Lower Lake Stone Jail

Three plaques at one stone cell, each in a different key. The Native Sons' 1968 bronze over the door dedicates it to the service of the people of California. The state's 1949 register calls it claimed to be the smallest jail in the country; the 1982 state bronze on the monument settles for one of the smallest. The Clampers' tablet on the monument's back tells the town's version: Theodore and John Copsey, who helped the mason Stephen Nicolai build it in 1876, celebrated themselves into the cell and out through the roof they had forgotten to bolt down.

What the plaque says

Dedicated to the service of the People of California by the Native Sons of the Golden West Grand President— Joseph B. Perez January 13, 1968 Lower Lake Stone Jail Built in 1876 at the height of the quicksilver mining boom, the Lower Lake stone jail was a response to rapid town growth and the urgent need for civil order. Stephen Nicolai, one of the first stone masons in Lower Lake, built the jail from local materials with the help of Theodore and John Copsey. The jail is one of the smallest in the United States. California Registered Historical Landmark No. 429 Plaque placed by the State Department of Parks and Recreation in cooperation with the Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus, Yerba Buena Chapter No. 1, October 2, 1982. Theodore and John Copsey commemorated the completion of the jail by over-celebrating, thereby becoming the jail's first occupants. Rumor has it that they were also the jail's first escapees-as they had failed to bolt down the roof. ECV October, 1982

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Stone House — 7.3 mi
• Sulphur Bank Mine — 7.8 mi
• St. Helena Toll Road and Bull Trail — 11 mi
• Site of Stone and Kelsey Home — 13 mi