JCHS Receives $100,000 Grant From Sunderland Foundation For 1859 Jail, Marshal’s Home & Museum
JACKSON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY RECEIVES $100,000 GRANT FROM SUNDERLAND FOUNDATION FOR 1859 JAIL, MARSHAL’S HOME & MUSEUM
For more information about the Society’s “Save the Jail” campaign and available giving and recognition levels, go to www.jchs.org/savethejail
July 7, 2021
The Jackson County Historical Society is pleased to announce a $100,000 grant from the Sunderland Foundation to support continuing restoration of the 1859 Jail, Marshal’s Home and Museum in Independence, Missouri.
“This grant allows us to plan further efforts to preserve and restore one of Jackson County’s most unique historic structures,” said Brian Burnes, Society president.
The gift also extends the generosity of the Sunderland Foundation of Kansas City towards the Society.
A recent $75,000 foundation grant enabled the Society to engage STRATA Architecture + Preservation of Kansas City to conduct an historic building assessment of the jail. That report, completed in 2019, identified several existing challenges with the structure. Restoration projects soon began, among them the replacement of west-facing windows along the building’s upper level as well as the repair of masonry and floor joists in the Marshal’s Home.
In May the Independence Heritage Commission recognized the Society’s preservation and restoration efforts at the jail and awarded the nonprofit organization its Preserve Independence Award.
The Society’s Board of Director’s plan to invest the $100,000 grant in the continuing restoration of the jail’s exterior, and also hope to attract more support from across the area.
“We respectfully ask that our community partners and interested individuals consider donating to the Society’s ‘Save the Jail’ campaign, which will fund further restoration of the building’s exterior and interior,” Burnes said.
The jail is central to the Society’s history.
After word spread in 1958 that the jail could possibly be demolished, Jackson County residents rallied to raise money to save it. Former President Harry Truman called Joyce Hall, Hallmark Cards, Inc. founder, to secure the first donation. Hall’s $1,000 pledge prompted an outpouring of many other’s donations, all of which helped the Society acquire the building, restore it, and open it to the public in 1959. In 1970, the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
“The Society traces its origins to the efforts of area residents to save the 1859 Jail,” Burnes said. “Today it’s our responsibility to honor their example, and continue to serve as activist stewards for this historic building.”
Since 1959, the Jackson County Historical Society has maintained the Independence Square landmark at 217 N. Main St. Today all first grade students in the Independence School District visit the building every year, as do students from surrounding districts.
The building also serves as a community educational center for Jackson County history through its Gallery Room, which features rotating exhibits pulled from the Society’s archival and artifact collections.
Although the jail had to be closed for much of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it reopened on June 3. Since then it has received a steady stream of guests, greeted by Society volunteers who lead tours. The jail is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays until October 30th for the 2021 season.
For more information about visiting the 1859 Jail, Marshal’s Home & Museum, go to https://www.jchs.org/plan-your-visit