This facility was built in 1989 and has the capacity of 324 prisoners. It is a maximum security 2nd generation jail. Current population distribution is estimated to be approximately 60% awaiting trial, 25% committed/sentenced, 14% state prisoners and 1% holds for other jurisdictions. Individuals are held here on a wide variety of offenses ranging from misdemeanor traffic offenses to murder in the first degree.

The maximum sentence anyone can serve at this facility is one year per individual case, however, some individuals  have been held here longer waiting to go to trial                                                                                      

           636-244-BOND (2663)     314-740-4766

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St Charles County Government Center including the Executive Office Building, Courts Administration Building, Administration Building, and Criminal Justice Center.

From Interstate 70, take the Fifth Street Exit (Exit 229) North. Turn right onto First Capitol Drive. Turn left onto N. Second Street. Building on the left. • From MO HWY 370, take MO HWY 94/N. Third Street Exit (Exit 7) South. Turn left onto MO HWY 94/Tecumseh Street. Turn right onto MO HWY 94/N. Second Street. Building on the right.

Saint Charles County Jail History:

St. Charles was founded in 1791. Since that time, there have been approximately six (6) county jails. The first jail on record for St. Charles County was located at 514 South Main Street in 1804. The jail was a one-room stone structure with one diamond-shaped window for ventilation, which the inmates referred to as the “Ace of Diamonds”. One of the first prisoners of this jail was an Osage Indian arrested for drunkenness. The jailer was Mackey Wherry. 

From 1821 to 1826, there were two (2) jails located in “Stone Row”. These jails were the state jail and the city jail. The state jail was located at 324 South Main Street and the city jail was at 318 South Main Street. Prisoners were brought to the jails by boat on the Missouri River.

In 1827, Sheriff Henry Mills established a whipping post and pillory at 119 North Main Street. This was used for punishment of minor violations.

The next county jail was built on South Main Street in 1832. It was located at the corner of Main and Pike Streets. The overall size of this jail was 24 feet by 36 feet and was built with rocks ranging from three to four feet in length and two feet thick. This jail was used as both a county and city jail.

This jail was used until a historic “cyclone” hit St. Charles on February 27, 1876. The “cyclone” damaged the jail beyond repair. There were eight prisoners incarcerated at the time and they owed their lives to the bars that separated them from the rest of society. It is reported that the roof was blown off and landed one block away. The walls were also blown away leaving the inmates’ cells exposed.  There were only minor injuries sustained by the inmates.

With the destruction of the jail built in 1832, a new jail was built at the corner of Second and Madison Streets. This jail was a one story, one room, stone jailhouse. Eventually, this jail would be sold to Mike Hausaum and J. Evans for $55.00. They in turn paid $200.00 to have the building torn down.

In 1911, the fifth jail of record was built on 120 South Second Street. The cost of this building including furniture, etc. was $32,742.61. The capacity of this jail was 44 prisoners. By the 1960’s, conditions of the jail began to deteriorate, and in 1974, the jail was deemed inadequate. The jail was labeled as “Dante’s Hell” by Missouri Supreme Court Justice Robert Seiler. Six (6) court ordered hangings took place there before hanging was outlawed in 1935. The gallows were located on the 2nd level after taking the “Traditional Thirteen Steps”. This jail was abandoned in 1989 upon completion of the current Criminal Justice Facility located on 301 North Second Street. It cost $34,470 to demolish the old jail in 1995.

On January 7, 1989, the first 52 prisoners were moved from the old jail to the new facility located within the St. Charles County Justice Center. The new center cost approximately $22 million with a jail capacity of 220 prisoners. The Justice Center was then home to the St. Charles County Sheriff’s Department, Juvenile Justice Center and the St. Charles County Emergency Management Agency. The facility, as built, was predicted to meet the needs of the County until 2010. The average daily population  of the jail in 1989 was 90.3. 

The jail was considered a separate bureau of the Sheriff’s Department until 1995 when the jail became a separate entity known as the St. Charles County Department of Corrections under the leadership of Colonel Alan B. Stahl. This separation was done in an effort to provide a more safe and secure environment for the detention of inmates and detainees by providing a more specialized environment for corrections. The County’s corrections facility is the third largest facility in the State of Missouri.

In an effort to deal with the increasing population over the years, several units were double-bunked. In 1995, two units were double-bunked increasing capacity to 230. In 1997, another unit was double-bunked increasing capacity to 254. Finally, in 1998, an additional unit was double-bunked resulting in a capacity of 278. In 2000, a new housing unit was added to the existing facility at a cost of $2,107,158. This new unit added 22 cells, further increasing the jail’s capacity to 300. The current capacity is up 324 with the subsequent double-bunking of the female unit in 2001.

This facility has already exceeded capacity by reaching populations in excess of 340. In the next few years, the county anticipates the completed construction of a new juvenile facility, which once occupied will leave the present juvenile facility available for other uses. With that planned vacancy, the St. Charles County Department of Corrections will be expanding into the vacated space increasing the overall capacity to include the expansion of the D.O.C. work release program. That expanded program will increase the maximum number of possible participants from 20 to 100.

With the growing citizen population of St. Charles County, jail officials also anticipate the jail population will continue to increase as well. The leaders of St. Charles County government are currently addressing these issues. Current conditions of the jail are estimated to serve the needs of St. Charles County for several years to come.

(Information on jail history was obtained from the St. Charles County Historical Society records.)

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