Pottawattamie County Squirrel Cage Jail

The Pottawattamie County Jail opened in 1885 as a "squirrel cage" rotary jail: three stacked levels of wedge-shaped cells built around a hand-cranked central carousel, so a jailer could open only one cell at a time. It is one of only about three rotary jails still standing, closed as a working jail in 1969, and is now a museum of the Historical Society of Pottawattamie County.

The society offers public flashlight tours and paranormal investigations, mostly around Halloween. Museum director Kat Slaughter has said that in six years working here she has personally experienced nearly everything reported: footsteps, slamming and opening doors, shadow figures, voices when no one else is present and objects moving. Members of the Pananormania investigation team told local television they heard boots approach their cell on the first night, felt a female investigator's hair pulled while they were standing nearby, and saw equipment malfunction on the fourth floor. These are accounts from staff and visiting investigators.