Expedition Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller
August 3, 2021
We stopped by the old Lake County Sheriff’s House and Jail built in 1882. The jail on the southeast of Courthouse Square was 50’ x 120’ with six cells. Photo #2, #3 & #4 show the jail today. Photo #6 & #7 show the jail in 1934 hours after Dillinger escaped.
The jail gained national interest when Public Enemy #1 John Dillinger carved a gun out of wood (Photo#8) and used it to escape on March 3, 1934 along with inmate Herbert Youngblood. They stole guns from the jail, Sheriff Lillian Holley’s 1933 Ford V-8 car from Main Street Garage two buildings north of the jail, took three hostages and headed for Chicago where the car was abandoned (Photo#5).
