Our Hometown
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Inmates come 'alive' at the Old Jail Something extraordinary has happened at the Museum of Wayne County History. Inmates from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries have come back to life. Located at 21 Butternut Street in the village of Lyons, the museum is housed in the former county jail and sheriff's residence.
Refreshments - including bread and water - will be served. The public is invited to the unveiling of the inmate portraits, and all are encouraged to join the museum in its efforts to preserve Wayne County's past by becoming members. The jail was built in 1854, and served as home to many notorious and obscure inmates until finally closing in 1961. Now, some of these people are back. Artist Jim Quinn of Williamson created 10 life-sized portrait murals using photographs from the museum's archive. Painted in oil on board, each portrait is approximately 6 feet tall by 3 feet wide. They stand in the doorways of the cells in the upper and lower cellblocks. Using shades of brown, tan, and gray, Quinn created the look of sepia-toned photographs. Since he was working from old images, the people are portrayed in a high-contrast style, with deep shadows around their eyes and mouths. These portraits are sure to intensify the uneasy feeling visitors already sense in the jail's dimly lit cellblocks. 'I enjoyed making these thugs come to life,' said Quinn. 'It was interesting. As I was painting them, some of them were frightening. It just happened. These were some scary people, especially Big Ed Kelly.'
As Quinn finished each portrait, he would stand them up in his kitchen or dining room. Even knowing these 'houseguests' were there, Quinn said he and his family jumped many times, startled by the inmates. To celebrate the inmates' arrival at the jail, Quinn and Museum Executive Director Joe O'Toole donned striped jail uniforms and posed with the new residents. 'These are absolutely
O'Toole said the idea for the portraits originated over a year ago in a conversation with Kathi Marshall, Vice President of the Wayne County Historical Society. The museum had just completed a major renovation and had reopened the two-story south cellblock. 'Kathi and I were trying to solve an issue of storage,' O'Toole explained. 'We thought we could use a couple of the cells by hanging black curtains inside the doorways before locking the iron-barred doors. Then Kathi thought it would be neat to put pictures of people in some of the cells.' To fund this project, the museum obtained a grant through the NYS Council on the Arts Decentralization Program, which is administered locally by Finger Lakes Arts Grants and Services, in Geneva. In addition to grants, the museum relies on its members and donors to support its operation and special projects like this. Notable inmates now on display include William Fee, the only man ever executed by Wayne County; Oliver Curtis Perry, the infamous train robber; Big Ed Kelly and his gang members Fred Schultz and James McCormick, who killed a police officer in 1906 while attempting to rob a bank in Sodus. Female inmates are also represented by Mrs. Alloco and Dorothy DeBuse. 'People sometimes only think of men being held in the old jail,' O'Toole said. 'We wanted to make sure women were fairly represented.' DeBuse, who was convicted of killing her husband, now peers out from behind the bars of the north cellblock. 'I know she's standing there,' said the museum's Office Manager Mary Erle, 'but she still scares me every time I walk past her. It's her eyes. They're creepy.' Seven of the 10 portrait murals have been installed, and the remaining three will be installed the second week of August. Copyright ©
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