhea that overflowed their slop jar and added to the stench and misery.