Inside the city limits of Bernice, Louisiana is a little-known relic from early 20th-century law enforcement.
In any day and age, this place wasn’t at the top of the list of places to visit.
In fact, ‘visiting’ meant you were up to no good and likely in trouble.
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The Town Jail in Bernice sits at the intersection of Louisiana Avenue between 4th and 5th Streets.
The single-story structure has one steel door and two windows covered in iron bar grating.
At one time, this detention facility was nothing more than a steel cage. Yet, (present) signage and history tell us it was reinforced with concrete around 1925.
The early 1900s jail was built for function, not comfort or privacy. The sole cell is tiny, by any standards—past or present—and consists of concrete, iron, and more concrete.
The space would be considered ‘cramped’ at best for one offender. I can’t imagine what it would have been like for multiple occupants.
I have some general familiarity with Bernice over the years and had no idea this Town Jail existed. I can see where it can be entirely missed (I did!).
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I created a few images of the Town Jail I want to share to preserve its existence, identity, and story for others and future generations.
I hope you enjoy them.
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There isn’t much information that I could find readily available online about the Bernice Town Jail other than the Historical Marker Database website (which is where I first discovered it).
The content I did find is linked below.
- https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=235696
- https://shilohtocanaan.com/2018/02/19/the-bernice-calaboose/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernice,_Louisiana
- https://www.facebook.com/share/p/12D5NA81SD6/
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