Published November 1, 2022, for State 48 A2Z
Founded on silver and eventually copper mining, Globe was a tough town back in the day, as were most mining towns through the state. It was a tough town, founded by tough men and women, and vigilante justice was not uncommon. But the citizens of Globe and their leaders were determined to bring the due justice principles of American law to this rowdy mining town and put an end to vigilante justice. To do so they needed a couple of key buildings.
Originally founded in 1875, Globe grew rapidly from the mining camp it was into a booming town that became the seat for Gila County. Globe had roughly 2,000 people in 1890 and grew to 16,000 by 1910. By 1930, Globe had well over 33,000 residents. After 1930, the numbers started dropping though, and, as of 2020, the town’s population tipped the scales at a little more than 7,500.
In its early days, Gila County businesses utilized several buildings in Globe including the sheriff’s office, jail, and county court. The county’s first courthouse was built at the corner of Oak and Broad Streets in 1888, with the sheriff’s office and jail housed in the basement. As the town grew and the mining industry continued to boom, a new courthouse was built in 1906, with the Sheriff’s Office and Jail still in the basement. However, that basement office and jail quickly became inadequate and, in 1910, a separate Sheriff’s Office and Jail were constructed on a plot of land next to the Courthouse.
At the time of the new jail’s construction, it was considered state-of-the-art and was built using reinforced poured concrete. Additionally, a secure metal catwalk was used to connect the Jail’s third floor with the Courthouse’s third floor to assure the safe transition of prisoners to the court dates away from the access of vigilante mobs. There was also a requirement that the Sheriff had to live in the jail, so his quarters included a private bathroom, which was a huge luxury back in 1910. The building has an amazing architectural exterior and has seen its share of history, including Arizona’s statehood in 1912. The jail which operated for 71-years saw its last prisoner in 1981. For a complete list of those who have served as Gila County Sheriff’s click here. Regretfully there is no list of prisoners who served their time in the jail.
The 1910 Jail is also listed on the Haunted Registry and purportedly has several haunts, ghosts, or spirits, whichever your preference is, that remain yet today. One disembodied soul that still calls the jail his home is Kingsley Olds. Olds was in isolation at the jail while waiting to stand trial for allegedly drowning his employer’s two daughters in the spring of 1911. Kingsley, who maintained his innocence, was mysteriously shot while in isolation and, to make the situation eerier, a few days before his murder, Kingsley claimed that he was having visions of the two girls motioning him to follow them into death. The visions could be explained away by his having a guilty mind, as in Edgar Allan Poe’s story The Tell-Tale Heart, but how was he murdered in isolation.
The best that anyone has been able to piece together on a theory of what happened was that sometime in the early morning hours of Saturday, June 3, 1911, someone who had stolen the keys for the county courthouse next door to the jail and then sat in one of the third-floor windows that overlooked Kingsley’s jail cell. Somewhere in the early hours around 5:00 or 6:00 am, one shot rang out from the sniper’s rifle hitting Kingsley while in his bed, killing him instantly. To this day no one knows who the killer was, and no one ever bragged about being the shooter but, based on the angle of the two windows as well as firing through the barred cell window, to have made a single kill shot the shooter would have probably been a trained marksman. As you can imagine no one was too interested in finding out the truth and life soon moved on, leaving Olds guilt or innocence as much in doubt today, as who his killer was.
It was reported by newspapers around Arizona that following the killing, the shooter returned the stolen keys leaving them on a shelf on the wall in the corridor of the Courthouse. This was one mystery that was never solved, and he is reportedly still a prisoner in the jail still today. The isolation cell is set up today as it was that fateful morning on June 3, 1911, complete with a Kingsley mannequin laying in the cell cot, while figures of the two girls that were haunting his dreams are in nearby corners of the cell. The Sheriff’s Office and Jail were added to the National Register of Historical Places on May 27, 1975.
One area that has reported a high level of paranormal activity is the catwalk between the jail and courthouse, where full-bodied apparitions have been seen. Back in 2017, while doing a story for Phoenix’s NBC-12 news, reporter Ozzy Mora stated that she instantly felt “a powerful sensation” surrounding her immediately upon entering the jail. Mora also says that she had two encounters that were witnessed by Molly Cornwell, manager of the 1910 Jail. You can read Mora’s article here.
One of her experiences that she reported in her news story was hearing a voice down the hallway answer her back when she asked the person helping her set up the camera gear if they were ready. According to Mora and Cornwell, no one else was in the building. The second incident occurred while Mora was talking to Cornwell and suddenly her Go-Pro camera started flipping back and forth very fast. The Camera was off at the time. According to reports Mora received from east valley paranormal enthusiasts the spot where her go pro went “ballistic” is the same area where several people have captured images of a female apparition previously.
When touring the historic building today you will find the Sheriff’s Office to the left of the entry and heavy-duty steel doors that separate the public area from the jail cells in the rear. According to the Main Street brochure, the single-lever mechanisms that were used to control the cell blocks were designed by the Pauly Jail Building Company and brought to Globe by mule train from the Yuma Territorial prison after its closing in 1909.
As you head to the upper floors be sure to watch your step carefully as the building has irregular stairs and other features that could be dangerous if not careful. On the second floor, you will find another, larger Pauly Company cell block at the back of the floor which housed both men and women. The front part of the second-floor housed women, juveniles, and the elderly in double bunk cells.
The Historic Gila County Sheriff’s Office and Jail should be a must-see on your bucket list, especially if you are a fan of old west history. The tours are very affordable with self-guided tours running just $5 and guided tours for $10. The jail is a highly popular destination for paranormal enthusiasts. In fact, the Gila County Historic Jail took the top honors in Phoenix Magazine’s 2018 article on Arizona's Five Most Haunted Jails.
Before heading out to Globe to experience this amazing piece of Arizona history, please be sure to check their web page to verify that they will be open during the date and time that you are planning to visit. You can also call them at (928) 425-0884 or (928) 425-9340. Currently, their page shows they are open Thursday through Saturday from 11 am to 2 pm with other tour times available by appointment.
This tour was another great experience in Globe and the staff Jail was so inviting and friendly. They not only toured us through most of the building as well as a walk on the infamous haunted catwalk, but they also provided us with a wealth of great information on the Sheriff’s Office and Jail’s history. We also talk about paranormal activity which anyone who has worked here has experienced in one form or another. Rick was our tour guide and did a great job taking us through the jail and explaining to us how the locking systems worked back in the day.
While we did not experience any paranormal activity directly during our visits there is a sense of an unseen presence around you when you are inside the jail. Upon comparing our experiences after we finished our tours, both of us acknowledged feeling a bit of pressure against our bodies at points when no one was visible around us. The staff shared with us pictures on their phones of paranormal activity that they and paranormal enthusiasts have taken, and I must admit it was a bit eerie. I looked at these closely and could see no evidence of photoshopping from what I could tell with the naked eye. However, one minor experience occurred when I was in Kingsley cell photographing both the cell and the Kingsley mannequin lying in his cot. As I trained my viewfinder on the mannequin it looked to me that its eyes shifted, but it may have just been my mind being a bit overactive. The mannequin is pretty creepy-looking.
Admittedly this jail must have been a great deterrent back in its day. As we toured the cellblocks, I couldn’t help but think about how it must have been doing time there not only back in the 1910s and 20s but also in the 1970s. We saw pictures of some of the cells from before the place was closed and they do not appear much different today. The cells and cellblocks were very small and had four people in a cell. The bunks seemed short for me at 5-foot-8. I couldn’t imagine how uncomfortable anyone taller may have been. No air conditioning along with the only ventilation coming from the barred windows must have made for an awful smelling place, especially in the summers.
As you tour the cell blocks be sure to check in the cells as many still have prisoner's artwork, graffiti, and scratched messages on the walls from its previous residents (warning some graffiti on the walls can be racist and misogynistic).
The jail also hosts various events throughout the year as well as Halloween block parties, the Ghosts of Globe Paracon, and more. Check their Facebook page for more information on their events.
That’ll wrap things up for this week. As always, thanks for reading, stay safe, and happy travels. Be sure to like and follow us on social media (links below), share our blog posts, and feel free to give us your feedback. We’d love to hear from you. Peace!
All content is © 2022, Larry Nader & Larry Nader Photography & Art
State 48 A2Z Social Media Links
Larry Nader Photography & Art Social Media Links
Our Online Art Stores
Shop these sites to select our photography and digital art printed on your choice of wall art mediums, or on clothing, household items, office items, and more.
Comments