Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, Lyman Wight, Alexander McRae, and Caleb Baldwin spent more than 4 months on the cold stone floor of this jail from December 1st, 1838 to April 6th, 1839 with no bedding other than some blankets and a little bit of loose straw. (Sidney Rigdon spent less time there, December 1st thru February 5th.)
At the time the only windows were two 2 feet wide, 6 inches high openings. Enough to let in plenty of cold air but little light. The dimensions inside were 14 1/2 feet x 14 feet and the ceiling was only 6 1/2 feet tall. Seems more like a medieval torture chamber than a jail.
Visitors were allowed occasionally and an interesting note is that Joseph F. Smith, son of Hyrum and Mary Smith, who would later become the 6th president of the church, was given his name and blessing in the jail during one of those visits.
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